Johor Darul Ta’zim outclassed Pahang to clinch all three points at the Stadium Darul Makmur last night.
With nine points clear on top, Johor Darul Ta’zim have now secured three consecutive league wins, and also increased their chances of possibly securing their fourth consecutive Super League title.
In what was deemed the toughest match of the season, Johor Darul Ta’zim started off with a jaw-dropping 2nd-minute goal from Gonzalo Cabrera.
Pahang got more fiery in the second half and had many chances to equalise, but it was JDT that went in for a second goal in the final minutes of the match.
Going into the 86th minute, JDT’s Hazwan Bakri made a run down the right, escaped Pahang defenders and crossed to Safiq Rahim in the centre, who crossed to Natxo Insa on the left, and the former Levante man finished off brilliantly.
The scoreline saw Pahang drop to third place on the Super League table, while JDT continues their lead with 9 points clear on top.
However, Pahang’s head coach Dollah Salleh asserts that his players gave their best shot last night, and blamed the defeat on luck.
“Of course we’re disappointed because we lost to JDT. We wanted things to end differently, but luck was not on our side. But I’m happy with how my team performed.” the coach said after the match last night.
“We did better in the second half, we attacked more and had more chances to score. JDT lingered in their own place. So when they entered ours, we steal the ball and go in for a counter attack.”
“We couldn’t convert our chances. Yes I’m disappointed but this is not the end.”
Pahang will be meeting PKNS in the next Super League fixture on 15th of July at the Shah Alam stadium. According to the coach, what they have to do is keep up the good performance.
“What we have is already good. We just need to fine tune our tactics a bit more, we can do much better and go much further.” the coach said.
“When we meet PKNS, we will keep doing our best. We’re still competing to get on top. Nothing changes.”
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