PETALING JAYA: Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) coach Xisco Munoz said the players must be more “mature” when playing away in the AFC Champions League (ACL) Elite after his side suffered their first loss in the competition yesterday.
The Spaniard also refused to blame the cold weather in South Korea in the 2-0 defeat to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium.
“There is no excuse for this loss, because almost 90 per cent of our team is formerly European based,” said Munoz.
He added that the Southern Tigers had a good share of the possession but lacked the cutting edge against a dangerous opponent.
“All the teams, when they are playing the Champions League, they are stronger.
“We had more chances as we put in more crosses than them, but they were more lethal in their finishing.
“We also need to be more mature when playing away against a strong side.
“We gifted Jeonbuk some chances and in the last third, we weren’t sharp enough.
“We must learn from these details to get better when we play away next time.”
Jeonbuk broke the deadlock in the 21st minute when towering Brazilian striker Bruno Mota rose to head in a cross from winger Kim Jin-gyu, leaving JDT goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi with no chance.
Syihan’s night worsened just before the break when he fouled winger Lee Dong-jun in the box.
Brazilian winger Italo Vargas converted the penalty in the 45th minute.
There was some consolation forJDT, however, as striker Joao Figueiredo and centreback Jon Irazabal made their comebacks after serving one-year suspensions imposed by FIFA for the use of falsified documents.
Figueiredo, one of seven players banned by FIFA whose suspensions ended on Nov 1, returned to action in the 46th minute, replacing Argentinian wingback Jonathan Silva.
Irazabal, another of the seven, followed in the 86th minute, coming on for Spanish centreback Antonio Glauder.
