Malaysian side routs Global FC

JOHOR BAHRU, MALAYSIA —Global FC came to this bustling city near the Malaysia-Singapore border looking to topple one of Southeast Asia’s elite squads.

Instead, the Filipino club not only absorbed one of its worst beatings in the AFC Cup, but also lost its perfect record in Group G after a 0-4 humbling at the hands of 2015 champions Johor Dairul Ta’zim on Tuesday night at Larkin Stadium here.

Unable to recover from a listless start, Global conceded top spot to JDT at the end of the first round of the group stage.

But the Filipino champions were quick to shrug off their biggest loss since the 1-6 rout they suffered two years ago to South China in their AFC Cup debut.

“I think the most important thing is that we now know what to do when we play against them again,” said Global CEO Dan Palami.
“We played listless in the first half,” added Palami. “But our performance in the second half gives us confidence going into the next game.”

The three-time Malaysian Super League reigning champions delivered a dazzling show, putting Global to the sword with two quick fire goals in the first half.

Despite the defeat, Global remained in second, just a point behind Johor, which has seven points at the end of the first round of the group stage.
But the huge losing margin could come back to haunt the Filipino champions especially if the race for the top spot comes down to goal difference.

“It’s a bad result,” said Global skipper Misagh Bahadoran. “I’m sure we can do better than this. They weren’t that strong and I think we could have pressed them more.”