PETALING JAYA: The return of winger Arif Aiman Hanapi (pic) is a boost for defending champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT).
Arif showed that an ankle injury that saw him missing out on action this season has healed when he scored a goal in JDT’s 4-0 demolition of Kelantan to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri
Arif did not play in JDT’s first two Super League matches against Kuala Lumpur and Negri Sembilan. He was also dropped from the national team before the World Cup 2026-Asian Cup 2027 second-round qualifier in Bishkek early this month.
JDT coach Hector Bidoglio was wearing a huge smile after seeing Arif get on the scoresheet.
“He has fully recovered from his ankle injury. I am happy with the minutes he got and the fact that he scored a goal and was menace on the flanks,” said Bidoglio.
“We can’t wait to have him in the first eleven soon.”
Arif came on as a substitute and scored the fourth goal in the 94th minute.
JDT’s Argentinian striker Fernando Forestieri scored in the dying minutes of the first half while the other goals came through two subsititutes - naturalised player Romel Morales (61st minute) and Portuguese midfielder Francisco Geraldes (82nd).
JDT will take on Malaysian University in the two-legged quarter-finals. The first leg will be at UPM Sports Centre on June 28, followed by the second on July 4 at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium.
Overall though, Bidoglio said JDT did well but under-performed in the first half.
“In the first-half, our opponents were resolute and it was tough to break them down because they closed the spaces,” he said.
“It was different in the next half. The dynamism was better and the intensity was brilliant. Our substitutes did a good job too.
“We attacked well from the flanks through Murilo (Henrique) and Arif. In the middle, we had Chico (Francisco Geraldes) and Romel who made good passes from the middle.’’
