Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) coach Mario Gomez reckons the away goal by Jorge Pereyra Diaz will be a tipping factor when his side welcome South China to the Larkin Stadium for the AFC Cup quarterfinal return leg, following a 1-1 first leg draw in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
The defending champions had dominated proceedings in the first half, and duly took the lead through Diaz's smart finish, but were denied victory deep into injury time, courtesy of Nikola Komazec's 94th minute strike.
The draw was reminiscent to last season, which saw South China grab a 1-1 first leg draw in the quarterfinals at the Hong Kong Stadium.
JDT went on to win to return leg 3-1, courtesy of a brace from Malaysian national team striker Safee Sali.
"There is still an open chance. The good thing is, we got an away goal, " said Gomez on the club's Southern Tigers Facebook page.
"We played well in the first half. In the second half we didn't play so well and conceded at the last minute. It shouldn't have happened, but it's back to work."
Gomez's men are chasing a record fourth trophy this season after bagging their third consecutive Malaysia Super League (MSL) title last Friday.
The Southern Tigers had also clinched the Charity Shield and FA Cup in February and May respectively. In the regional AFC Cup this season, JDT have mostly outplayed their opponents.
They scored 21 goals in the group stages, before routing Philippines' Kaya 7-2 in the last-16, to register the highest goals in the tournament thus far.
Diaz's opener was also his fourth in the tournament.
The Argentine had scored a brace in the 3-0 win against Terengganu to win JDT the league title, and replaced Francis Forkey Doe at the top of the MSL goalscoring charts on 17 goals.
Both sides meet in the return leg on Sept. 20.
After that, JDT face T-Team in the final league home game on Sept. 24, where they will be presented with the MSL trophy.