Buriram United FC coach Mark Jackson said he never doubted his team’s ability to claim a positive result from the first leg of their ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™ semi-final clash with Johor Darul Ta’zim FC after seeing his side secure a 3-1 win on Wednesday.
Guilherme Bissoli scored twice for the defending champions in Johor to give the Thai League 1 outfit a two-goal lead ahead of the second leg between the teams in Buriram next Wednesday.
“I always believe in my team and that they can win football matches and, in particular, big games so I had full belief in the team and the squad,” said the Englishman.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game coming here against a good crowd, a good team but I have belief that my football team can win matches and I fully believed that tonight.
“Throughout the game we showed excellent discipline with how we wanted to play, the work rate of the players and the understanding of the players.
“The whole game my players showed fantastic resilience and quality. I’m really, really pleased but we understand it’s only halftime. So we have to be focused and ready for the next game.”
Buriram secured a two-goal lead by the end of the first half through goals from Bissoli and Goran Čaušić but, while Ager Aketxe’s miss-hit cross flew over Neil Etheridge in the 92nd minute to halve the deficit, Bissoli netted again two minutes later with a stunning volley.
“We bounced back immediately,” Jackson said of his side’s reaction to Aketxe’s goal. “That’s the character of the team, that’s the resilience of the team. Even in that moment it could have been very deflating for the team with two or three minutes left in the game.
“It’s a key moment, but I’ve got strong characters in this team. We’ve got strong belief. We work together and we managed to get that two-goal lead again. We’re happy with the result but we know it’s only halftime and we’ll be ready to go again.”
JDT coach Xisco Muñoz was left frustrated by the outcome as the Malaysia Super League side slipped to a third defeat at the hands of Buriram United in five meetings between the clubs in all competitions over the last 18 months.
“We’re sad about the result and we can say sorry to our fans because it’s true they had more success than us,” he said. “This is difference in the game.
“We tried to control the game but football, at the end of the day, is about who has the capacity to score more. What’s incredible is they shot three times and they scored three goals. Sometimes life is hard but in these situations we need to learn.
“Football has some situations with ups and downs. It’s one game. We need to put the focus on the next one. It’s normal that everyone is sad because we never lose. Sometimes it’s difficult to understand that.”
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