Just A Few Things: Johor Darul Takzim Vs. Terengganu
Credit: MFL
NIKMATILAH!
This match certainly had the atmosphere of a high-profile game. It was the league leaders taking on third-placed dark horses looking to shake up the top of the table. If you want more proof of how big the match is, at least 300,000 people tuned in on YouTube to watch it. Even though the two teams are high on the league table, Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) will always tend to win these matches to widen the gap from the top to the rest if history tells us anything. Instead, what each of those 300,000 people (And the people inside the Stadium Sultan Ibrahim) witnessed was Terengganu using a nitro boost on their car to close the gap to the top to only two points en route to becoming the first-ever team to beat JDT at their new home.
This, alongside Penang’s emphatic 3-0 victory over an atrocious Pahang side on the same night and Kedah’s dramatic comeback 3-2 win over KL on Friday now sees the gap between 1st and 4th is now four points. With JDT’s defeat, it proves that while difficult, beating them can be done if you get the tactics right and that was exactly what Terengganu head coach Nafuzi Zain did.
Before we get into how this result came about: If there are any new viewers/followers among those 300,000 people who watched the match, let us say this to you: NIKMATILAH! Welcome to the Malaysian Super League!
The title race is on!
Toothless Tigers
This was, by far, the bluntest night displayed by JDT in recent memory. It was uncharacteristic for the Southern Tigers potting so many shots, but neither one seemed to have troubled Terengganu keeper Suhaimi Husin at goal. To give you an indication of how JDT’s night went, they had 24 shots with 12 on-target and 15 corners. Yes, JDT dominated proceedings, but it’s shocking that neither one had the same impact as Terengganu if you compare the shots they had to the chances Faisal Abdul Halim and David Da Silva had in the first half where they should’ve put the Turtles ahead much earlier.
The more time passed, the more frantic JDT became to find that elusive equalizer. They kept bombarding the Terengganu box with shots and deliveries into the box late on. And to be fair, JDT did get a few golden free headers. But they were spurned by the likes of Gonzalo Cabrera and Bergson, who definitely will want to forget this match quickly as he had 11 shots at goal and neither of them got in. JDT was also lacklustre in their last match against Pahang, but this time around, everything they did just doesn’t work.
Jangan Masuk
JDT’s attacking troubles were not helped at all by Terengganu's tremendous defensive discipline. Like a turtle shell, Terengganu’s defensive set-up has been rock-solid as JDT was having so much trouble breaking through a defence line. In the first half, Terengganu’s compactness made sure JDT can’t attack the in-laps with passing lanes getting blocked and blocking any sight on goal. They had trouble playing the ball into the box, to the point where six out of JDT’s eight shots in the first half came from outside the box.
When the second half came, Terengganu became more and more alert to keep out any impending JDT attack as the home side upped the tempo. Tackles were made, intriguing duels were settled and danger was cleared by booting the ball up. Even when JDT tried to attack down the wings, either their crosses didn’t meet their target or they were thwarted by Terengganu’s full-backs, most notably Azam Azmi. Despite facing the likes of Cabrera, La’vere Corbin-Ong and later, Ramadhan Saifullah, Azam rose to the occasion and made life difficult for each of those players who are known to cause damage. Terengganu may have ridden their luck here, but they got out unscathed with the three points and that is all that matters to them.
Defensive Shake-Up
In certain parts of the match, both sides had to make enforced changes to their back-line neither wanted to make. S. Kunanlan was replaced by Matthew Davies in 20 minutes. Another 20 minutes later, Mauricio suffered the effects of his tackle on Faisal Abdul Halim and had to be subbed off too. Strangely, midfielder Syamer Kutty Abba was brought on instead of the more obvious choice of Aidil Zafuan.
Perhaps head coach Benjamin Mora wanted a ball-playing defender, but the pairing of Syamer and Adam Nor Azlin looked off, especially when Terengganu striker David Da Silva started to press. Da Silva made sure Syamer would not have an easy time on the ball and this was the catalyst to the game’s only goal. The JDT defence somehow got into a rare mess and that allowed Hakimi Abdullah to force through to score Terengganu’s only shot on-target in the entire 2nd half. That fact alone made JDT’s efforts to equalize even worse in perspective.
As for Terengganu, captain Carli De Murga suffered a knock just a few minutes into the second half and could not continue. Shahrul Nizam Ros Hasni came on to replace him. There was a sense Terengganu’s backline will falter with the absence of De Murga, but his central defence partner Muhammad Faudzi stepped up and became a defence commander, helping the backline to keep their wits and not committing any silly mistakes while he himself made sure it won’t be easy for JDT to get shots past him. Like Azam, Faudzi also deserves plaudits for a great performance.
