GLOBAL Football Club suffered its first loss in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup group stages, absorbing a 0-4 shutout at the hands of Johor Darul Ta’zim on Tuesday night at the Larkin Stadium in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
Global, which swept the United Football League in 2016, lost its grip of the Group F lead as Johor Darul Ta’zim halted the Philippine side’s 2-0 start and stole the No. 1 spot with seven points. Global dropped to second place with six points.
The so-called “People’s Club” of the Philippines had simply no answer to the dominance of the Malaysians, who mounted a 2-0 first half lead behind Mahalli Bin Jasuli’s brace and skipper Safiq Rahim’s penalty kick in the 30th and 34th minute, respectively.
Global had more chances in the second half but didn’t convert a single goal and allowed Johor Darul Ta’zim two more goals. Brian Ferreira finding the back of the net for their third goal in the 87th minute,. Marcos Antonio completed the rout two minutes into stoppage time.
Global goes for a fightback in the second round of the group stages on April 5 when it faces the Malaysian club anew at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.