Forces park the bus to hold JDT to a goalles draw

Johor Darul Ta

JOHOR BARU: Armed Forces took a note from flamboyant Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho’s playbook by “parking the bus” in front of their goal against Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) in a Group C Malaysia Cup match.

The Southern Tigers failed to outwit a stubborn Forces defence despite creating clear-cut chances and the match ended in a 0-0 draw at the Larkin Stadium on Tuesday. National striker Norshahrul Idlan Talaha managed to score but it was ruled offside by the assistant referee.

JDT coach Bojan Hodak was frustrated by Forces’ tactics.

“Forces put nine of their players behind the ball. We created a lot of chances but wasted all of them,” lamented the Croatian.

Forces coach B. Sathianathan defended his strategy, saying there were playing without four of their regulars.

“JDT are full of quality players. If we had played to their tempo, we would have been in trouble. My players did well to contain the JDT forwardline. Our skipper Hairuddin Omar was also outstanding in the sweeper’s role,” he said.

The soldiers have two points from two matches, after their 1-1 draw in their opening match against Penang last week. 

JDT lead the group with four points with Kelantan just a point behind following their 3-1 win against Penang on Tuesday.