Just A Few Things: Nagoya Grampus Vs. JDT
A Lot Of Changes, Same Result
Before the match, Johor Darul Takzim head coach Benjamin Mora has stated that it hasn’t been easy for the team as playing the six group games in 15 days has been taxing. Perhaps with that in mind, that could be one reason (The other being suspension to two players) why Mora has made a big number of changes to the starting line-up. Given that they are already eliminated from the AFC Champions League (ACL), it’s perhaps also an opportune time for Mora to do this while also looking to end their campaign this season with a win over a Ratchaburi next.
The only regulars that started were Leandro Velazquez, Mauricio and La’vere Corbin-Ong. The rest of the spots were filled with fringe players that even included an all-local front three of Ramadhan Saifullah, Akhyar Rashid and even a rare start for Hazwan Bakri. So, did those changes pay off? Well, it was a decent performance in the end. But decent sadly wasn’t enough to get something from the resolute J League side.
The one thing that did stand out for JDT was Ramadhan Saifullah celebrating his first ACL start by becoming the first player to score past Nagoya keeper Mitchell Langerak and the Nagoya defence in this group stage after the Australian did well to save Corbin-Ong’s attempted screamer. Unfortunately, JDT was 2-0 down prior to the goal. JDT did have a good share of possession, especially in the second half. However, they just couldn’t get through the famed Nagoya defence to get the 2nd goal and when the one time they did get through, Hazwan’s stinging strike got Langerak well beaten, but it struck the bar. In the end, Nagoya did ride out the storm with some ease as they held on to the win and qualify for the last 16 in the process. However, JDT’s backup charges did well to hold their own.
A Defence’s Tale Of Two Matches
In the first meeting between these two sides, JDT’s defensive discipline almost carried them to an improbable point, only for a lapse in concentration costing them. Here, that same discipline was almost non-existent. Adam Nor Azlin, known for his tackling, set the tone when he gave away a penalty after just two minutes when he fouled Mateus and the Brazilian converted the resulting spot-kick. But the defence can do nothing about Hiroyuki Abe’s spectacular strike. JDT was under the cosh until the 35th minute when they finally got a grip of proceedings.
But immediately after the second half, Nagoya had at least four or five promising chances to score a third and restore that two-goal advantage. But a combination of last-ditch defending, poor decision-making and poor finishing kept the scoreline down for JDT with the likes of Mateus and Yuki Soma were guilty of spurning opportunities. On some occasions, Haziq Nadzly and the defence would put themselves in danger as they failed to string passes from the back as the ball immediately fell back to Nagoya’s possession, but Nagoya just couldn’t take advantage. Eventually, the Southern Tigers regained control, but unlike their own defence, Nagoya’s famous defence line stood firm.
Natxo’s Deputy
Another change made by Mora was to start Syamer Kutty Abba as the holding midfielder in place of Natxo Insa who drops to the bench. Syamer came into this campaign under fire after subpar performances during international duty. However, he showed great composure in the middle as he kept things simple in starting the attack. Also, JDT, in an effort to bring more attacking prowess, would play a 3-2-5 in possession with Syamer dropping deep as the 3rd centre-back while acting as an effective pivot so that JDT can enjoy more time in Nagoya’s half.
Overall, Syamer had a 95.3% passing accuracy, 69 touches, winning three duels and made seven recoveries as his heat map was immense around the centre of the park. If he can set the tempo as Natxo always does best, he will be JDT’s long-term solution in that role.
Spurned On The Right
JDT tried to make headway into Nagoya’s final third by attacking down on the right as SofaScore showed that the JDT’s highest concentration of play came on the right, just slightly more than playing on the left. However, Nagoya’s left-back Yutaka Yoshida stood his ground well to make things difficult for JDT. Ramadhan and later, Mohamadou Sumareh all found it hard to get past the rock-solid left-back, who repeated his fine defensive performance as he did to Safawi Rasid on matchday one by using his physicality to shrug off attackers.
In this match, Yoshida made 65 touches, three clearances, two tackles, won 6/8 duels and he wasn’t dribbled past even once throughout the game. Overall, it was a fine shift put out by the left-back
He’s Back
He was absent in JDT’s last match Vs. Pohang Steelers as Mora probably wanted to give him a rest as part of a rotation. But once he’s back into the squad, he showed why JDT was sorely missing him influencing the middle of the park. Leandro Velazquez once again relished his role as the engine in JDT’s midfield. His heat map wasn’t as intense as his previous outings, but the stats showed his physical and defensive side. He had 60 touches, a 91.8% passing accuracy, three shots, won 6/7 duels, made three tackles and only lost possession six times.
This is the third game out of JDT’s five ACL matches so far that SofaScore rated Velazquez as JDT’s best player of the match. Velazquez this time had a 7.1 rating, just 0.1 behind SofaScore’s man-of-the-match Hiroyuki Abe.
THIS ARTICLE IS POWERED BY CYBERLYNX INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE: EDUCATION FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM
