Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Thanyaburi: Bangkok Glass of Thailand took a step closer to a place in the 2015 AFC Champions League group stage after comfortably defeating Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim 3-0 in the second round of qualifying at the Leo Stadium on Tuesday.
A spectacular first-half strike from Narong Jansawek and Lazarus Kaimbi's second-half brace gave the Thai Premier League outfit the win against the ambitious champions of the Malaysia Super League and there was even time for the hosts to miss a penalty.
The 2014 Thai FA Cup winners travel to China next Tuesday for a final play-off with Chinese Super League powerhouse Beijing Guoan.
While the home team, cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd, did most of the early running, Johor came close to breaking the deadlock midway through the first half. Jorge Pereyra Diaz curled the ball over the Bangkok wall but Narit Taweekul managed to turn it over the bar.
The deadlock was broken just before the half hour. The big-spending Malaysians failed to clear their lines from a free-kick and the ball fell to Narong outside the area. The midfielder took one touch and let fly with a thunderbolt that Farizal Marlias managed to get a left hand to but could not stop.
Three minutes before the break, Bangkok streamed forward in search of a second. Darko Tasevski released Kaimbi on the right side of the area only for the Namibian to fire just wide of the foot of Johor's left post. Seconds later, Tanasith Siripala broke through on the opposite side but the striker's tame shot was easily saved by Farizal.
Johor emerged from the restart determined to get back on level terms but were caught by a classic counter-attack after 52 minutes. Tasevski picked up the ball in the centre-circle and advanced into Malaysian territory before splitting the defence with an inch-perfect pass. This time Kaimbi made no mistake, scoring with a low shot from just inside the area.
Ten minutes later, it was all over as a contest. Johor's goalkeeper Farizal could only block a shot from Leandro but could not prevent Kaimbi grabbing his second and his team's third from close range.
With a minute it almost got worse as Tanasith picked up the ball and dribbed past three defenders, only to be chopped down by Fadli Shas in the area. Taveski stepped up and, while he sent Farizal the wrong way, he also sent the kick on to the crossbar but the miss proved not to be costly as Bangkok ran out comfortable winners.