Johor DT won the FA Cup for the first time since 1998, adding yet another trophy to their ever-expanding cabinet of silverwares. But it wasn’t a complete whitewash was it – PKNS were a major threat on the night. Thanks to one man though, the Southern Tigers held on for an impeccable win.
From the first five minutes, it was clear what Hariss Harun‘s job was in this particular game. He was to sit deep, act as a protective membrane for the defence and get the ‘dirty job’ done.
And while the PKNS front three were more than handful, Hariss was absolutely stellar in helping Marcos and Aidil marshall their defence. But perhaps the more impressive bit was his desire to pick out the likes of Diaz and Azamuddin, with defence-splitting passes.
The first 45 minutes was incredibly nervy, and it was Hariss that provided the necessary composure in the heart of JDT’s mifield. As expected, E. Elavarasan’s men kept a close eye on Safiq Rahim, but Hariss compensated by stepping up and producing excellent passes for the likes of Diaz and Juan Martin Lucero.
His influence though, was a lot more crucial in the second half, when PKNS piled men forward, hunting after the coveted equalizer. His tackles were timed to perfection and his positional awareness significantly derailed Gabriel Guerra’s ability to influence PKNS’ tempo and style of play.
But of course, there were a couple of other notable mentions as well. Guerra was brilliant for PKNS and made full use of every opening that was gifted to him. He scored PKNS’s opening goal and single-handedly created a monumental chance for Cobelli in the second half, though the Argentinean striker could only fire wide.
JDT’s Jorge Diaz is another name worth mentioning. PKNS’ defenders kept a close eye on him, but as every other MSL defender would admit, Diaz is difficult to mark due to his tendency of switching positions across the front three. He did the same thing today, though the wet pitch and PKNS’ aggresive defending made it difficult for him to be as effective as he would have liked to be. Either way, he did score JDT’s winning goal on the night.
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