BURIRAM, Thailand -- At the sixth time of asking, Johor Darul Ta'zim have finally gotten one over Buriram United.
Unfortunately for them, ending their woeful record against the Thai League 1 giants will be scant consolation as Wednesday's 2-1 victory at Chang Arena was not enough to prevent Buriram from advancing from the semifinals of the ASEAN Club Championship 4-3 on aggregate.
Buriram had dealt the crucial damage seven days ago with a clinical 3-1 triumph at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Johor Bahru -- scoring with their only three shots on target -- to ultimately leave their Malaysia Super League opposition with what proved to be too much of a mountain to climb -- despite their best efforts.
JDT had initially done well to erase their opponents' two-goal advantage courtesy of goals from Bérgson da Silva and Marcos Guilherme, and force extra-time.
However, it was the hosts who had more in reserve -- with Kingsley Schindler popping up with an emphatic finish in the 98th minute to send his team through to the final, where they will come up against another Malaysian outfit in the form of Selangor.
In a sure sign that this is ever-growing rivalry -- between the two teams who can stake a respective claim to being the best team in all of Southeast Asian football - is now reaching tempestuous levels, Buriram actually finished the game with just nine players but were just able to hold onto to the result they needed.
More to follow...
