PETALING JAYA: Johor Darul Tazim (JDT) have unearthed another gem of a player in the form of winger Arif Aiman Hanapi.
Just in his first tournament, Arif has put himself in the clubs history book as the youngest Super League scorer in their impressive 4-0 win against UiTM at the UiTM Stadium in Shah Alam on Saturday.
At just 18 years and 10 months old, he broke the previous record held by teammate Hadin Azmah, who was a month older when he scored in 2013.
Arif came on as a substitute for the injured Safawi Rasid in the eighth minute. And within three minutes, he made an immediate impact when he dribbled past three defenders and rammed a stinging shot to give his side the lead.
The other goals were scored by Gonzalo Cabrera (16th minute), Bergson Da Silva (82nd) and Syamer Kutty Abba (93rd).
Last season, Ramadhan Saifullah broke into the scene when the 19-year-old scored four goals in six matches to help the Southern Tigers retain the league title.
Lets wrap it up: Syamer Kutty scored the third goal for JDT.
JDT coach Benjamin Mora hailed Arif as a wonder kid.
He is a revolution. He comes in and revolutionises everything because he is very fast and intelligent, so he knows what to do, said Mora.
He has the skills, talent, the young age and the most important thing is the knowledge of what he needs to do on the pitch.
Its a good thing for us because we can rely on an 18-year-old to score goals and create chances for us.
Another player who impressed was Bergson, who marked his debut with a magnificent solo goal.
He only trained with us for a few days and was not 100% fit to play 90 minutes, said Mora.
But he said he would be ready whatever time given to him, and in that 30 minutes, he showed how special he is.
Bergson has fit in well with the team. And to produce such a performance on a damp pitch and against an aggressive opposition, I believe we will see better things in the future.
On Safawis knee injury, Mora said: He is being evaluated and we will know his condition soon. We hope to have him back soon.
JDT hosts Selangor next on Wednesday.