Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2-0 Johor Darul Ta’zim: lost in the first half, not overrun

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors beat Johor Darul Ta’zim 2-0 at Jeonju World Cup Stadium on 3 November, with both goals scored before half-time. The AFC’s match report records it as the second win of the hosts’ AFC Champions League campaign.

For Johor Darul Ta’zim, it ended an unbeaten start to the league stage. They had drawn 1-1 with Buriram United at home on 15 September. They then won 2-0 away to Pohang Steelers on 13 October and beat Port FC 3-0 at home on 27 October.

How the goals came

Bruno Mota opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, from Kim Jin-Gyu’s assist. Utusan Malaysia reports that the goal was a header.

At 45’, Johor Darul Ta’zim replaced Jonathan Silva with Joao Figueiredo. The second goal came at 45+3’, a penalty scored by Italo Vargas. Utusan Malaysia says the penalty was awarded after the visiting goalkeeper, Ahmad Syihan Hazmi, brought down an opponent.

There was no goal in the second half. Johor Darul Ta’zim sent on Stoichkov for Shahab Zahedi at 63’. Stoichkov had scored the last of the three goals against Port FC a week earlier. Matías Nahuel came on for Oscar Arribas at 86’. Neither change produced a goal.

The easy reading, and why it does not hold

Is a two-goal defeat away from home proof that Johor Darul Ta’zim were outclassed? The match figures argue against it.

Johor Darul Ta’zim had 57% possession, compared with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors’ 43%. Johor Darul Ta’zim took 22 shots to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors’ 11. A side that is overrun does not usually keep the ball and shoot that often.

Nor does bad luck explain the result on its own. Expected goals measures how good each chance was, and on that measure Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors recorded an expected goals (xG) total of 2.1, compared with 1.82 for Johor Darul Ta’zim. One of the hosts’ goals was a penalty.

The real reasons

First, the timing of the goals. The opener at 22’ and the penalty at 45+3’ meant Johor Darul Ta’zim went in at half-time two goals behind, with no time left in the half to answer. The second goal turned a chase of one goal into a chase of two, and the whole second half became a test of breaking down a side with a lead to protect.

Second, where Johor Darul Ta’zim shot from. The volume was real. The question is where it came from.

Johor Darul Ta’zim took 11 shots from outside the box, compared with 2 for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Johor Darul Ta’zim had 8 shots blocked, compared with 1 for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Shots struck from outside the area or into a body in the way are the cheapest kind of pressure.

When the visitors did find the target, Johor Darul Ta’zim had 6 shots on target, compared with 2 for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors’ 6 saves kept Johor Darul Ta’zim off the scoresheet for the whole night.

What it means next

The defeat leaves Johor Darul Ta’zim with one loss from their opening matches of the league stage.

Before the continental campaign resumes, Johor Darul Ta’zim host DPMM FC in the second leg of the Malaysia FA Cup semi-final at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on 8 November.

In the AFC Champions League, they travel to Ratchaburi at Dragon Solar Park on 24 November. They then host Daejeon Hana Citizen at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on 1 December.

The verdict

StraitScore’s view: this was a match lost in the first half, not a team overrun across the whole of it. Johor Darul Ta’zim kept the ball and kept shooting, but the hosts scored twice before the break and the visitors never beat the goalkeeper from the chances they made. That is a fixable problem rather than a gap in class. The fix is in the shooting: fewer efforts from range and into bodies, more from inside the area where the goalkeeper has to be beaten.