KICK-OFF!
3rd minute: Nazirul Naim finds Vladislav Mirchev, who heads the ball to Faton Toski. The Albanian attacker then sprays the ball to Zaquan on the left, but the former JDT man fails to beat Fazly Mazlan.
5th minute: Mirchev breaks free, but JDT defenders close him down pretty quickly. The Bulgarian cuts back, holds the ball, before trying his luck with a weak shot from outside the box. Predictably, it doesn’t hit the target.
7th minute: GOAL! Faton Toski collects ball in the middle, spots Pinto making a run and sprays the ball wide. Pinto’s first touch was brilliant and he managed to nick it pass Farizal into the net.
9th minute: GOAL! JDT push high up the pitch, with Gabriel Guerra finding space on the left. He beats a Perak defender and puts in a low cross into the box. Hazwan Bakri, who was at the right place at the right time, made no mistakes by firing home to make it 1-1!
12th minute: Faton Toski moves to the flank and attempts to find Pinto with a cross. But Kunanlan rescues JDT by heading it away to safety.
16th minute: Thiago Aquino finds Pinto with an outstanding long ball, and the Palestinian attacker produced an excellent first touch to receive the ball. He cuts back and lays it off for Hafiz Kamal, but the former Selangor man could only shoot wide from outside the box.
22nd minute: SUBS – Azamuddin Akil is brought off after picking up an injury. JDT introduce Gonzalo Cabrera as a direct replacement on the right flank.
29th minute: Toski collects the ball in the middle before spraying it over to the onrushing Amirul Azhan on the right. The full-back sprints ahead with the ball, before crossing into the box. However, Fazly Mazlan was perfectly positioned to clear the threat.
33rd minute: JDT break free with Cabrera on the flanks, but his cross is collected comfortably by Hafizul Hakim
36th minute: The away side launch yet another attack and this time, they showcase several intricate passes outside Perak’s box. Safiq eventually decides to thread a through ball for Brian Ferreira, but Hafizul comes out quickly to collect the ball.
44th minute: Guerra finds Fazly on the left and the JDT fullback was quick to float a delicious cross into the box. But Hafizul produced an acrobatic save to punch the ball away from Hazwan Bakri, who was more than ready to make it 2-1!
45th minute: Mirchev collects the ball, takes a second to evaluate his teammates’ movement, before crossing into the box. Pinto manages to make contact with the ball, but his deft attempt gets denied by the post!
HALF TIME: Perak 1-1 Johor DT
49th minute: SUBS – Karl-Heinz Weigang makes his first change by bringing on Shahrul Saad to replace Faton Toski
51st minute: Swift attack from Perak, but Zaquan’s attempt is saved by Farizal Marlias. Toski collects the rebound and crosses back into the box, but Shahrul Saad’s header goes above the bar.
54th minute: Toski intercepts the ball from Kunanlan and sprints ahead before threading a through ball for Shahrul Saad. The Perak midfielder goes down, but the referee waves play on in favour of the away side.
57th minute: SUBS – Benjamin Mora withdraws the ineffective Brian Ferreira. Mahali Jasuli is brought on, with Hazwan Bakri being moved to the middle.
62nd minute: Perak launch an attack through Pinto, who does well to beat a couple of defenders before passing it over to Shahrul Saad. The 23 year-old decides to fire a shot, which goes wide as a result of a deflection.
65th minute: Safiq Rahim produces an astute free-kick delivery, which inevitably meets the head of Marcos Antonio. The Brazillian attempts to head the ball into the path of Hazwan Bakri, but misses the former Selangor man by inches as Perak clear the ball away.
70th minute: Fazly Mazlan receives the ball on the left, before proceeding to go on a mazy run, beating a host of Perak players in the process. But his final ball for Hazan was a tad too quick. Either way, the ex-Selangor attacker was also flagged for offside.
75th minute: GOAL! Thiago’s free-kick attempt was initially saved by Farizal, but after a minor scuffle for the rebound, Mirchev was perfectly positioned to slot home from close range!
79th minute: SUBS – Benjamin Mora goes for the jugular by introducing Afiq Fazail to replace Aidil Zafuan.
84th minute: JDT absolutely dominating the tempo at this juncture of the game, but Perak continue to nullify every attack by sitting deep in their own half.
90th minute+1: Cabrera finds Mahali with an excellent through ball, but the JDT winger could only fire against the side-netting, despite the likes of Safiq and Hazwan Bakri being unmarked inside the box. JDT’s skipper completely loses his cool after Mahali’s missed attempt.
FULL TIME: Perak 2-1 Johor DT
Man of the Match: Yashir Pinto
The 26 year-old was absolutely impressive tonight, putting in an impeccable shift on the left flank. Not only did he score Perak’s first goal via a deft touch that would have made the likes of Dimitar Berbatov proud, Pinto was a constant source of threat and caused Kunanlan plenty of trouble throughout the match. He created several good chances in the second half, and when Perak went 2-1 ahead, Pinto dropped back to help his side out defensively, as JDT upped their tempo. He was easily Perak’s best player on the pitch tonight.
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