South China face tough battle in AFC Cup quarter-final clash in Malaysia
Johor Darul Ta'zim confident of overcoming Hong Kong side in first leg of tie
"Is he scared of South China?" quipped Serbian defender Bojan Malisic after Johor Darul Ta'zim officials apologised for ill coach Mario Gomez's absence from Monday's pre-match press conference for their AFC Cup quarter-final first-leg clash.
As it turns out, the former Caroliners' coach has little to fear, given his side's utter dominance of opposing teams at their Larkin Stadium, Johor Bahur, in southern Malaysia - and a number of other factors that weigh in his side's favour.
"We have a lot of respect for South China, this is a higher level than what we play domestically but we have a full-strength team, we are strong at home and we cannot lose this match," said assistant coach Ismail Ibrahim.
We respect Johor DT but we also have a strong team. We haven't had any competitive matches but we had a few friendlies and we will play our best
JDT are unbeaten at Larkin Stadium and were recently crowned Malaysian champions, which means they will play in the play-off qualifiers for the 2016 AFC Champions League.
They have also played seven competitive matches this season, compared with none for South China, and with a full house of diehard fans expected for Tuesday night's clash, JDT are confident of a repeat of their 2-0 preliminary-round victory over another Hong Kong team, Kitchee.
Gomez's successor at South China, Casemiro Mior, said the home side holds all the cards but is confident in his players' ability.
"Mario knows how South China play and he knows all the players because he was recently the coach," said Mior.