SHAH ALAM: Johor and defending champions Police will face off for the Agong's Cup title next week after notching relatively comfortable wins in the semi-finals today.
Johor were forced to stave-off a late fightback from Selangor, who scored two tries in the final three minutes, before emerging 24-17 winners at UiTM Stadium in Shah Alam.
The Southern heavyweights led 11-3 at the half-time break and looked set to clinch an easy win before Selangor scored through Ahmad Amirul Zulfiqar Ahmad Jeffry in the 37th minute and Akuila Momo Cama (39th), both converted by Rizwan Annuar.
Johor's tries were scored by Rozaini Rozan and Akeripa Saveatama with the rest of their points coming from penalties scored by national team stalwart Fairuz AB Rahaman.
Johor coach Abdul Hanis Mokhta said his charges lost focus in the closing stages of the match.
"We started well in the first half but in the final five minutes we started to lose concentration just as Selangor were piling pressure on us," said Abdul Hanis.
"We conceded two tries and it was scrappy but were able to hold on for the win.
"Overall I am still satisfied with how my players performed today, however, we will have to work on a few areas before the final against Police."
Selangor coach Raimi Yusof praised Johor for their strong play but made it clear he was not happy with the standard of refereeing in the match.
"We got penalised quite a few times in the first half and some of the calls were questionable to me, but like it or not, the referee's decision is final," said Raimi.
"They punished us through their kicking and we tried our best to come back, however, we did not have enough of the ball.
"All-in-all I don't think we played that badly, however, the referee was not on our side in terms of consistency. Unfortunately, that is how it is sometimes."
Selangor will face Terengganu in the third-place decider next week.
Police defeated Terengganu 33-20 in the other semi-final which was also held at UiTM Stadium earlier today.
Johor are in search of their first Agong's Cup title since 2017.