football asia - news

Zheng Zhi backs Evergrande to progress

Captain Zheng Zhi backed China's Guangzhou Evergrande to show their maturity by securing a place in the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League against Japan's Kashiwa Reysol on Tuesday with the 2013 winners out to defend a 3-1 advantage at Tianhe Sport Centre Stadium. An own goal from Kashiwa defender Daisuke Suzuki and subsequent strikes from Brazilian midfielder Paulinho and striker Gao Lin last month in Japan handed Guangzhou a significant advantage ahead of the return fixture.

And with Luiz Felipe Scolari's side moving to the top of the Chinese Super League with a 3-0 win over fellow title contenders Shanghai SIPG at the weekend; four-time domestic champions Guangzhou are on course to repeat their success of 2013 at home and at continental level.

"We just finished the match against Shanghai and we only arrived in Guangzhou on Sunday afternoon, but after the win against Shanghai, we have a lot of confidence for the second leg although we know we will face a strong team," said Zheng, who was named AFC Player of the Year following Guangzhou's 2013 AFC Champions League victory.

"I believe a lot is in our favour including the ability of the head coach, the players, and the staff. We have a good head coach and new foreign players, all the team is fighting as one. We can unite and fight as one and our momentum is favorable, and if we can win, we will keep our momentum high.

"We hope to show that Guangzhou can win in difficult times and easy times, and no matter that we won the previous game 3-1, we will handle the next game seriously and prove we are a mature team."

Guangzhou last lost in any competition in the first leg of their AFC Champions League last 16 with Seongnam FC at the end of May, and following last month's result in Japan, Kashiwa must score at least three goals on Tuesday to avenge their 2013 semi-final exit at the hands of the Super League side which included a 4-0 defeat at Tianhe Sport Centre Stadium.

"In the first leg we played against a strong team and in the second leg we know it will be the same," said Scolari.

"In their history Guangzhou have seldom lost by two goals which means we have a high ability to win the game."

Striker Elkeson missed the first leg success due to injury, but the Brazilian made a scoring return to the side against Shanghai on Saturday as Guangzhou moved two points clear at the top of the Super League following a third consecutive win in all competitions.

"Elkeson did well in the previous match and he has recovered from his injury so I believe we will see his best performance," added Scolari.

Gamba play down Usami absence

Coach Kenta Hasegawa and captain Yasuhito Endo have played down the absence of leading scorer Takashi Usami ahead of Gamba Osaka's AFC Champions League quarter-final second leg with fellow former winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors from Korea Republic on Wednesday.

Japanese treble winners Gamba are seeking a return to the semi-finals for the first time since lifting the continental title in 2008 and are unbeaten in their last seven AFC Champions League outings following last month's goalless first leg draw at Jeonju World Cup Stadium.

But Gamba will be without Japan international Usami, who is the 2008 winners' leading scorer in this season's AFC Champions League with four goals, for the return fixture at Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium after the 23-year-old picked up a yellow card in the second half at Jeonju World Cup Stadium and will be forced to watch from the stands on Wednesday.

"I won't know until we play, but obviously he is one of the main scorers. But then since he will not be around, it might confuse Jeonbuk who to mark and that might lead to breaking the opponent's balance," said Hasegawa, who saw Usami score twice on Saturday as Gamba recorded a 2-1 win over Kashima Antlers in the J.League.

"Also, the rest of the team has enough strength to show a powerful game, so I am quite positive we have enough strength to win this match."

Usami scored twice in the first leg of the Round of 16 success over Korea's FC Seoul at the end of May having also netted against K-League Classic side Seongnam FC and China's Guangzhou R&F as Gamba recovered from a slow start to eventually win Group F.

"He will be missed obviously since he scores a lot and is a big danger to the away team," said 2008 AFC Champions League winner Endo.

"But whoever is on the pitch, we need to win so we will do our best and cover what we can do as a team."

Hasegawa's side are boosted by the return of Yasuyuki Konno from suspension and the defender is set to play at Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium having featured in Gamba's recent domestic outings, despite Tomokazu Myojin successfully filling in during the first leg.

"We all know how good he is, but the player who replaced him played well too. When Konno is back, he will bring out his good play on the pitch, but we don't know who will play for the second leg," added Endo.

"I just believe that whoever is going to be selected will bring out the best performance and will exert a good influence onto the team."

Kotaro Omori, though, is set to miss the return fixture due to a knee injury picked up against Nagoya Grampus in the Nabisco Cup earlier this month having started the first leg against Jeonbuk.

Opponents Jeonbuk were also in domestic action at the weekend as Choi Kang-hee's K-League Classic champions beat FC Seoul 3-0 on Saturday thanks to goals from Lee Dong-gook, Lee Jae-sung and Brazilian Leonardo.

"We had hoped to win the home match, but it was sad to draw 0-0. We were aware that Gamba has a strong offence so we tried to win without conceding a goal, but we couldn't," said Choi having led Jeonbuk to the AFC Champions League title in 2006 as well as the 2011 final.

"We could find satisfactory things and disappointing things together in the first leg, but we still have 90 minutes left, therefore we can achieve a good result.

"The second leg will be held at Gamba's home so there will also be many disadvantages for us.

"We drew the first leg so we must score the first goal. The game will change depending on which team scores the first goal."

Also on Wednesday, Al Ahli of the United Arab Emirates will look to build on a slender one-goal advantage against Iran's Naft Tehran in Dubai.

Brazilian Rodrigo Lima scored the only goal of the game just after the hour mark last month at Azadi Stadium as Al Ahli boosted their hopes of becoming the first side from the UAE to win the continental title since Al Ain claimed the inaugural AFC Champions League crown in 2003.

The winners of Wednesday's quarter-final ties will already know the identity of their semi-final opponents before kick-off as China's Guangzhou Evergrande entertain Japan's Kashiwa Reysol on Tuesday, while Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal travel to Qatar to face Lekhwiya.

Kashiwa seek to end Guangzhou losing streak

Japan's Kashiwa Reysol must overturn a 3-1 deficit in the second leg of their AFC Champions League quarter-final second leg against China's Guangzhou Evergrande at Tianhe Sport Centre Stadium on Tuesday to secure a return to the semi-finals.

Japan's Kashiwa Reysol must end a two-game continental losing streak at Guangzhou Evergrande's Tianhe Sport Centre Stadium on Tuesday to secure a return to the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League with the J.League side also needing to score at least three goals at the home of the 2013 winners.

Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou posted a dominant 3-1 win at Hitachi Kashiwa Stadium at the end of last month thanks to an own goal from stand-in Kashiwa captain Daisuke Suzuki as well as strikes from Brazilian midfielder Paulinho and China forward Gao Lin.

Kashiwa striker Masato Kudo was able to grab a late lifeline for the home side ahead of the return fixture, although Tatsuma Yoshida's side must claim a first AFC Champions League success at Tianhe Sport Centre Stadium having lost during the group stage in 2012 and 2013 semi-finals.

"I've played there twice already and know how intimidating the venue can get, but I'm used to it already. More than that, we want to make them silent with the power and strength we have," said Kudo, who featured as Kashiwa lost 3-1 in the 2012 group stage and 4-0 during the second leg of their 2013 semi-final at Tianhe Sport Centre Stadium.

"I tried my best to get at least two goals back from them before the end of the first leg, and I ended up getting one goal, and I would like to turnaround the position in the away match in Guangzhou.

"Most people believe that it is now too difficult to win, but what we know is that each individual player will have strong feeling towards being number one in Asia, so I think we must think about that and fight as if it's life or death."

Kashiwa, who did share a goalless draw with Guangzhou at home in the group stage of the 2012 AFC Champions League, warmed up for the trip to China with a 1-0 defeat against Urawa Red Diamonds in the J.League on Friday.

But midfielder and regular captain Hidekazu Otani did return to the full-strength side against Urawa having missed the first leg due to injury, although defender Naoki Wako remains a doubt due to a concussion suffered prior to the defeat by Guangzhou last month.

"Even though we lost the match 3-1, we were able keep the hope with that one goal by Kudo, and rather than 3-0 ahead of the away match, with 3-1 we have more hope and mentally it's completely different," said Kashiwa coach Yoshida.

"With a quite packed schedule it will obviously affect the physical strength of the players, but we will try our best to manage it ahead of the second leg."

Opponents Guangzhou, meanwhile, enjoyed significantly better preparations as the 2013 AFC Champions League winners moved to the top of the Super League with a 3-0 win over Shanghai SIPG on Saturday.

The victory saw Luiz Felipe Scolari's side extend their winning streak to three games, while Guangzhou have now not lost in any competition since the first leg of their AFC Champions League last 16 tie with Korea Republic's Seongnam FC at the end of May.

"The first leg of the quarter-final was fascinating and both sides showed their own merits, although we did a better job in terms of scoring," said Scolari. "But that has already become history, right now we have to focus on the upcoming match."

Also on Tuesday, Lekhwiya face a similar task against Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal although the Qatar champions will look to overturn a 4-1 first leg deficit in Doha.

Brazilian Carlos Eduardo and compatriot Ailton as well as Khalid Kaabi were on target for 2014 finalists Al Hilal at King Fahd International Stadium last month, although Youssef Msakni was able to grab a potentially crucial away goal for Lekhwiya in the first half.

The semi-final line-up will be confirmed on Wednesday as Japan's Gamba Osaka entertain Korea Republic's Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors with the tie level on aggregate following a goalless draw last month, while Al Ahli of the United Arab Emirates will look to build on a slender one-goal advantage against Iran's Naft Tehran in Dubai.

Lee: Jeonbuk must create more chances

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors attacker Lee Keun-ho believes his side needs to be more creative in the second leg of their AFC Champions League quarter-final against Gamba Osaka on Wednesday.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors attacker Lee Keun-ho believes his side needs to be more creative in the second leg of their AFC Champions League quarter-final against Gamba Osaka on Wednesday.

The first leg of the encounter, at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium on August 26, ended in a goalless draw, while Jeonbuk have failed to score on three other occasions in their last six games.

On Saturday, the Mad Green Boys brought their goal drought to an end when they defeated FC Seoul 3-0 to extend their lead at the summit of the K-League Classic.

Lee, who has only scored once in seven appearances this season, will be looking to bring his own lean spell to an end when he visits the Osaka Expo '70 Stadium on Wednesday.

"The most important thing is goals ... especially the first goal,” the 30-year-old told Yonhap News Agency.

“I am satisfied with the level of play in the first leg through strong pressing and our good physical fitness, but we need to create chances in the second leg."

Lee and his teammates must score in order to advance but need only draw to book their place in the semi-finals due to the competition’s away goals rule.

Should they progress on Wednesday, Jeonbuk will play either Japan’s Kashiwa Reysol or China’s Guangzhou Evergrande.

Hiroshima beats Yamagata 3-1 to take J.League lead

TOKYO —

Brazilian Douglas and Takuma Asano scored second-half goals as Sanfrecce Hiroshima beat Montedio Yamagata 3-1 on Saturday to move into first place in the J.League second stage standings.

Diego put Yamagata ahead in the 35th minute but Mihael Mikic equalized just four minutes later.

Douglas scored his 15th goal midway through the second half and Asano sealed the win with 12 minutes left in regulation.

Hiroshima improved to 24 points, two ahead of Kashima Antlers who lost 2-1 to Gamba Osaka. Japan striker Takashi Usami scored both goals for Gamba, which is in fifth place.

In other matches, Kawasaki Frontale beat Ventforet Kofu 3-1 while Vegalta Sendai edged Nagoya Grampus 1-0.

Ryoichi Maeda scored a hat-trick as FC Tokyo beat Vissel Kobe 3-0.

Shonan Bellmare and Matsumoto Yamaga finished 1-1 as did Albriex Niigata and Yokohama F Marinos.

Sagan Tosu and Shimizu S-Pulse ended in a goalless draw.

On Friday, Urawa Reds beat Kashiwa Reysol 1-0. Kashiwa is in third place on 19 points, one ahead of FC Tokyo.

Reds won the first-stage title in June to book a spot in the championship playoffs starting late November.

The winners of each stage and top three clubs of the aggregate table will qualify for the championship.