JDT suffered a setback just 18 minutes into the match when they were forced into a substitution after Oscar Arribas picked up a shoulder injury and with La’Vere Corbin-Ong not available, Akhyar Rashid was asked to fill in.
Two minutes later, Sarach Yooyen had a chance to put BG Pathum ahead but while his free-kick had the right power, the curl was not enough as the ball went slightly wide of the post.
The Rabbits took advantage of JDT lacking a regular left-back when Santhipharp Channgom raced down that side of the pitch in the 28th minute and delivered a perfect cross into the box for Igor Sergeev to divert past a stranded Ahmad Syihan Hazmi.
Having struggled to create opportunities in the first half, JDT’s best chance came in the third minute of added time but Feroz Baharudin’s glancing header from an Arif Aiman cross went agonisingly wide of BG Pathum’s goal.
The Southern Tigers started brightly in the second half, Bergson da Silva registering his first effort on target in the 49th minute but his header from a corner kick looked to have been well saved by Chatchai Bootprom.
However, a penalty was awarded to JDT after a VAR check showed that the ball struck Danilo Alves’ extended arm prior to Chatchai’s save, with the player subsequently shown his second yellow.
Bergson stepped up to score from the spot-kick, shooting straight down the middle with Chatchai diving to his left, giving JDT the momentum for the remainder of the match.
