KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 — Reigning Asian Football Confederation (AFC) champion Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) received a major boost ahead of their quarterfinals first leg meeting against South China of Hong Kong at the Mongkok Stadium in Hong Kong after their players were declared fit for tomorrow’s match.

JDT head coach Mario Gomez said the players were geared up for another victory at the continental level after retaining the Super League Cup title for a third season since 2014, last week.

"Of course, we are pleased that we were able to win the Super League and that was a key target but now, we have a new target and that’s to defend our AFC Cup title,” he was quoted as saying in the AFC website..

"This is the highest level you can play on, it’s an international tournament and we want to win every match in every competition that we play,” the Argentinian added.

On their opponent, Gomez noted that he knew them well after coaching the Hong Kong side previously but remained confident to claim a better goal advantage.

South China coach, Ricardo Rambo, on the other hand, knows his side face a difficult task but believes both the lessons learned from last season and being the only Hong Kong representative gives them great belief to put a great performance against JDT.

"This is a very important match, not just for the club and the players but also for the people of Hong Kong, it’s a great place to be in but of course, we know it will be difficult as we face a club that is equally as strong, both defensively and in attack,” he said.

"The players have the experience from last year and we’ve watched that match several times trying to make sure that we eliminate those mistakes but the important thing is that this is not just South China against JDT, this is actually Hong Kong against Malaysia and we want to make all the people of Hong Kong happy.”

The host side are set to be without forward Chan Siu Ki due to personal reasons while goalkeeper Tsang Man Fai is also racing against time to recover from a hand injury.

For the record, both sides have met in the quarterfinals leg last season which saw JDT win 4-2 on aggregate.

The return leg of the match will be held at the Larkin Stadium on September 20. — Bernama