The group stage of the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2016 entered its second day of matchday 3 on 16 March. While Sanfrecce Hiroshima grabbed a 3-0 win over Buriram United (Thailand) with forward ASANO Takuma's brace, Urawa Reds held out for a 2-2 away draw with defending ACL champions Guangzhou Evergrande (China) thanks to forward KOROKI Shinzo's last-ditch goal.

J1's reigning champions Hiroshima, who started the season off the pace with two losses in two ACL matches and one loss and two draws in the J1 league after they won the XEROX SUPER CUP, made six changes to their starting lineup, considering players' condition, with new youngsters including forward MIYAYOSHI Takumi, who made his first start.

Hiroshima came close with Miyayoshi, Asano and midfielder NOTSUDA Gakuto showing goal-scoring attitude from the start as defender SASAKI Sho met a left corner kick in the 34th minute but failed to find the back of the net.

Then in the 42nd minute, Asano reacted to Miyayoshi's through ball from midfield and ran through the heart of the opposing defensive line before putting home with his right foot.

Thai league champions Buriram's South Korean midfielder KO Seulki tried to halt Hiroshima's attacks at the anchor position, while right side midfielder Narubadin attempted to attack, taking advantage of his fast feet. But the Thai outfit struggled to play their game on offence with missing their attacking forward Diogo due to injury.

After finishing the first half 1-0, Hiroshima tried to target space behind the opposition's high defensive line in the second half. In the 55th minute, Asano scored again when he latched onto Notsuda's through ball and beat defenders, capitalising on his speed.

Three minutes later, Notsuda broke through the right flank. But his shot from the edge of the box was denied by the goalkeeper.

Hiroshima started to control the game as they kept their attacking momentum, subbing in midfielder SHIBASAKI Kosei in the 74th minute and midfielder Mihael MIKIC in the 79th minute. Then, one more goal was scored in the 81st minute. After Shibasaki received a pass from Notsuda running up the right flank on a counterattack, SHIMIZU Kohei blasted it to give his side a 3-0 lead.

Hiroshima clinched their first win of the season the ACL and J.League combined with the 3-0 comfortable win, keeping their hopes alive to qualify for the ACL group stage.

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In the other Group F match, group-leading FC Seoul (Korea Republic) beat Shandong Luneng FC (China) 4-1, adding their points to nine. Shandong stand in second with six points, followed by Hiroshima in third with three points and Buriram in fourth with four straight losses.

In the meanwhile, Group H Urawa took on Guangzhou Evergrande on the road. Urawa conceded goals to former Brazilian international forward Ricardo GOULART in the 6th and 14th minutes, forcing them 2-0 down from early on.

But in the 30th minute, Urawa closed the gap to one goal when midfielder MUTO Yuki met a right corner kick at the far post.

Urawa continued to tenaciously seek a goal-scoring opportunity with Koroki sent on for Muto in the 62nd minute. Then in the 89th minute, Zlatan’s lay-off from a cross by defender MAKINO Tomoaki, who went up the left flank, fell to Koroki. The substitute striker hit the ball from the edge of the area for his side's equaliser. Koroki tallied goals in two consecutive matches for his third goal of the season.

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In the other match, Sydney FC (Australia) snatched a 1-0 away victory over Pohang Steelers (Korea Republic), maintaining the top spot with six points. Pohang and Urawa trail the Australian side with four points, standing in second and third on their head-to-head result respectively. Guangzhou Evergrande, who have been winless in the ACL this season, settled for fourth place with two points after one loss and two draws.

The next matchday will be held on 4 and 5 April.

Coach and Players' Comments

MORIYASU Hajime, Coach (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
While we were under pressure that we needed a win today to qualify out of the group stage, the players found their feet and won the match with three goals and a clean sheet. They got it done what we've been doing, bringing out their best and taking care of their role on the team. Three upfront players proved themselves and got results. I think the goals they committed to will give them confidence. It's not a situation where we can get through the group stage on our own. We will take advantage of the experience from this win for the next one and try to win the next away match to haul in the group stage qualifying.

FW  ASANO Takuma (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
I expected today's match would be difficult. We are in a tough situation to qualify the ACL group stage, but the result ended up like this because we all never gave up and played the match as one. We young players also wanted to get results and move onto the next. Good balls were sent to me for my first and second goals. I believe I was given the goals.

MF  MIYAYOSHI Takumi (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
We needed a win to go to the next round. I'm glad the team got three points. I did a job just for the opening goal, and other than that I wasn't able to get involved in team's moves with the ball. But for that scene, Notsuda held out and passed the ball to me, and I was also able to send it to Asano. That was good. I will keep up my work on every single day to be able to get playing time.

MF  SHIMIZU Kohei (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
Today's win leads well to our J.League and we will take advantage of this momentum and win the away matches, and hopefully win all the remaining matches.

Alexandre GAMA, Coach (Buriram United)
The tactics we prepared for this match were working well for the first 42 minutes, but that completely changed after we allowed the opening goal. We did our best, but we missed core attackers because of injury and suspensions. Then, we were forced to play defensively, which I rarely do, and that made it really difficult. Hiroshima took advantage of playing at home and played better than us.

AFC Champions League 2016

27 January 2016 - 26 November 2016

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