ISKANDAR PUTERI, Aug 9 — Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) continue to excel in a class of their own after defending the Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Cup champion title for the eighth consecutive time by defeating Selangor FC 3-0 in the Charity Shield match here, last night.

The victory in the opening match of the Malaysia League (M-League) at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri also gave JDT three points, thus enabling the Southern Tigers to get the perfect start in their mission to win the Super League for the 12th time in a row.

In JDT’s first competitive match under their new Spanish coach, Xisco Munoz last night, new striker Jairo Da Silva from Brazil, defender Eddy Israfilov and agile winger Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi each made their name as scorers in each half.

Da Silva, a former striker for Cyprus club Pafos FC, punished the negligence of Selangor’s defence as early as the first minute when he quickly found space to finish off Jonathan Silva’s cross from the left, putting JDT ahead 1-0.

Selangor under coach Kinoshi Katsuhito, who rarely create dangerous moves, wasted a golden opportunity to equalise in the 42nd minute when striker Chrigor Moraes failed to beat goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi Mohamed in a one on one situation.

Continuing the second half, Selangor goalkeeper Kalamullah Al Hafiz Mat Rowi performed brilliantly when denying two close-range attempts by JDT, each by Jaoa Figuiredo in the 51st minute and substitute striker Bergson Da Silva in the 62nd minute.

However, he was beaten for the second time when Israfilov jumped high to head in Arif Aiman’s corner kick for JDT’s second goal in the 64th minute, which delighted about 32,777 spectators in the stadium.

Arif Aiman completed JDT’s stylish victory with a third goal after he, who was not well guarded, made a run into the penalty box and fired a powerful shot that Kalamullah failed to save in the 73rd minute.

The 3-0 score remained until the final whistle and was enough to allow JDT to win the Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Cup for the 10th time since the 2015 season.

The clash between JDT and Selangor last night is also considered a ‘deferred revenge’ after the last edition’s meeting had to be cancelled following Selangor’s withdrawal at the last minute.

At that time, Selangor had to withdraw following criminal incidents that befell several of their players, including the acid attack incident on Faisal Halim on May 5 last year.

Following that, JDT was declared a 3-0 ‘free win’ and earned three Super League points. — Bernama