On Tuesday 9 April, the third group stage match of the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2019 took place, where Urawa Red Diamonds lost to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (Korea Republic) 0-1 at home to drop their standings to second place in Group G, while the defending champions Kashima Antlers picked up an away victory against Gyeongnam FC (Korea Republic) with a score of 3-2 to remain the leaders of Group E.

Urawa concedes late to suffer first tournament loss

In a match between two clubs with two ACL titles apiece, Urawa elected to go with a more familiar formation with the three-back system instead of the four-back system they have employed over the recent two league matches. However, it was Jeonbuk who took the initiative of the match with their aggressive pressure applied from the early minutes. The Korean side created multiple opportunities through their forwards Ricardo LOPES, LEE Dong-gook, and midfielder LIM Sun-young to threaten the Urawa goal.

Urawa responded with an attempt made by UGAJIN Tomoya in the 32nd minute, followed by a 38th minute shot taken by EWERTON, but their efforts were saved by the opposing goalkeeper.

After entering halftime scoreless, Urawa picked up their pace in the second half. The shot taken by MORIWAKI Ryota in the 53rd minute struck the goal post, while MUTO Yuki penetrated the central area before taking a shot in the 62nd minute. Moriwaki and Muto combined with each other in the 72nd minute to create a close opportunity, but their efforts came short from finding the back of the net.

However, the deadlock was broken by Jeonbuk, just as Urawa was picking up their momentum in the match. The goal came in the 77th minute when the late substitute, ADRIANO exchanged passes with Lopes before slotting the ball into the Urawa goal.

Now down by a goal, Urawa utilised their substitutes in effort to level the match, as SHIBATO Kai, YURUKI Koya, and SUGIMOTO Kenyu were brought into the match. A shot taken by Ugaiji struck the post in the 84th minute and Yuruki’s effort in additional time fell short from crossing the goal line, as Urawa suffered their first loss of this tournament. With this loss, Urawa’s ACL winning streak at home was snapped at nine.

As a result, Jeonbuk increased their tally to six and grabbed the lead at Group G. Urawa is now in second place with four points. With Beijing Sinobo Guoan (China PR) winning their match against Buriram United (Thailand) 3-1 on this day, the Chinese side now ranks third while Buriram drops from second to fourth place.

Urawa’s next fixture will be in two weeks at Korea Republic for a rematch against Jeonbuk.

Kashima comes from behind with 10 players

Despite losing their goalkeeper due to injury and having a player ejected towards the end, Kashima came from behind to earn an away victory over Gyeongnam, thanks to the goals scored by KANAMORI Takeshi and SERGINHO in the final moments of the match.

With the match tied at 0-0, Kashima’s goalkeeper KWOUN Sun Tae was forced to leave the match due to an injury in the closing minutes of the first half. SOGAHATA Hitoshi came into the match to finish off the first half scoreless, but conceded early in the second half, as INUKAI Tomoya’s header to clear a cross ball ended up as an own goal to give Gyeongnam the lead. With the momentum shifting towards the Korean side, Jordon MUTCH converted a corner kick to extend their lead in the 71st minute.

After scoring back a goal in the 75th minute through an own goal, Kashima was forced to play with 10 players with Inukai receiving his second yellow card of the match. However, the defending champions showcased their persistency in the closing minutes. In additional time of the second half, ABE Hiroki headed the cross delivered by ANZAI Koki to allow Kanamori to strike the ball into the net. Just two minutes later, Serginho received the ball from ODA Itsuki before firing a right-footed shot that captured the net to give Kashima a 3-2 victory.

Now with seven points, Kashima remains at the top of Group E. Kashima may clinch their spot into the next round depending on the results of the next fixture where they will face Gyeongnam at home on Wednesday 24. With Shandong Luneng Taishan (China PR) winning their match against Johor Darul Ta'zim (Malaysia) 2-1, Gyeongnam remains in third place, while Shandong is in second, and Johor in fourth.

In Group C of the western division, Al-Duhail (Qatar) faced Al Ain (UAE) on Monday 8, where Japanese players NAKAJIMA Shoya and SHIOTANI Tsukasa both started for their sides, as the two sides drew 2-2. With the group leader Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia) losing to Esteghlal (Iran), Al Ain dropped to fourth place, while Al-Duhail remained in second place.

Coaches and Players’ Comments

Oswaldo OLIVEIRA, Coach (Urawa Red Diamonds)
It turned out to be a tough match as we expected. Our opponent consists with talented players with very high quality and they are a very competitive team. We struggled to find our rhythm in the first 20 minutes, but we managed to keep possession of the ball after that stint. Although we showed great dominance in the second half, we conceded a goal from a play we came fully prepared for, so that was clearly our mistake. By bringing in Adriano, our opponents changed the dynamics of the match. We will strive to change the outcome in the next fixture.

MF KASHIWAGI Yosuke (Urawa Red Diamonds)
We created a good momentum from the mid-way through the first half to the early minutes of the second half but came short from scoring a goal during that stretch and ended up with a disappointing result. But I feel like if we can build on today’s performance, the team can get better. We hope to pay them back in our rematch in Korea.

MF MUTO Yuki (Urawa Red Diamonds)
I had opportunities I should have scored, so I have to be more critical in those moments. I felt like I was able to maintain a good distance with Moriwaki at the right flank, but we still need to heighten the quality in our combinations at the central area to give the team more variations in our attacks. If we can stay on the same page, we can get better as a team.

Jose MORAIS, Coach (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors)
Our players did a great job to fulfil my expectations and worked hard to earn the victory. Although it was disappointing that we couldn’t score any goals while we created many chances during the first half, we managed to make the adjustments in the second half. We were able to take advantage of Adriano’s speed and ability to make quick decisions. I knew he would score for us. The players showcased great amount of efforts, quality, and intention. I think we deserved to win the match today.

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

Tournament Information