KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian powerhouse and 2023 Super League champion Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) suffered a demoralising 1-3 defeat to 10-man Ulsan Hyundai from South Korea in their third Group I AFC Champions League match yesterday.
In the highly anticipated match played at the Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium, Ulsan Hyundai who are the 2012 and 2020 champions punished some poor defending from JDT to score three goals within the first 20 minutes.
Ulsan Hyundai skipper Jun Seung Hyun gave the K1 League leaders a flying start as early as the 5th minute by beating JDT goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi Mohamed with an easy tap in from a corner kick.
The Ulsan side coached by Hong Myung Bo did not have to wait for long to add on to JDT’s misery when Gustav Ludwigson shrugged off JDT defender Matthew Davies to rifle his shot into the net by the 12th minute.
JDT’s nightmare was not over as six minutes later (18th min) Ludwigson once again swept past Davies inside the penalty box and beat Ahmad Syihan again.
Ulsan Hyundai were reduced to 10-man in the 36th minute when defender Kim Tae Hwan was given the marching orders after a second yellow card offence.
However, despite playing almost two-thirds of the match with 10-man, JDT failed to take advantage as Ulsan held firmly.
JDT scored a consolation goal through Bergson Da Silva in the 53rd minute.
The defeat was JDT’s second in three matches, after having lost the opening match 0-1 to Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale on Sept 19, although the squad managed to regroup by beating BG Pathum from Thailand 4-2 on Oct 3. – BERNAMA
