AFC Champions League Elite - Bidoglio confident JDT will progress

Gosford: Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) head coach Hector Bidoglio is confident the 2-1 win over Central Coast Mariners on Tuesday will be the platform for qualification to the AFC Champions League Elite™ 2024/25 knockout stage.

The Malaysian champions took a significant step towards a place in the Round of 16 as the win - their first on the road this season - took them to 11 points, leaving destiny in their own hands ahead of a crunch final League Stage fixture against FC Pohang Steelers next week.

#ACLElite | Central Coast Mariners (AUS) 1 - 2 Johor Darul Ta’zim (MAS)

“We knew this was going to be a difficult game but I’m very happy with the performance of the players,” said Bidoglio.

“We scored twice and showed all the time that we want to keep possession and control the pitch.

“This is a very important result for the club but now we need to continue working and focus on the next game because it’s another important one for us. We will do our best to qualify.”

New signing Alvaro Gonzalez was the toast of the team after scoring a second half brace to give JDT maximum points.

The 35-year-old centre-back, who had previously turned out for Al Nassr and Al Qadsiah, revelled in the win after spending months away from the pitch.

“This victory is an important one for the team and also on a personal level because I have been working alone for seven months,” said the Spaniard. “To score two goals to help the team win on my return is an amazing feeling because of the faith the team had in me.

“We worked hard for the win and we are very happy to be able to achieve our target.”

Despite suffering their sixth defeat of the campaign, Mariners head coach Mark Jackson was proud of his team’s resilience following Dylan Peraic-Cullen’s first half sending off.

Injuries to Trent Sainsbury and Ryan Edmonson saw the Australian side further hampered but they were still able to draw level thanks to an Alou Koul goal as they made JDT work hard for the win.

“Immensely proud of the team because we came through a lot of adversities and challenges within 90 plus minutes of football,” said Jackson. “Apart from the result, we ticked a lot of boxes in my mind.

“We had to accept the decision (red card) and deal with it and for most parts in the second half we did, but we did fall short a little in conceding the second goal.”

Bidoglio confident JDT will progress

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