ACL MD2 - GROUP F: SEONGNAM FC 2-0 GAMBA OSAKA
Seongnam: Korean FA Cup winners Seongnam FC claimed their first win of the 2015 AFC Champions League as Ricardo Bueno’s early spot kick and Hwang Ui-jo’s second half strike earned a 2-0 win over Japanese treble winners Gamba Osaka on Tuesday.
Brazilian forward Ricardo Bueno slotted home a penalty after just eight minutes of the Group F tie at Tancheon Sports Complex before Hwang doubled the advantage on 68 minutes for two-time continental champions Seongnam who lost last week’s opener to Buriram United in Thailand.
After their defeats in the opening round - Gamba were beaten by China’s Guangzhou R&F in Japan - both teams made four changes to their starting line-ups with hosts Seongnam bringing in defenders Yun Young-sun and Kim Tae-youn, as well as midfielder Lee Jong-won and forward Hwang.
While for Gamba, two Koreans made their first starts of the 2015 tournament with Oh Jae-suk and Kim Jung-ya coming in alongside midfielder Shu Kurata and Brazilian forward Lins.
And one of those changes was involved in the action within the first 10 minutes as Hwang was hauled down inside the penalty area by Shohei Ogura and Ricardo Bueno stepped up to slot the penalty comfortably past Masaaki Higashiguchi after sending the Urawa custodian the wrong way.
Gamba looked to play their way back into the tie but apart from Yasuhito Endo’s free kick that was fired directly into the midriff of goalkeeper Park Jun-huk, the visitors had little to show for their first half efforts.
And Seongnam went close to doubling their lead seven minutes after the interval as captain Kim Do-heon raced into the right-hand side of the penalty area and unleashed a furious strike on goal from an angle that Higashiguchi did well to push away at his front post with a leaping save.
Gamba forward Patric then combined well with Hiroyuki Abe at the other end, but the latter could only drive his shot straight at the Seongnam goalkeeper.
The hosts did look the more likely to score again as the half progressed, though, and with 22 minutes remaining they did so through Hwang as the striker latched on to Kim Tae-youn’s flicked header and stepped aside the challenge of Daiki Niwa inside the left of the penalty area before curling his shot past Higashiguchi.
Patric had a chance to pull one back for Gamba inside the final 10 minutes after combining with Kurata inside the area, but Park was equal to the Brazilian’s effort, saving low at his near post.
And the Seongnam goalkeeper also denied Patric in stoppage time, this time from close-range as the visitors were forced to settle for a second consecutive defeat.
PACHECO RELIEVED AL SHABAB SALVAGED A POINT
Riyadh: Although disappointed by his team’s second half performance, coach Jaime Pacheco was relieved that his Al Shabab side were able to salvage a point in Tuesday’s AFC Champions League Group B Matchday Two tie against visitors Pakhtakor from Uzbekistan.
Substitute Naif Hazazi was on target for the Saudi club on the 84th minute to score the game’s fourth and final goal in what had been a back-and-forth tie at Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium.
Abdulrahman Al Khaibary had put the hosts in front before Igor Sergeev levelled in the second half and then Pakhtakor captain Kakhi Makharadze gave the visitors the lead.
To Pachecho’s relief, though, half-time replacement Hazazi finished off a flowing move in the final minutes to maintain Al Shabab’s unbeaten record in the tournament after they also drew with last year’s semi-finalists Al Ain on Matchday One.
“We played a good first half as we controlled the proceedings and took the lead in the match. In the first half we were the best side but in the second half things changed and we made some mistakes which affected us,” said Al Shabab coach Pachecho.
“Our opponents used long balls in the second half and this gave them the advantage while the players’ spirits were affected by the two goals.
“Our problem tonight was not physical, it was psychological, but we still managed to score and get a point from the match.”
The point for Pakhtakor does ensure Samvel Babayan’s side remains top of Group B, two points clear of Al Shabab and Al Ain, having picked up a win last week against Iran’s Naft Tehran in Tashkent.
However, having taken the lead in the second-half after coming back from a goal down, Babayan was disappointed in the manner in which his side conceded late on and passed up on the chance of an away win.
“We knew that Al Shabab would be strong opponents and the match was very tough for us. However, in the second half we scored two goals and I believe that we lost two points from the match,” said Pakhtakor coach Babayan.
“We created many scoring chances and we scored in the second half but towards the end of the match we gave Al Shabab the chance to score the equaliser and unfortunately we got one point instead of winning the match.”
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