The AFC Champions League 2015, the tournament to determine Asia’s best club, entered its second day of the group stage Matchday 1 on 25 February. Last year’s J.League Division 1 runners-up Urawa Reds and third place Kashima Antlers came out to play their opening match but both failed to get off to a good start. While Kashima in Group H fell to Western Sydney Wanderers (Australia) 1-3 at home, Group G Urawa allowed a comeback 2-1 win to Suwon Samsung FC (KOR) on the road.

In their sixth ACL campaign, Kashima went on aggressive attacks early with through balls and side attacks. In the 7th minute, midfielder Caio met a free kick from midfielder ENDO Yasushi, but it was denied by goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis.

J.League’s powerhouse continued to run into space behind the opposing backline to receive through balls and low cross balls from sides. In the 29th minute, forward Takasaki Hiroyuki attacked into the box from the left flank and fired a right-footed shot, which was denied by Bouzanis. In the closing minutes of the first half, defender YAMAMOTO Shuto appeared in front of goal and launched a shot, but it went off target.

Early in the second half, Western Sydney threatened Kashima’s goal with a shot from the right side by former Kawasaki Frontale defender TANAKA Yusuke, who was newly added in January.

As Western Sydney, the reigning ACL champions, put pressure on Kashima defenders through left-side cut-ins, Australian international forward Tomi Juric penetrated from the left side and sent a pass into the box in the 54th minute. The pass deflected by Kashima’s defender, who attempted clearance, went straight into the net to give Australian side an opening goal.

Kashima, looking for an equaliser, sent on veteran midfielder MOTOYAMA Masashi in the 65th minute to ignite their offence. In the 68th minute, after Caio attacked into the penalty box from the right side and put in a cut-back pass, DOI Shoma volleyed it with his right foot to level the score.

Five minutes later, TAKASAKI responded to a through ball to fire a shot but saw his shot off target. Then, substituted forward AKASAKI Shuhei and others kept trying to find space behind defenders for a goal-scoring chance.

Although defender NISHI Daigo unleashed a blast from distance in the 84th minute and then defender SHOJI Gen headed the following corner kick, Bouzanis denied both efforts to keep Kashima from scoring.

While head coach Tony Popovic has been suspended for two matches for his misconducts in the last ACL quarter-final, midfielder TAKAHAGI Yojiro, who joined Western Sydney last month in the midst of the A-League season, led their offence. He created golden opportunities after he switched positions to behind forwards from a defensive midfield position in the remaining 10 minutes.

In the 86th minute, Takahagi dribbled into the middle from the left flank and passed the ball to forward Mark Bridge. After rushing close to the opposing goal despite being marked by defenders, Takahagi tapped the ball back from Bridge into the net with his right foot.

In the other Group H match between teams who played against each other in the 2013 final, Beijing Guoan (CHN), champions in that year, beat FC Seoul (KOR) 1-0 to start their 2015 tourney with a victory.

Additionally in injury time, Bridge intercepted Kashima backline’s pass, exchanged a one-two-pass with Takahagi and showed up on the edge of the box before he hammered a right-footed shot into the net for another goal.

Meanwhile, in making their first appearance in two years and aiming at the title for the first time since 2007, Urawa kept outplayed by Suwon’s attacks in the first half. Yet in the closing minutes of the first half, defender MORIWAKI Ryota fired a left-footed shot from a left cross for an opening goal.

In the second half, however, Suwon came back when defender Oh Beomseok sent home an equaliser in the 56th minute, and Leo(Leonardo De Oliveira Clemente Marins) met a right-side free kick at the far side to turn the score around in the closing minutes of the match.

In the other side of Group G, Beijing Guoan (CHN) grabbed a 1-0 win over Brisbane Roar (AUS) on the road.

The group stage Matchday 2 will be held on 3 and 4 March. While Urawa meet Brisbane Roar (AUS) at home, Kashima face FC Seoul (KOR) on the road. Gamba Osaka travel to play against Seongnam FC (KOR), and Kashiwa Reysol welcome Binh Duong (VIE) at home.

Top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage. The final is scheduled on 7 and 21 November after the tournament is played among the teams divided into east and west from the group stage up to the semi-finals.

Head Coach and Players' Comments

Toninho Cerezo, Head Coach (Kashima Antlers)
I’ve been in the world of football for 60 years, but it still surprises me. That is, even though you play well, you sometimes lose 3-1. Maybe the first half was better than you might have expected. But we weren’t able to keep it up in the second half. That’s what we need to improve. My players displayed their own football with heart and soul. It’s a blow that we didn’t win in a favourable situation at home, which is advantage for us, but there is still plenty of possibility to get through the group stage. We don’t need to feel let down. Every one of the players who made a mistake knows their own mistake better. It’s important for us to get together and try to make adjustments as a team.

MF   DOI Shoma (Kashima Antlers)
It was good we put our heart into playing the match from the first half and kept fighting with everybody like fans, staff members, players who were playing on the pitch and players who were on the bench. But you won’t win unless you keep it up throughout 90 minutes, not only the first half. We got in trouble with the goal given up. We needed to go forward to get a goal, so that made us off balance. We should deal with every situation. There is no point in disappointing. We will refresh our mind, improve what is bad and keep on what is good.

Ian Crook, Assistant Coach (Western Sydney Wanderers)
The match was very tough. It’s great that we came here at home of a club with great achievements like Kashima and started off our ACL championship defence with a good result. It’s very difficult to possess the ball and dominate the match against Kashima, who have lots of strengths, but today we tried to focus on playing our match anyway. I sent on Jason Trifiro and let Takahagi play behind forwards with 10 minutes left because I wanted to increase possession a bit more and wanted to see Takahagi scoring. Then he played very well. We’ve played good matches in the A-League this season, but the results didn’t follow. I believe this victory will lead to confidence of the players and team.

MF   TAKAHAGI Yojiro (Western Sydney Wanderers)
It was big three points for our team to win the away match. Especially, winning the first match of the tournament definitely leads us well to the next match. When I moved up my position in the last 10 minutes, there wasn’t any specific instruction because it was the position I usually play at A-League matches. My role is to connect the ball and create decisive situations by receiving the ball between forwards and midfielders, and I think I was able to do that.

AFC Champions League 2015
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