The AFC Champions League (ACL) 2016 had its knockout stage's first round (Round of 16) on Wednesday 18 May as Urawa Reds beat 2013 runners-up FC Seoul (Korea Republic) with midfielder UGAJIN Tomoya's first-half goal and moved a step forward to a last 8 spot.

Urawa, who made the first knockout stage appearance since 2008 when they reached last 4, came out aggressively from the start and attacked with long-range cross-field passes.

Just after 6 minutes, when defender MAKINO Tomoaki ran up and sent a left cross, midfielder SEKINE Takahiro met it at the far post. In the 10th minute, forward KOROKI Shinzo received the ball from the left flank and cut inside to beat defenders before firing a blast. Both efforts were denied by the opponents, but the Urawa side sought for openings by taking advantage of the width of the pitch to shake up the opponents defence.

The opening goal was scored through that style of football.

In the 14th minute, defender MORIWAKI Ryota sent a long pass from right to left aiming at the space behind defenders. And then, Ugajin ran up and hit it directly with his left foot. The ball drew a big arc and went into the side net of the opposite side. Ugajin said after the match, "I just kicked it in because I found a player inside." This goal helped the team start dominating the match.

In the 23rd minute, a defender kicked the ball to the space in front of the defence line on the left flank in a similar way, and Ugajin cut into the box.

Seoul who tallied 17 goals in the past six group stage matches, which was the most in this year’s group stage, went on attacking led by former Sanfrecce Hiroshima midfielder TAKAHAGI Yojiro and threatened the Urawa side past 25 minutes.

In the 27th minute, forward ADRIANO, current ACL top scorer with 10 goals, ran through space behind Urawa defenders and took a shot. In the 29th minute, he met Takahagi's free kick just in front of goal. GO Yohan cut in from the right side one minute later and forward Dejan DAMJANOVIC fired off a through ball with his right foot in the 32nd minute. In the 40th minute, Adriano came close through a vertically-fast challenge by midfielder Osmar BARBA. But Urawa did not allow a goal as goalkeeper NISHIKAWA Shusaku and defender ENDO Wataru led their defence.

Meanwhile, Urawa forward LEE Tadanari and Koroki missed the opportunity to widen the lead after a right-flank build-up in the 33rd minute. And Makino's effort from a free kick in the 43rd minute was blocked by opposing defenders.

Seoul, who played the knockout stage in all their six past ACL appearances, replaced Damjanovic with Monaco and sent in former Arsenal star striker PARK Chuyoung. After 70 minutes, Seoul also subbed in tall defender SIM Wooyeon to put pressure on Urawa with more upfront players.

Osmar took a shot in the box after a free kick in the 67th minute, and Adriano and Takahagi gave Urawa a scared in the 89th minute. But Urawa coped with Seoul efforts with composed defence including goalkeeper Nishikawa's fine saves.

Urawa midfielder KOMAI Yoshiaki came off the bench in the 65th minute and beat a defender for a shot in the 70th minute. Urawa coach Mihailo PETROVIC brought on forward Zlatan and midfielder UMESAKI Tsukasa and looked for another goal before they held on to a one-goal lead until the end. Urawa finally earned the first win over a Korea Republic side after they had been held to a record of four losses and two draws under boss Petrovic.

See more match details (Japanese version only)

The second leg will be held in Seoul on Wednesday 25 of this month.

Coach and Players' Comments

Mihailo PETROVIC, Coach (Urawa Reds)
The match was so heated. My players went out for it with strong determination and high motivation. People say Japanese players' physical strength is weaker than Koreans', but they showed a battle that proved it was wrong. My players ran hard, and the team were able to control the match from start to end except the last 15 minutes. Looking at the details, 2-0 or 3-0 win wouldn’t surprise me. We won 1-0, but it just means that the first half finished. The second leg in Seoul will be very tough. We will continue to play our game like today on the road as well.

MF  UGAJIN Tomoya (Urawa Reds)
We knew it would be very difficult against Seoul, but each one of our players was aware they needed to play with a strong determination for the club that represent Japan. I think the ball delivered everyone's spirit into the goal. I moved forward because a nice pass came to me. But anyway, that play took place because of our repetitive drills that we practised to run to that point at that timing. The opponents said Japanese players are weak on the ball and they could win if they would go out with intensity. I didn't want to get behind in terms of that.

DF  ENDO Wataru (Urawa Reds)
Basically, we were able to defend as we wanted. There was a situation where the opponents came close and we were forced to stay back and ended up keeping the one-goal lead. But we kept a clean sheet anyway and didn't give up an away goal. That's what we can take advantage of next. Even when the opponents kicked long balls, we didn't back down but kept the defensive line up. We made sure to pay attention to details and kept them from scoring. I hope I can keep taking the initiative for the team and keep it up throughout 90 minutes.

GK  NISHIKAWA Shusaku (Urawa Reds)
We battled on the ball with a determination not to get behind at any cost, which is the most important part in football. And it resulted in this win. I didn't want to finish without bringing out our best, so I tried not to hesitate and to enjoy the game. We still have one more match left, but it's very big we didn't allow an away goal. Then, we can put a good level of pressure on FC Seoul for the second leg. That helps us play in our favour.

CHOI Yong Soo, Coach (FC Seoul)
It’s disappointing. We came out for the away match with a good preparation, but there were some moments where we felt pressed to make plays. We should have put more pressure. We can play at home next, so we will try to get well prepared to come back.

AFC Champions League 2016

27 January 2016 - 26 November 2016

*Local time

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