Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Johor Bahru: Johor Darul Ta’zim head coach Mario Gomez was pleased his men showed character to fend off stubborn South China resistance as they defeated the visitors 2-1 in their quarter-final second leg match to advance into the AFC Cup semi-finals 3-2 on aggregate.
After Safiq Rahim saw his early second-half penalty saved, Juan Martin Lucero and Jorge Pererya Diaz scored to put the defending champions in a commanding position. An injury time goal through Nikola Komazec reduced the deficit for South China.
“We had to be patient with our approach as South China played a very tough game,” said Gomez.
“They had nothing to lose and kept coming at us. It was only after the second goal that we felt more at peace with ourselves.”
The Argentinean admitted it had not been easy for his men to pull through their toughest test this season as they had to deal with a long season of domestic and international commitments.
“We are at this stage of the season where our minds begin to tire,” he said. “We have been playing matches every three days.
“We looked for options continuously on the pitch even though it was difficult for us tonight as South China did not hold back.”