Don’t lose your roar
Captain Hariss urges JDT to carry on battle in AFC Champions League
PETALING JAYA: Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) skipper Hariss Harun wants his teammates to show more conviction in their AFC Champions League campaign.
The Southern Tigers fell to their second defeat in Group E following a 1-2 loss to Shandong Luneng despite a valiant effort at the Jinan Olympic Sports Centre Stadium on Tuesday.
The Chinese club raced ahead with goals from Marouane Fellaini (30th) and Graziano Pelle (39th) for a 2-0 half-time lead before JDT staged a fightback which resulted in Safawi Rasid’s stunning long-range goal (59th).
The loss leaves the Malaysian champions bottom of the group with a point.
Japan’s Kashima Antlers lead the group with seven points, Shandong are second with five points and South Korea’s Gyeongnam have two points.
The Southern Tigers now face an uphill task to reach the knockout rounds but Hariss reckons they were unlucky not to return with a point after Gonzalo Cabrera’s free-kick hit the cross-bar in added time.
“We must have the belief and confidence that we can play how we want to play at this level,” said the Singapore international.
“We showed it in the first two games and today in the second half. The challenge for us is to try to improve and maintain this level ... We have to play like this throughout the whole game and not just for one half.
“But I think we can take heart from the second-half showing and we’ll try to move on and look forward to the next game.”
The 28-year-old admitted JDT were slow off the blocks in the opening 45 minutes and it ultimately cost them the game.
“We didn’t start as well as we would have liked. We didn’t have confidence on the ball. In the second half, we came out better,” Hariss added.
“We had more mobility, we moved a lot more and it was easier for us to keep the ball. We tried to create chances but it wasn’t easy against a physical team.
“But I think in the end, we tried to push all the way until the last whistle and it was just a bit unfortunate for us.”