Johor Darul Ta’azim (JDT) made it two wins out of two matches to further cement their place at the top of Group H of the 2016 AFC Cup after bringing down I-League side Bengaluru FC 1-0 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, Karnataka earlier tonight.
JDT head coach Mario Gomez made seven changes from his side’s 4-1 victory over Negeri Sembilan at the Superbest Power FA Cup on Friday, bringing in a number of his main players to face the runners-up of last season’s I-League. Bengaluru FC gaffer Ashley Westwood is no stranger to the beautiful game of football. He started his footballing career as a trainee at English giants Manchester United and was part of the FA Youth Cup winning side of 1995.
The AFC Cup champions were caught off guard within seconds of kick-off after Udanta’s cross was palmed away by Izham Tarmizi, who started his second consecutive game for JDT.
The Blues started the game well by getting the feel of things with a couple of passes being played between their midfielders and attackers. However, they held the ball a little too long at times and it almost cost them when John Johnson played it back slowly to Lalthuammawia Ralte, who had to immediately clear it to avoid Juan Lucero from nicking it in.
The Southern Tigers saw the first real chance of the game when a great dummy from Juan Lucero set his Argentinian compatriot, Pereyra Diaz up for a shot from outside the box, but it fell straight into Lalthuammawia Ralte’s hands on the 16th minute of the AFC Cup tie.
Juan Lucero came close to opening the lead for the Malaysia Super League (MSL) champions with a left-footed attempt from outside the box on the 21st minute, but Ralte was involved again as he pushed the ball away before running at it and catching it with safe hands.
The tempo of the game slowed down as both teams were constantly making poor passes.
However, Aidil Zafuan almost made it 1-0 for the away side after his first-time volley just sailed inches off the post on the 36th minute. Five minutes later, Pereyra Diaz wasted a brilliant opportunity after Azamuddin Akil slotted him a cross before missing an open goal.
The second half kicked off and JDT started where they left off in the first half — with no sense of urgency. Bengaluru FC were inches away from scoring after John Johnson, who was left unmarked, headed the ball from Udanta’s cross and it landed on top of the goal.
Harimau Malaysia captain Safiq Rahim broke the deadlock on the 55th minute after slotting it from a free kick from just outside the box. Juan Lucero was fouled by Keegan Pereira after the Argentinian turned away from him brilliantly but fell to the ground easily. The travelling Southern Tigers supporters celebrated Safiq’s fourth goal of the AFC Cup with pure bliss.
Safiq Rahim almost doubled his team’s lead on the 80th minute but his left-footed shot went just wide from goal. He was set up smartly by ex-Independiente forward Pereyra Diaz. The goalscorer then set up Juan Martin Lucero from a free kick but the Argentinian forward was a few yards away from getting on the scoresheet after his header just missed the target.
Bengaluru FC midfielder Alwyn George would not be able to sleep well tonight after missing an open goal five minutes from time. He hit the side netting after a brilliant cross by Udanta.
Mario Gomez would be disappointed with his side’s performance despite gaining all three points. The AFC Cup Champions sit on top of Group H with six points from two wins.
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