A late onslaught failed to materialise as Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) had to settle for a 1-1 draw in front of their home fans against a spirited Bengaluru FC in the first leg of their AFC Cup semifinal on Wednesday night.
The defending champions boasted a superior head-to-head record against Bengaluru, having beaten them 1-0 and 3-0 in Group H, with the latter victory coming at Larkin Stadium in May.
But the Indian champions made life more difficult for the tournament favourites in the knockout stages, during an action-packed 90 minutes.
The visitors started brightly. John Johnson did well to flick an effort just over Izham Tarmizi's goal in the sixth minute.
JDT vs BENGALURU FC Semasa 8' JDT 0-0 Bengaluru #officialJDT #JDT #SouthernTigers #AFCCup2016
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Eugenesson Lyngdoh, Alvaro Rubio and Cameron Watson were keeping things tight in the middle of the park, and their combativeness put the brakes on the creative laces of Safiq Rahim and company.
But JDT continued to probe, and should have taken a 27th minute lead through Juan Martin Lucero. The Argentine did everything right with a firm header that was destined for the far corner, but Bengaluru custodian Amrinder Singh pulled off a miraculous stop to claw the forward's effort away.
Arminder was called into action five minutes later, tipping an Aidil Zafuan header wide. Then Azniee Taib came within centimetres of opening the scoring after turning Johnson the wrong way.
Bengaluru's net minder was displaying a show-stopping performance, exemplified by another repel from a Lucero close-range effort to take Bengaluru level into the break.
But seven minutes into the second half, JDT went in front as the visitors' 23-year-old keeper was finally beaten.
Jorge Pereyra Diaz, who had been relatively quiet until then, rose unmarked to power home a Safiq Rahim corner for his sixth goal of the competition.
Bengaluru, however, drew level through a Lyngdoh stunner three minutes later. There appeared little danger when the Indian international received possession 25 yards from goal, with three JDT players surrounding him. But once Lyngdoh sorted out his footing, he let fly with a ferocious strike that flew past Izham to stun the capacity Larkin crowd.
Mario Gomez threw on S. Chanturu and Amri Yahyah as the home side piled bodies forward for a second goal. But Bengaluru kept their shape, and tried to fashion another away goal on the break.
Neither side could score again, but Bengaluru will leave for home, confident of an upset when the return leg takes place on Oct. 19.
JDT: Izham Tarmizi (GK), Azamuddin Akil (Amri Yahyah 75'), Azrif Nasrulhaq, Marcos Antonio, Aidil Zafuan, Safiq Rahim (C) (Amirulhadi Zainal 83'), Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Hariss Harun, Fazly Mazlan, Juan Martin Lucero, Azniee Taib (S. Chanturu 68')
Bengaluru: Amrinder Singh (GK), Rino Anto, Juanan, John Johnson, Salam Ranjan Singh, Alvaro Rubio, Cameron Watson, Eugenesson Lyngdoh, Alwyn George, C.K. Vineeth (Daniel Lalhlimpuia 80'), Sunil Chettri (C)