PETALING JAYA: Johor Darul Ta’zim’s (JDT) Bergson da Silva hailed his teammates’ fighting spirit against Thailand’s Buriram United despite bowing out in the Asean Club Championship Shopee Cup semi-finals.
Although losing 1-2 to the Southern Tigers in the semi-final second leg, title holders Buriram secured their final ticket after a 4-3 aggregate win at the Chang Arena on Wednesday.
Visitors JDT, who were down 1-3 after the first leg clash at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, refused to surrender and mounted a spirited comeback as they forced the match into extra time after levelling the aggregate score at 3-3 within 90 minutes.
However, Kingsley Schindler struck in extra time to send Buriram through to the final and keep their hope of retaining the title alive against Selangor.
Bergson said the team were not threatened by the intense atmosphere at the Thai stadium, and praised his team for forcing the match into extra time.
“The atmosphere did not matter to us; we are used to playing games like these, and we showed that,” said Bergson.
“To take the match into extra time after leading 2-0 at Buriram is not easy. We continue to grow as a team, and we will take this as part of our learning curve.”
Bergson netted a spot kick for JDT in the first half before Marcos Guilherme equalised in the second to force the match into extra time. Schindler scored the winning goal in the first 15 minutes of added time.
Buriram were later reduced to nine men after Guilherme Bissoli and Goran Causic were sent off, but the Thai champions held firm to secure their place in the final.
In the other semi-final clash, Selangor came out on top after beating Vietnam’s Nam Dinh 4-1 on aggregate.
The first leg of the final will take place on Wednesday at the Petaling Jaya Stadium before the return leg is played at the Chang Arena a week later.
