LEANDRO Velazquez celebrates his goal while helping JDT defeat Ulsan Hyundai in the Group I match of the Asian Champions League at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri today. -
ISKANDAR PUTERI: Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) made history by advancing to the round of 16 of the Asian Champions League (ACL) after beating former ACL champion Ulsan Hyundai 2-1 at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, just now.
Even sweeter, the result of the last match of Group I saw Benjamin Mora's squad finish as the group leaders to advance to the knockout round.
Ulsan Hyundai player's own goal, Pang Yong Woo in the last minute of the match saw the Southern Tigers squad manage to grab three valuable points.
Playing at home, JDT almost got an early goal as early as the second minute as a result of the movement of Arif Aiman Hanapi who slipped in from the right wing before feeding the ball to Bergson Da Silva but the opportunity was wasted by the Brazilian-born striker.
Bergson continued to come restless for the opposing team through his nimble movement and managed to win a free kick for the Southern Tigers in a strategic position.
Leandro Velázquez, who was assigned to take the free kick, did the job perfectly after his shot went over the wall and then beat South Korea's national goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo in the fifth minute.
The joy of the Southern Tigers camp with the goal did not last long when Hong Myung Bo's squad managed to tie the score 60 seconds later.
The failure of Mathew Davies to remove the ball from the danger zone gave space for Lee Myung Jae to intercept the kick and then feed the ball to Jun Amano who shot hard to beat Farizal Marlias in the sixth minute.
The visitors almost added a goal in the 14th minute with a quick attack but Yun Illok's effort went wide.
Mora's men are seen facing some difficulty playing in the evening for the first time in the ACL tournament this season.
The situation became more difficult after Natxo Insa who was taken out to be replaced by Nathaniel Hong Wan was seen to have slightly affected the tactics of JDT's game in terms of dominance in the middle.
Ulsan Hyundai doubled the pressure towards JDT's fort and Amano once again tried to make an accurate attempt towards the goal in the 17th minute, but this time Farizal was more prepared to fire the shot.
In the 24th minute, the match referee, Nawaf Abdulla Shukralla made a controversial decision when he denied Fernando Forestieri's goal which was counted as offside after receiving a pass from Afiq Fazail.
Continuing the second half, JDT once again fell victim to the referee's decision when the opposing defender who dropped Arif Aiman in the penalty box was not punished by the referee from Bahrain in the 46th minute.
In the 60th minute, Leandro almost added his personal goal but a curling shot from outside the penalty box slightly missed past the opponent's goal.
JDT was seen to be able to defend well to break the current attack of the South Korean giants who tried to add a goal to put the team in a comfortable position.
Harimau Selatan almost scored as a result of attempts by substitutes Safawi Rasid and Ramadhan Saifullah but failed to score.
When JDT was seen to have almost collapsed in the group stage, the last attack of the host team through a pass to Arif Aiman into the penalty box was quiz Yong Woo to grab an important victory in the history of the club. - ONLINE MESSENGER
