KUALA LUMPUR: Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) started the new M-League season as expected - in a dominant fashion.
The Southern Tigers outclassed Terengganu 2-0 to lift the Charity Cup and at the same tine earned their first three points in the Super League at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium yesterday.
JDT's new Spanish signing Juan Muniz pounced as early as the fifth minute to give them a 1-0 lead.
Terengganu, under Croatian-German coach Tomislav Steinbruckner, managed to hold the Southern Tigers at bay, and restricted them to long range efforts which goalkeeper Suhaimi Husin dealt with easily.
The Turtles tried to be more ambitious in the second period as Steinbruckner brought on Syafik Ismail for the ineffective Adisak Kraisorn. But that only served to encourage JDT to be more adventurous as spaces opened up.
It took JDT only eight minutes into the second half to double their lead. Arif Aiman ran rings around Hairiey Hakim before delivering a sumptuous cross for Bergson to nudge into goal with his thigh.
The win saw JDT clinching nine of the last 10 Charity Cups, this one being their fifth successive triumph in the season opener since losing to Kedah in 2017.
Argentine coach Esteban Solari would have many positives to take from the evening with the JDT debutants Ahmad Syihan Hazmi and Oscar Arribas also producing eye-catching performances.
As for the Turtles, it's back to the drawing board for Steinbruckner, but they will not face many opponents as strong as JDT for the rest of the campaign.
