Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) head coach Benjamin Mora believes the second leg of the AFC Cup ASEAN zone semi-final against Ceres Negros tonight is a do-or-die match for his side.
The Southern Tigers will travel to the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City tomorrow night after narrowly defeating the Filipino club 3-2 at the Larkin Stadium about two weeks ago.
Despite having a slender lead over his opponents, Benjamin Mora is uncomfortable with the fact that the host team would only need a goal to eliminate his team from the tournament. However, that does not mean that the visitors will sit back and play a defensive game.
“There are 90 minutes left to this tie and we cannot be overconfident after earning a victory over them (Ceres) a couple of weeks,” Benjamin Mora said as quoted by Harian Metro.
“We have been focusing on possession and ball-control during our training sessions because we do not want our opponents to be the dominant side during the match tomorrow. We have to treat this match as a final and I will deploy the best eleven players to play in Bacolod City.
The Argentinian boss also reminded his players to take their chances efficiently.
“We’re the away team, so it is important to score a goal. We must take our chances.”
Benjamin Mora has been very proud of his team despite most of them having to fast since the first day of Ramadan, and believes that the boys will get a positive result tomorrow.
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