Eyes on the ball: JDT’s Arif Aiman Hanapi (left) trying to get past two Pathum United players at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) may have failed to advance to the last 16 of the Asian Champions League (ACL) but their manager Esteban Solari is still proud of what his players have shown in their Group I campaign.
JDT carved out an impressive 4-1 win over Thailand’s Pathum United in their final group match at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri on Tuesday.
Despite the win, JDT fell short of advancing to the knockout stage, finishing third in Group I with nine points from six matches.
The group’s outcome was sealed after the match between South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai and Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale ended in a 2-2 draw, with the latter topping the group with 16 points and the former finishing second with 10 points.
Solari said the players showed good commitment throughout the entire season and deserve praise indeed.
“We were up against the best team in the Thai League and it is not an easy task. Even in the first half, we clearly struggled to match the opponents’ style of play when they played tactically.
“We really broke sweat to counter the strengths of the opposing team after trailing 0-1.
“When the second half started, my players showed real quality and returned to a consistent pattern of play.
“Even in the second half, every player redoubled their efforts and when we won a penalty kick, it was a moment of revival to continue the momentum of the high intensity game,” he said.
Brazilian Bergson da Silva bagged a brace against Pathum, scoring in the 55th and 66th minutes.
JDT completed their come-from-behind win with goals from another Brazilian Endrick dos Santos (88th) and Arif Aiman Hanapi (90th).
The Thai side took the lead through Igor Sergeev in the 28th minute.
Asked about the performance of Spanish player Natxo Insa, who returned to competitive action after being out of action for nearly 10 months due to injury, Solari was happy with the quality of the JDT captain’s game.
“His fitness is still not at optimum level but that’s understandable after being out of action for so long.
“I am happy with his performance although he saw action for a brief period.”
A big celebration party is planned when JDT host Penang in their final Super League match of the season on Saturday.
