Mora hails newbies for playing their hearts out

Consolation goal: JDT’s Ramadhan Saifullah (left) celebrating with Nazmi Faiz Mansor after scoring against Japan’s Nagoya Grampus. — AFP

PETALING JAYA: Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) coach Benjamin Mora decided to play the tinkerman... and it almost paid dividends against vaulted Japanese club Nagoya Grampus in the AFC Champions League.

With JDT out of the running from Group G to qualify for the knockout stage of the competition, Mora fielded a very young squad and they did well despite losing 1-2 to Nagoya at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok on Sunday.