KUALA LUMPUR: It was quite a remarkable game. Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) started with 10 foreign players, but it was their only Malaysian-born player, Arif Aiman Hanapi, who scored all the goals in the 2-2 draw with Shanghai Port in an Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) match in Shanghai on Wednesday.
The winger was the hero of the team as he twice gave the Southern Tigers the lead, in the 45th and 57th minutes at the Pudong Stadium.
However, Shanghai proved their quality by equalising through Gustavo Sousa (48th) and Willian Popp (73rd) to extend their unbeaten record in continental matches at home to 21 matches.
Arif, 22, said he is not going to rest on his laurels, and is aiming for a better outing in their next ACLE match, against Chinese Super League side, Shanghai Shenhua, at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on Oct 1.
"We drew the match and got one point. The match was difficult as this is the ACLE. It's a good game not only for me, but the team. My teammates worked hard to get the one point, and we will prepare for the next game."
JDT coach Hector Bidoglio wants his men to continue to improve after their ACLE opener. The Venezuelan said his men played well in a tough match and the draw was still a good result.
"It was a very difficult game, but JDT played very well.
"We played very compactly but the opponents were equally good. In our minds, we need to always win. But earning a point when you play away is good."