PETALING JAYA: The team line-up was changed but Johor Darul Ta’zim still did the job.

The Southern Tigers rested several of their key players and only fielded regulars Nathaniel Shio Hong Wan, Feroz Baharuddin, Bergson Da Silva, Fernando Forestieri, and Juan Muniz but still came through with a 2-0 win against Kuching City at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri on Thursday.

It wasn’t their customary display but JDT still got their three points.

Da Silva scored the first goal in the 34th minute by unleashing a superb long-range shot from 20m and the second was a sumptuous freekick from Muniz in the 43rd minute.

JDT coach Esteban Solari said he had to tweak the start list as some of his key players had just returned from international duty and he wants his top players to be fully rested before the AFC Champions League match against Japanese club Kawasaki Frontale at the Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium on Tuesday.

“It’s important to get some rest before the away game against Kawasaki. It’s like a final for us, so we have to be even more stronger and focused to move to the next stage,” said Solari.

“We were able to change the line-up against Kuching because we have a quality squad. We gave several players the chance and one of them is youngster Daryl (Sham George), who did well.

“It wasn’t easy against Kuching because they defended in numbers but we still created chances, about 20 but our accuracy upfront was not good enough.

“We need to be more dangerous with set-pieces, which we will rectify before we head to Japan.”

Meanwhile Kuching’s coach Aidil Sharin said he also rested key players like Namibian Petrus Shitembi and Liberian Abu Kamara to keep them fresh for the first-leg Challenge Cup final against Police at the Petaling Jaya Stadium on Wednesday.

“Teams usually get hammered when they come to Sultan Ibrahim Stadium but we did well, and I believe it was a good learning game before the final against Police,” said Aidil.