ACL: JDT, Kawasaki Frontale tie 0-0

ISKANDAR PUTERI, April 21 (Bernama) -- Johor Darul Ta'zim’s hopes of continuing their winning streak on home ground were halted when they could only muster a 0-0 draw with J1 League leader Kawasaki Frontale in Group I of the AFC Champions League (ACL) at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, here tonight.

From the starting whistle, the two sides strategized hard to crack each other's goal but were unsuccessful.

Several early attempts by the squad under Toru Oniki missed the target.

For the Southern Tigers, in the closing seconds of the first half, defender Leandro Velazquez’s shot was not strong enough to beat the goalie while Bergson Da Silva’s kick missed the right of the goalmouth in the 40th minute.

The score remained 0-0 until the end of the first half.

In the second half, both teams stepped up their tempo to search for the elusive goal as attempt after attempt proved fruitless.

Kawasaki Frontale made two changes by retiring Daiyan Tono and Kaazuya Yamamura, with Yasuto Wakizaka and Shintaro Kurumaya to boost their chances.

JDT also made similar moves by replacing Velazquez with Safiq Rahim while Arif Aiman was substituted by Safawi Rasid; Afiq Fazail with Nazmi Faiz;  Da Silva with Ramadhan Saifullah and Fernando Forestieri with Hazwan Bakri.

These chess moves however did not result in any change to the score, despite creating many chances.

With the match outcome, JDT now lead Group I with seven points followed by Kawasaki Frontale with five points, Ulsan Hyundai four points and Guangzhou FC are in the last spot without any points.

-- BERNAMA