KUALA LUMPUR: Johor Darul Ta'zim are proving that they are no lightweights in the Asian Champions League (ACL).
On Tuesday, the Southern Tigers stunned South Korean champions Ulsan Hyundai 2-1 in their ACL Group I match at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium to revive their chances of qualifying for the last 16.
Midfielder Akhyar Rashid emerged as JDT's hero after coming off the bench to net the winner in the 87th after Ataru Esaka's strike in the 69th cancelled out Heberty de Andrade's opener (44th).
JDT have six points from four matches and are third below Ulsan who also have six points but with better goal difference. Japan's Kawasaki Frontale top the group with 12 points while Thailand's BG Pathum are winless.
JDT hold an impressive three wins and one loss record against Ulsan. Last year, the Southern Tigers also beat Ulsan 2-1 in the group stages.
JDT's only loss (3-1) to Ulsan was at the Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium last month.
JDT head coach Esteban Solari said the win over the Korean club was sweet revenge, and that it was a fantastic result to beat the 2012 and 2020 ACL champions.
He added that the Southern Tigers will push harder in their remaining two group matches against Kawasaki (Nov 28) and BG Pathum (Dec 12) to earn a berth in the second round.
"We are very happy... we won against the Korean champions, we saw the best version of our players. We worked hard from start to the end.
"I'm proud of the team and I want to congratulate each one of them, we are still on the road," said Solari.
"When we played in South Korea, we doubted ourselves and we lost 1-3. Today, I'm very happy, we defeated the Korean team after putting in extra efforts.
"We played really well and we now look forward to the next game."
"We are a strong team, we always want more, in the league, ACL, the cups (competition). We are a developing team and I always push to be better."
Ulsan head coach Hong Myung Bo expressed his disappointment as the Koreans failed to score more goals.
"We had some chances (to score). It's difficult, but all the players played their best. What we can do is to prepare for the next match," he said.