Just A Few Things: Persija Jakarta Vs. JDT

Deserved Thrashing On JDT

There are too many questions going on about JDT here. Firstly, what was Raul Longhi thinking? Why going for a 5-4-1 formation that they are not familiar with? What was their approach? Where was the fight and urgency? Why was Adam Nor Azlin the right wing-back? The chance to advance to the next stage of the AFC Cup was there and it’s astounding and baffling they didn’t want to take it after the way they set-up, following Longhi’s post-match comments.

JDT were brutally exposed in every single department and made Persija look like they were in a thrilling amusement park. Persija has all the resources to cause JDT so much grief, outgunning them and tore them apart. By the time JDT finally got some control, it was too late. The damage was done. Persija deserved this by far and JDT looks set to exit the AFC Cup early.

Why Was Simic Let Go Again?

It’s amazing to think about what the likes of Negeri Sembilan (N9), Melaka and Kelantan were doing to let Marko Simic out of their grip. The Croatian will surely supply the goals and that’s exactly what he did. He scored all four Persija’s goals where he scored a hat-trick in the opening 19 minutes. The service he got was tremendous.

You can say Melaka can be forgiven as they found a good replacement in Yahor Zubovich, but N9 and Kelantan, who had a chance to sign the striker earlier in the season, will be further ridiculed on why they haven’t secured Simic.

Watch Out For Persija’s Three R’s

Persija’s right-winger Riko Simanjuntak was one player amazing to watch in this match. He was a menace on the right-wing with his pace and energy. Fazly Mazlan was given a torrid time trying to keep the dimunitive winger in check. Riko drifted in the space behind Fazly to collect a long ball and duly set up Simic for Persija’s first goal, started the play that lead to the third goal and his persistence also helped won the penalty for the fourth goal.

Rezaldi Hehanusa also played a huge part by providing great service from the left-hand side and provided a brilliant free-kick that lead to Simic’s 2nd goal while Ramdani Lestaluhu, who has been the exceptional playmaker, was the one who engineered the first goal by providing the long ball to Riko and assisted the third goal with an easy cutback. They have an offensive threat from all three fronts and even if you closely make one of them, they can still find a way to score.

One Rebuilding Process Bigger Than Ever Before For JDT

If JDT were to be Super League champions again, then they need to really think about what they need as Malaysian clubs will be taking part in the AFC Champions League for the first time starting 2019 onwards. Longhi said he needed to rotate the squad due to the danger of burning out during the season. If that is the case, then their back-up starting 11 were clearly not good enough.

If they want to take on the top Asian clubs, they need a very deep squad to rely on and also possibly a new head coach to guide them. Although, they already signed French/Martinique winger Harry Novillo and also set to secure a 26-year old striker from Latin America. At least they started somewhere, but they may also need to consider who is heading out the door to make room for more new players.