Glen Johnson: Thank-you, Indonesia
Glen Johnson today paid tribute to the people of Indonesia for the incredible support they have given the Liverpool team during their four-day stay in Jakarta.
The Reds beat an Indonesia XI 2-0 on Saturday, played out in a cauldron of noise and Kop anthems at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, which bore an impressive resemblance to Anfield on a matchday.
"It didn't seem like a friendly, that's for sure, and it was fantastic," Johnson told LFC TV.
"As everybody knows, Liverpool have got some of the best fans in the world, all over the world. It was great to see and good to play in.
"It's the first time I've ever been to Indonesia and everyone has been very welcoming and polite. They were pleased to have us here and we have enjoyed our time."
Reflecting on the victory and getting more minutes under his belt, Liverpool's No.2 added: "It was very difficult out there.
"It was so hot and it's hard to get your breath back after a bit of intensive work, but we are two games in now so we're definitely feeling better than we were before.
"The most important thing is our fitness and trying to get to our peak as much as possible for this time of the year, but it was nice to win the game, no-one got injured and we got another 60-70 minutes under our belt.
"We are certainly on the right road, we are almost there with our fitness.
"We worked very hard back at home to prepare for this, and we have all got 45 minutes each from the two games so we are all on the right track."
Johnson played his first game alongside summer recruit Kolo Toure in a new-look backline also featuring Belgian international stopper Simon Mignolet.
The 28-year-old said: "There's no better way to learn to play alongside each other than in a game, but like I say the most important thing at this time of the year is everyone is fit and we are pushing on."