Wednesday 22 February saw the second day of the group stage in the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2017. Kawasaki Frontale drew 1-1 at home against Suwon Samsung Bluewings from Korea, while Gamba Osaka won away 3-0 against Adelaide United from Australia. All four teams from Japan had a good start, and managed to secure at least a point.

Kawasaki are participating in this championship for the first time since 2014, when they reached the top 16. The team struck the opener only 10 minutes after the kick-off in their first official match of the season under new boss ONIKI Toru.

Midfielder OSHIMA Ryota intercepted in midfield to send the ball forward towards midfielder NAKAMURA Kengo who capitalised on the opposing defender’s error of not being able to clear the ball away and swiftly reacted to it to send in a cross from the left side of the box and into the front of goal, where onrushing forward KOBAYASHI Yu chested the opener for the Japanese club.

Kawasaki’s Oshima freely connected passes in midfield and combined with Nakamura and midfielder and new transfer from Gamba Osaka ABE Hiroyuki to initiate attacks. Building up plays with rhythmical passes, the Japanese club went close to scoring the second with Kobayashi’s strong long-distance shot from the left in the 15th minute.

After 23 minutes, however, a long vertical pass found Suwon’s midfielder YEOM Ki-Hun who whipped in a cross from the left and, unfortunately, the centred ball inadvertently hit defender TANIGUCHI Shogo and deflected off his leg and into the net for an equaliser.

In attempt to unlevel the match, Kawasaki attempted a pair of shots, but both efforts did not successfully find the back of the net. In the 28 minute, forward and new transfer from Omiya IENAGA Akihiro was picked out by Nakamura and struck a shot at goal. Then eight minutes later in the 36th minute, Abe combined with Kobayashi and fired a shot inches wide of the goalpost.

On the other hand, Suwon looked for their chances to score goals by sending the ball towards forward JOHNATHAN, who constantly aimed at exploiting the space behind the Kawasaki defence. However, the J. League club did not allow the Brazilian attacker to break through their defensive line and entered the break tied 1-1.

In the second half, Kawasaki struggled to find their pace as they often allowed the opponents to reclaim possession in midfield and few times when they had possession of the ball, they were unable to construct threatening attacks against the Korean side who fortified with effective defensive blocks in the centre.

Seeking for a win at home, in the 72nd minute Kawasaki brought in defender NARA Tatsuki to invigorate the backline while making the necessary adjustments to their tactics by altering positions to score the go-ahead goal. Then, in the 76th minute, an excellent delivery from the right side almost found Kobayashi who was only inches short to flick in a cross ball into the net. Subsequently, both Ienaga and Kobayashi attempted to give the Japanese club a tiebreaker in the 80th and 89th minutes, respectively. However, Suwon also defended well and did not allow the decisive goal in the final moments of the match.

The Korean counterparts also went close to scoring the game-deciding goal with Yeom’s rifled shot from the left in the 88th minute and Jonathan’s close-range attempt during injury time. However, goalkeeper JUNG Sung-ryong defended tenaciously and his brilliant saves secured an important point for the Japanese team. The closely-contested match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

Guangzhou Evergrande (China PR) won a sweeping victory over Eastern SC (Hong Kong) 7-0 in the other match of Group G. As a result, Guangzhou Evergrande are currently sitting in first place in the group with three points, followed by both Kawasaki and Suwon in second with one point, and Eastern SC in fourth place.

Gamba Osaka take two-goal lead in the first half

Participating in this championship for the third consecutive year and the ninth time overall, Gamba Osaka had previously encountered Adelaide in the tournament-winning year 2008 and then again in 2012. Capitalising on their long history of success in the tournament, the Japanese team went on to score two goals in the first half.。

Attacking from the right flank in the 21st minute, J. League forward NAGASAWA Shun leaped above the Australian defender to head home a cross from right full-back OH Jae-Suk and scored an opener for the Japanese side.

Thereafter, there were stretches where Adelaide took control of the match and threatened the Japanese goal, but the tenacious defence along with some superb saves by goalkeeper HIGASHIGUCHI Masaaki did not allow the Australian counterparts to level the match. Then, the awaited insurance for the Osaka club came in as they hit on the counter in the added time of the first half, when midfielder KONNO Yasuyuki reacted to the loose ball off midfielder IDEGUCHI Yosuke’s shot and slotted the second with his right foot to take a two-point advantage to the break.

There were stretches in the second half where the Australian team were imposing in attack, but the Japanese side stayed focused and defended composedly, and did not allow their opponents to narrow their advantage. Then, after 81 minutes, the excellent delivery from a free kick taken by midfielder ENDO Yasuhito found defender MIURA Genta, whose header deflected off an opposing defender found the back of the net. Gamba had effectively put the game out of reach by stretching their lead to three goals.

Although Gamba failed to get through the group stage in the previous championship without securing a single win, they got off to an excellent start this year winning a comprehensive victory 3-0 over the Australian powerhouse at the same stadium where they claimed the ACL title in 2008.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

Gamba Osaka are currently topping Group H on goal difference, followed by Jiangsu Suning FC (China PR), who beat Jeju United (Korea Republic) 1-0 on the same day. Similarly on goal difference, Jeju are in third place, while Adelaide sunk to the bottom of the group after the first round of matches.

Home and away matches of the group stage will continue until Wednesday 10 May to decide the top two teams of each group advancing to the knockout stages. The second group-stage matches of the ACL will resume on Tuesday 28 February and Wednesday 1 March.

Coaches and Players Comments

ONIKI Toru, Coach (Kawasaki Frontale)
It was such a shame that we couldn’t come up with a win in our home game. However, in the group stage, it is also important that we do not lose a match. We performed brilliantly in the first half, but the opponents started to react well against our pressure in the second and we tended to lose the ball soon after intercepting, which drained our stamina rapidly. We need to improve our performance, including the manner in which we conduct the game. Having said that, I still would give credit to my players for not losing the match.

FW KOBAYASHI Yu (Kawasaki Frontale)
I really wanted to earn three points in our first home game. However, we failed to capitalise on our scoring chances and ended up with a draw. I believe we performed fairly well combining our efforts with the newcomers to the team. Taking those positive takeaways from the game, I would like to improve the team further.。

MF NAKAMURA Kengo (Kawasaki Frontale)
I am disappointed that we didn’t come up with a win. We didn’t allow the opponents to break down our defence, but we ended up conceding a goal. I feel like I just had a bad day in the office. On the positive side, despite being only a month since we started practicing as a new team, we were able to share the same vision on the pitch and create scoring chances leading to a shot. This is something we need to continue and do more.

SEO Jung-won, Coach (Suwon Samsung Bluewings)
We knew the importance of the opening match, but I expected a tough game since our condition was not yet perfect. In the first half, we allowed Kawasaki to easily send the ball up front from their build-ups. So I told my players during the break to prevent those vertical passes from entering the dangerous areas in midfield. By not allowing them to send in effective passes, we performed better than the opponents in the second half. I will take it as a positive that we secured a point away from home. I expect we will be even more competitive as we go through matches during the regular season.

24 January 2017 (Tue.)～25 November 2017(Sat.)
Tournament Information