KUALA LUMPUR: Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) head coach Xisco Munoz delivered a frank verdict on his team’s contrasting performance after their 2-2 draw with PKR Svay Rieng in the Asean Club Championship (ACC), admitting his side showed “two faces” before a late resurgence salvaged a point.
“One of the things we can watch today in the game was two faces,” he said.
“The first half was not our style, not our values, not our face. But the positive thing is, we had a good reaction to the second half. The second half we dominated, we had chances, and if the game was maybe five minutes more, we could have taken the three points.”
Munoz was especially critical of JDT’s early approach, pointing out that his players were second-best in duels and too direct in possession.
“We lost all the duels in the first half. We didn’t have our situation in our style; we tried to play long balls… It’s not an excuse because it’s not our style, and this is what we don’t want,” he said.
But the Spaniard praised their character after half-time, saying the turnaround restored the identity he expected.
“The second half, we start improving, growing up like our style, our character, our power,” he said.
Despite the draw, Munoz noted that JDT’s position remains favourable, with the Malaysian champions still unbeaten after three ACC matches.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
