A hat trick from captain marvel Safiq Rahim helped Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) start their defence of the AFC Cup with a 8-1 thrashing of Ayeyawady United in the opening game of Group H at the Larkin Stadium on Wednesday night.
The skipper did plenty of damage, but despite the destruction, JDT did not have it all their own way.
After Safiq scored in the fifth minute, Thiha Zaw quickly equalised for the Myanmar team. But then Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Marcos Antonio, Juan Martin Lucero and Aidil Zafuan turned the game into a nightmare for Ayeyawady.
Four goals came in a frantic first half as the visitors gave the Malaysia Super League champions big problems at the back but too often left major holes in their own backline.
The hosts went ahead with their first meaningful attack. Safiq Rahim took possession just inside the Ayeyawady half and drove forward. The visiting defence backed off the skipper who let fly from outside the area with a speculative shot that looked comfortable for Vanlal Hruala but somehow the goalkeeper allowed it through.
Just as the home fans were settling down for a comfortable win, United were level in style in the ninth minute. Thiha Zaw picked up the ball on the left touchline, level with the edge of the JDT are. The 22-year-old then cut inside, dribbling past four blue shirts before firing a powerful shot into the top left corner of the Malaysian goal from 20 yards to give Farizal Marlias no chance.
After 10 minutes, the visitors should have taken the lead with Ghana's Yakubu Abubakar chipping Farizal from the corner of the area. The ball beat the custodian but bounced off the post for Marcos Antonio to deal with the danger.
It was perhaps the turning point of the game as just before the quarter of an hour mark, the holders restored their lead. S. Kunanlan broke free down the right thanks to clever backheel from Mahali Jasuli and his low cross was converted by Pereyra Diaz from close range.
At last, the Larkin Stadium was able to take a breath as the next goal did not come until the half hour, though it was a disputed one. A Safiq corner found Marcos Antonio unmarked at the far post and the Brazilian slid in to poke the ball into the net with the goalkeeper nowhere to be seen. The ball did strike the offside Aidil Zafuan on the way in, leading to protests from the visitors.
Three minutes after the restart and it was game over thanks to Safiq's second. Diaz pulled the ball back from the byline for the captain to slot the ball home from close range.
Just after the hour, Safiq completed his hat trick in very similar circumstances. Diaz again wreaked havoc down the left side and again found the captain inside the area. He made no mistake with a first-time shot.
There was still time for new signing Lucero to roll the ball past the goalkeeper from the edge of the area to open his JDT account with eight minutes remaining.
The Argentine added his second and his team's seventh before the end while in the dying seconds Aidil Zafuan headed home a free-kick.
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