Johor Darul Takzim FC (JDT)'s hopes of winning the league and cup double was kept alive after a 3-1 semifinal second leg win over Felda United FC at the Larkin Stadium on Saturday night.
JDT will go on to meet Malaysia Cup defending champions Pahang FA in the final on Nov. 1 at the Bukit Jalil stadium after the latter came through with a 5-0 home win against Kedah FA a day earlier to go through 6-3 on aggregate.
JDT started the match knowing a win would suffice after their 4-3 loss in the first leg against Felda, in a game which saw their star striker Luciano Figueroa starting on the bench due to a bout of food poisoning.
The former Villarreal forward made up for lost time by netting a brace in the 29th and 64th minute while Malaysian international winger Amri Yahyah added a third goal in the 72nd minute.
Felda started the game on the back foot with Figueroa in fine form as he curled a free-kick past keeper Farizal Harun in the 26th minute to level the aggregate score at 3-3.
Three minutes later, however, the Fighters equalised through midfielder Raimi Noor following a bad mix-up in the JDT defence. Bojan Hodak's men came out in the second period all guns blazing and with the 30,000 capacity crowd firmly behind them, the Southern Tigers poured forward and were rewarded for their dominance in the 64th minute when Figueroa headed home Diaz's cross.
With Felda pushing forward for the equaliser, Amri sent a fantastic lob over Farizal in the 71st minute to kill off the game and seal JDT's spot in the final with a 6-5 aggregate.
JDT defender Nazrin Nawi and Felda's Abdul Latiff Suhaimi were shown the red card by referee Suhaizi Shukri in the dying minutes after a scuffle between the two players.
Hodak will have to reshuffle his pack for the final against Pahang after captain Aidil Zafuan received his third caution in the competition and will be suspended for the showpiece event come next Saturday.
This will be Hodak's third consecutive Malaysia Cup final appearance as head coach, after leading Kelantan FA to victory in the 2012 edition before losing out to Pahang 1-0 in last year's final.