JOHOR BAHRU, 2022, OCTOBER 15 – Johor Darul Ta’zim FC (JDT) maintained their unbeaten record in 22 matches this season when they beat Sabah FC 3-0 in the last fixture of the Malaysia Super League at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium.
The Southern Tigers successfully repeated their invincible season after achieving this feat in the 2016 and 2020 season. This result dented the hopes of Datuk Ong Kim Swee‘s squad in their quest for an AFC Cup slot next season.
Without fielding Fernando Forestieri who is still plagued by injury, JDT manager Héctor Bidoglio placed his trust in Syafiq Ahmad in the starting line-up after his excellent performance with two goals in the win over Kedah Darul Aman FC (KDA FC) 4-1 last Tuesday.
JDT opened the scoring in the 16th minute with a relentless run by Arif Aiman Hanapi on the right wing and squares a defense-splitting cross to Bérgson da Silva who slotted the ball into the left of the goal, beating wrong-footed goalkeeper, Khairul Fahmi Che Mat.
Bérgson almost scored the second goal in the 30th minute after receiving a pass from Nazmi Faiz Mansor, but the current top scorer’s shot was deflected by Khairul Fahmi, which caused him to suffer an injury and had to be replaced by Damien Lim.
The hosts extended the lead in the 38th minute with Arif Aiman’s superb long range free kick 25 meters out, he buried it in the top left corner – no chance for Damien.
Entering into the second half, JDT maintained their dominance in the game with a series of attacks into Sabah’s defense.
Bérgson continued to threaten Sabah’s goal as he doubled his tally with an acrobatic shot following Dominic Tan‘s failure to clear the ball from danger – his 29th league goal of the season.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
JOHOR DARUL TA’ZIM FC
Starting Lineup: 1. Farizal Marlias, 2. Matthew Davies, 32. Shahrul Saad, 15. Feroz Baharudin (7. Aidil Zafuan 87′), La’Vere Corbin-Ong (19. Akhyar Rashid 79′), 30. Natxo Insa, 10. Leandro Velázquez, 21. Nazmi Faiz (91. Syahmi Safari 79′), 42. Arif Aiman (11. Safawi Rasid 87′), 9. Bérgson da Silva, 28. Syafiq Ahmad (81. Daryl Sham 67′)
Unused Substitutes: 26. Haziq Nadzli, 6. Nathaniel Shio Hong Wan, 8. Safiq Rahim, 13. Mohamadou Sumareh
SABAH FA
Starting Lineup: 19. Khairul Fahmi Che Mat (31. Damien Lim 33′), 33. Dominic Tan, 2. Mohd Hanafie, 3. Rawilson Batuil, 15. Rizal Ghazali, 20. Gary Steven Robbat, 7. Baddrol Bakhtiar (17. Amri Yahyah 58′), 11. Alto Linus (5. Gerald Gadit 58′), 12. Thanabalan Nadarajah (9. Farhan Roslan 76′), 67. Saddil Ramdani, 10. Taiki Kagayama (80. Azhad Harraz 76′)
Unused Substitutes: 1. Ramzi Mustakim, 13. Badrul Afendy Fadzli, 88. Maxsius Musa
GOALS
Johor Darul Ta’zim: Bérgson da Silva (17′, 55′), Arif Aiman (39′)
Sabah: N/A
