Johor DT have progressed to the semi-finals of the AFC Cup after sealing a 4-2 aggregate win over South China, becoming the first Malaysian side to do so.
Having drawn 1-1 at home in the first leg, Mario Gomez’s men travelled to Hong Kong on the back of a comfortable Malaysia Cup win over Perak, and they certainly silenced the home fans with a jaw-dropping performance.
Mahali Jasuli opened the scoring with a fine finish on the 24th minute, sealing that elusive away goal, before Mahama Awal restored parity merely three minutes later, much to the delight of the home fans.
But it only took JDT two minutes to reclaim the slender lead, as Safee Sali made it 2-1 with a tap-in from close range. This is when things got a little too classic, as Luciano Figueroa got himself sent off on the 35th minute, an incident that almost came across like an extended pay-per-view show for what appeared to be an exciting fight.
But despite that, the away side pushed forward relentlessly, which surprised their own fans, knowing that they could very well concede in a counter-attack. But their confidence ultimately earned them a third goal, with Safee Sali firing home in the injury time of the first half to make it 3-1.
Gary Steven Robbat was brought on to park the bus in the second half and they certainly did a fine job, as the defence withstood waves after waves of attacking onslaught from South China.
The last five minutes were rather nervy, as the thought of making history eventually got to the JDT players, but when the final whistle was blown, it was no longer a dream. JDT, for all the hype that they’ve been associated with, became the first Malaysian side to progress into the last four of the AFC Cup.
Awaiting them in the semi-finals would be Kuwait’s AL Qadsia SC, who defeated Syria’s Al Jaish SC to secure their semi finals berth.
More to come…
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