Johor Darul Ta’zim 3-0 Port FC: control first, then the bench finished the job

Johor Darul Ta’zim beat Port FC 3-0 at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri, on 27 October, in the third round of the league stage of the AFC Champions League. The AFC reported it as their second win in a row in the competition. Utusan Malaysia reported that the win gave them seven points from three matches.

Those points rest on a run that has tightened as it went. Johor Darul Ta’zim opened with a 1-1 draw at home to Buriram United on 15 September, Stefan Schimmer equalising in the 43rd minute. They won 2-0 away to Pohang Steelers on 13 October. Since that equaliser on 15 September they have not conceded a goal in the competition.

How the goals came

The first half produced no goals. Jonathan Silva put Johor Darul Ta’zim ahead in the 53rd minute, with Arif Aiman providing the assist. In the 57th minute Bergson Gustavo Silveira da Silva came on for Shahab Zahedi, and in the 62nd minute he scored the second, set up by Oscar Arribas. Bergson was booked in the 63rd minute and replaced by Stoichkov in the 64th minute.

The third goal came late. Matías Nahuel replaced Arribas in the 82nd minute, and in the 86th minute he set up Stoichkov to complete the scoring.

Why it went this way

Did the scoreline flatter Johor Darul Ta’zim? It is a fair question about a side that needed until the 53rd minute to score. A goalless first half can hide a match that might have turned the other way. The match figures do not support that reading here. Johor Darul Ta’zim recorded an expected goals (xG) total of 2.15, compared with 0.15 for Port FC.

The real reasons are two, and they rank in this order.

First, Port FC hardly threatened at all. Johor Darul Ta’zim took 27 shots to Port FC’s 2. Johor Darul Ta’zim had 7 shots on target, compared with 0 for Port FC. The work fell at the other end, where Port FC made 4 saves, compared with 0 for Johor Darul Ta’zim. With so little coming back at them, Johor Darul Ta’zim could go through a goalless first half without being punished for the wait. Johor Darul Ta’zim had 66% possession, compared with Port FC’s 34%; the ball was mostly theirs, and they used it to shoot.

Second, the changes. The second and third goals were both scored by players who came off the bench, and the third was set up by another substitute. Bergson was on the pitch for a short spell, long enough to score and be booked, before Stoichkov took his place. Stoichkov then stayed on to score the last goal. Control without goals is a draw waiting to happen. The substitutions turned it into a margin.

Each of the three goals came with an assist from a team-mate: Arif Aiman for Silva, Arribas for Bergson, Nahuel for Stoichkov.

What comes next

Johor Darul Ta’zim play their fourth league-stage match away to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors at Jeonju World Cup Stadium, South Korea, on 3 November, kicking off at 6pm Malaysian time. They visit Ratchaburi on 24 November and host Daejeon Hana Citizen at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on 1 December. Their league-stage campaign closes in February 2027, away to Newcastle Jets on 9 February and at home to Công An Nhân Dân on 16 February.

Most of the league stage is still to be played. What this result shows is the shape of their campaign so far: unbeaten in three matches, and no goal conceded since mid-September.

Verdict

StraitScore’s view: Johor Darul Ta’zim won this twice over, once by keeping Port FC away from their goal and again by making changes that scored. The figures back the first half of that sentence, and the substitutes’ goals back the second. A side that gives an opponent this little, and whose substitutes finish what the starters build, is not winning by luck. The goalless first half was a delay, not a warning.