Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) continued their Spanish pre-season campaign with a spirited 2-2 draw against Cardiff City in a fiery encounter at the Pinatar Arena on Wednesday.
The match marked JDT’s third pre-season friendly in Spain, following two consecutive victories. This time, they faced their toughest test yet in the form of EFL League One side Cardiff City, who fielded a strong starting eleven including former Arsenal defender Calum Chambers.
JDT named a competitive starting lineup, with veteran midfielder Natxo Insa wearing the captain’s armband. Both sides had golden opportunities to open the scoring in the first half.
Joao Figueiredo, the Harimau Malaya striker, came closest for JDT, but his powerful shot was smartly saved by Cardiff goalkeeper Ethan Horvath using his foot. Moments later, Cardiff’s Ollie Tanner fired narrowly wide in one of their few first-half chances.
Just before the break, JDT were reduced to 10 men when Moussa Sidibe was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge, leaving the Southern Tigers with an uphill battle.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, the second half was an end-to-end thriller. Cardiff broke the deadlock just three minutes after the restart when David Turnbull struck from inside the box, catching Andoni Zubiaurre off guard.
However, JDT responded with resilience. New signing Jairo Da Silva found the equaliser with a composed finish following a slick team move, marking his second goal of the pre-season.
Cardiff quickly regained the lead in the 65th minute through a brilliant free-kick from Robin Colwill, which sailed past the wall and into the net, restoring the Welsh side’s advantage.
Tensions escalated in the 83rd minute when Cardiff substitute Yousef Salech was sent off for a dangerous tackle from behind on a JDT player, evening the numbers on the pitch.
As the match approached its final moments, Oscar Arribas capitalised on a defensive blunder by Cardiff’s backline and calmly slotted home to secure a dramatic late equaliser for JDT.
Credit Photo : JST
