Johor Darul Ta’Zim suffered their second straight defeat in their ongoing pre-season campaign in Spain, falling 0-1 to Qatari giants Al-Rayyan SC in their sixth friendly match.
Following their narrow loss to Valencia Mestalla on Monday, the Southern Tigers returned to the pitch in San Pedro del Pinatar with hopes of securing a third win in their Spanish tour. Several key players made their return to the starting lineup, including Malaysian-heritage trio Jon Irazabal, Joao Figueiredo, and Hector Hevel.
However, despite the boost in personnel, JDT’s ambitions were dashed when Belgian midfielder Julien De Sart netted the decisive goal for Al-Rayyan with just 10 minutes remaining on the clock. His clinical finish proved enough to hand the Qatari side a hard-fought victory.
The match ended 1-0 in favour of Al-Rayyan SC, marking another narrow defeat for the 11-time Super League champions as they continue to fine-tune their squad ahead of the new season.
JDT will now look to bounce back in their next pre-season encounter, scheduled against another Qatari side, Al-Arabi SC, at Oliva Nova on July 19 — their seventh match of the Spanish pre-season tour.
Credit Photo : JST
