LionsXII spoil JDT’s outing

JOHOR BARU — For most of the 66 minutes that he played, Pablo Aimar did not seem too pleased with the up-close-and-personal treatment he received as the LionsXII tried to put him off.

But Johor Darul Takzim’s (JDT) Argentinian schemer still conjured up two moments of brilliance which could have given JDT a 2-0 win over the defending Malaysian Super League (MSL) champions at the Larkin Stadium last night.

Although Khairul Amri and Hafiz Abu Sujad scored in a three-minute spell during the second half to cancel out Luciano Figueroa’s incisively-taken goal and Aimar’s own brilliant and unstoppable free-kick, LionsXII coach Fandi Ahmad admitted that 34-year-old Aimar was a massive thorn in the LionsXII side as the teams finished 2-2.

“Aimar is a genius. And it is always hard to close a genius down,” he said. “We didn’t close him down fast enough and given his abilities we knew we could be punished ... It was obvious we were jittery at the start of the match. The atmosphere must have got to the boys but I just could not believe we were down by two goals in the first half.”

Although denied a second league win after last week’s 2-1 victory over Selangor, Fandi added: “At the end we are glad to have a point, although it could have been all three for us.”

Playing before a packed 30,000-capacity sea of blue and red at the Larkin Stadium, the hosts had to lift their game particularly after a tepid start to the season that included a 1-0 loss to T-Team in Kuala Terengganu last week.

The ambitious JDT side needed results to start justifying their pre-season spending, including bringing in former Benfica and Valencia star Aimar for a two-year deal reportedly worth RM7.2 million (S$2.75 million) as the MSL’s highest-paid player.

Early on, Aimar stamped his authority and was unsettling a LionsXII defence made more vulnerable by defensive midfielder and captain Isa Halim walking a disciplinary tightrope after an early caution for a foul on the diminutive Argentinian. Aimar, sensing the visitors’ apprehension, found space in the 27th minute to open up a flat LionsXII backline for Figueroa to put JDT ahead, before Aimar’s free-kick doubled JDT’s advantage after 41 minutes.

However, JDT coach Cesar Jimenez’s decision to replace the tiring Argentinian with Norshahrul Idlan Talaha after 66 minutes may have proven costly as JDT momentarily lost their focal point, indirectly leading to the goals from Amri (66th) and Hafiz (68th).

“I know what the LionsXII are capable of. Even when we were leading 2-0, I felt something will happen,” said JDT’s former LionsXII defender Baihakki Khaizan.

But it was throwing centre-back Safuwan Baharudin as an auxiliary forward late in the second-half that proved a masterstroke by Fandi.

“I always think Safuwan can be made into an effective striker because he loves playing in that position,” said Fandi. “He made all the difference in the second half with his incisive runs which unsettled the JDT defence. Maybe I will consider him as a striker from now on if we have everybody back and injury-free.”

He added: “Judging from their performance, I believe the LionsXII (this season) have grown into men.”