On Tuesday 12 March, the second group stage matches of the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2019 took place at various locations. In Group F, Sanfrecce Hiroshima won their home match against Melbourne Victory (Australia) 2-1 to earn their first victory of the competition. The defending champions Kashima Antlers drew 2-2 against Shandong Luneng Taishan (China PR) in Group E to earn a precious away point.

The second group stage matches will continue to take place on Wednesday 13, as Kawasaki Frontale welcomes Sydney FC (Australia) to their home, while Urawa Red Diamonds will face the Beijing Sinobo Guoan (China PR) in an away match.

Persistency earns victory for Hiroshima

With both sides dropping their first match, the match between Hiroshima and Melbourne turned out to be a heated battle. Hiroshima’s Coach JOFUKU Hiroshi elected to rotate the entire line-up from their weekend match against Cerezo Osaka in the J. League, as he described that his starting line-up consists “Players who are most eager to win.”

The match saw an early action when Hiroshima’s forward PATRIC dribbled up the right side before cutting back a cross to HIGASHI Shunki who converted the delivery to make it 1-0 in the third minute of the match.

In response to Hiroshima’s early goal, Melbourne came close in the 26th minute, when their forward Ola TOIVONEN connected with a cross delivered from the left side to strike a header, but his effort wasn’t good enough to capture the goal. HONDA Keisuke and James TROISI led the offence for Melbourne, as they continued to create opportunities by keeping possession of the ball. However, Hiroshima showed great composure and persistency to keep their lead throughout the first half.

In the second half, Hiroshima attacked the left flank to threaten the opposing goal, as SHIMIZU Kohei and MORISHIMA Tsukasa penetrated the side to create opportunities but came short from scoring their second goal. With this match being Honda’s first match against a J. League club since 2007 when he played for Nagoya, the crowd arouse when the former Japan National Team star dribbled up the field before launching a shot in the 59th minute. Troisi also made an effort in the 67th minute, but his shot was denied by a superb save made by the Hiroshima goalkeeper NAKABAYASHI Hirotsugu. However, a golden opportunity came for Melbourne in the 71st minute, when Storm ROUX delivered a cut back from the right side. It was Honda who made a sliding effort to convert the delivery as his left foot captured the ball and scored the equaliser.

With Hiroshima desperately needing a win, they kept on penetrating the flanks to create opportunities. After introducing KASHIWA Yoshifumi and NOTSUDA Gakuto into the match, the go-ahead goal came in the 86th minute. It was the substitute, Kashiwa, who delivered the assist with a cross sent form the left side that allowed WATARI Daiki to convert a header to make it 2-1 for Hiroshima to take the win.

In the other match played in Group F, Daegu FC (Korea Republic) won over Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao (China PR) 3-1 to mark their second straight victory and maintained their group lead. With three points each Hiroshima and Guangzhou are tied in points, but Guangzhou ranks second with the advantage over Hiroshima in goal differential, while Melbourne sits in fourth place.

Ito marks a brace in Kashima’s draw

Kashima faced Shandong Luneng Taishan in China PR, and despite the two goals scored by ITO Sho in the early minutes, the team conceded two goals in the first half to give away their lead. The team entered the match with six changes made from their J. League clash against Shonan in the weekend, as JEONG Seung-Hyeon and MISAO Kento returned to the line-up since picking up an injury. The opener came in the 10th minute, when Ito received the ball from Leo SILVA before penetrating the penalty area and striking a shot into the goal. Four minutes later, Ito chased down a through ball delivered by HIRATO Taiki to score his second goal of the match, fourth overall goal this season.

However, the home side, who are making their first ACL appearance in three years, responded quickly. In the 19th minute, Shandong’s Graziano PELLE converted a penalty kick to cut their deficit in half. The former Italy National Team striker marked his brace in the 42nd minute, when he powered through the marks of the Kashima defenders to squeeze in the equaliser.

Despite seeing their opponents taking control of the match in the second half, Kashima showed their persistency to keep the home side from taking the lead. In efforts to score the winning goal, Kashima sent in ABE Hiroki and ANZAI Koki towards the end, but the score remained 2-2 at the final whistle.

As a result, Kashima remained in the top spot of Group E with four points. With Gyeongnam FC (Korea Republic) and Johor Darul Ta'zim (Malaysia) drawing 1-1, Gyeongnam and Shandong matched each other’s points at two, but Shandong sits at second place with the advantage over Gyeongnam in total goals scored.

In the other matches played in the Western division, NAKAJIMA Shoya played for Al-Duhail (Qatar) in their away match against the Saudi Arabian powerhouse Al-Hilal. Despite the equaliser scored by Nakajima in the second half, his team went onto lose the match 1-3. In the same group, Al Ain (UAE) faced Esteghlal (Iran), where Al Ain’s defender SHIOTANI Tsukasa netted the equaliser towards the end of the match to give his side a 1-1 draw. With their back-to-back wins, Al-Hilal sits in first place, while Al-Duhail is in second place with their three points. The winless Al Ain and Esteghlal both shared a point, but Al Ain ranks third with the advantage in goal differential.

Coaches and Players' Comments

JOFUKU Hiroshi, Coach (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
After losing to Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao in the first match, this was a match we couldn’t afford to lose. We feel like we managed to contain our opponent’s strong points in this match. When our opponents converted a goal off their few chances, we had a negative mood surrounding the team, but the players did well to show their resiliency and earned the victory as a team. In terms of the squad selection, I considered last season’s experience and tried to heighten the overall level of the team so that we can create more competition within the team.

FW WATARI Daiki (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
I had a feeling that the ball will end up in that space. In our last match against Guangzhou, our team played too passively and displayed a very disappointing performance. It was a regretful match and I was very angry at myself, so I really wanted to earn positive results in today’s match.

Kevin MUSCAT, Coach (Melbourne Victory)
I am very disappointed with the result, but I am proud of my team and their performance. We were the aggressor of the match and managed to dominate the ball possession in an away match. We were able to contain Hiroshima in their own half for a long stretch. However, there are times where your performance doesn’t reflect the result, and today was a clear example of that. Despite this result, we will continue to play our style of football in the future matches.

MF HONDA Keisuke (Melbourne Victory)
I was fortunate to be in that position to convert the goal at a critical moment of the match. Although it was disappointing to lose the match, it has been a while since I returned to Japan, and I had a great time. I want to play like three more matches here. We have our home match scheduled ahead of us, so we hope to prepare ourselves thoroughly to win the match next time. I am striving to earn a spot into the Olympics, and I feel like I still have more room for improvements. My approach might have changed, but rather than trying to maintain my current status, I will continue to work hard so that I can continuously showcase an improved version of Honda Keisuke.

Tournament Dates:
Play-offs: Tue. 5 - Tue. 19 February 2019
Group Stage: Mon. 4 March - Wed. 22 May 2019

Tournament Information