KUALA LUMPUR: Johor Darul Ta'zim caretaker coach Raul Longhi blamed the state of the pitch at the Vinh Stadium for his club's 2-0 defeat to Song Lam Nghe An in an AFC Cup match on Wednesday.
Taking charge of his first game after Ulisses Morais quit on Sunday for personal reasons, Longhi felt the uneven surface prevented his team from playing their normal passing game.
Vietnamese club Song Lam prevented JDT from having shot on target in the first half of the Group H fixture when they took a 22nd-minute lead through Phan Van Duc.
Longhi pulled Afiq Fazail out before half-time and sent in centre-back Aidil Zafuan Radzak to free Hariss Harun and Safiq Rahim from defensive duties but the changes had little effect.
"In the first half, we had some problems in midfield," said Longhi in a statement on the Johor Southern Tigers Facebook page after JDT lost their third away fixture this season.
"The pitch condition was also not too good for us. We tried to play short passes but the pitch made it difficult for us. If we played long balls, it would've made it easy for the opponents."
Longhi made no mention of the departure of Jorge Pereyra Diaz, whose absence along with Argentine compatriot Gonzalo Cabrera, who is not registered for the AFC Cup, appeared to affect JDT.
Safawi Rashid and Ahmad Hazwan Bakri replaced the Argentine duo but they provided little support to striker Luciano Figueroa in attack.
JDT had more of the ball in the second half but apart from Figueroa’s long-range effort which was deflected wide by the goalkeeper, the four-time Super League champions did not trouble Song Lam.
Instead, Song Lam had the better chances and duly doubled the lead in stoppage-time through Pham Xuan Manh but only after JDT goalkeeper Farizal Marlias had pulled off a few crucial saves to keep the score down.
"Our players’ performances in the second half were better than in the first half," said Longhi.
"Song Lam are a great team. But when we face them again at Larkin (on Apr 24), I feel it will be a different match because we have a good pitch to play football."
Song Lam lead Group H with six points after two matches while JDT and Persija Jakarta each have three points.
JDT travel to Kota Kinabalu to play Sabah in an FA Cup second round tie on Saturday before flying to Singapore on Tuesday to play Group H's bottom side Tampines Rovers.