The final group-stage matches of the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2017 took place on Tuesday 9 May, and Kawasaki Frontale cruised to a commanding home win 4-0 over Eastern SC (Hong Kong) to climb from third place to the top of Group G and secure a spot in Round of 16 for the first time since 2014 and the fourth time overall. However, Gamba Osaka was eliminated as a bottom of Group H after losing 2-0 to Jeju United (Korea) in an away game.

After drawing four consecutive matches from the ACL opener, Kawasaki Frontale increased their points to ten by winning two recent games. Group leaders Guangzhou Evergrande also earned ten points after a 2-2 tie over Suwon Samsung Bluewings (Korea) at home, but with the worse head-to-head record over Kawasaki qualified for the knockout phase in second place. Along with already disqualified Eastern finishing bottom with only a point after their final match, Suwon was eliminated with nine points to end their Asian campaign.

Both Urawa Reds in Group F and Kashima Antlers in Group E qualified for the next round prior to the final group-stage match along with Kawasaki who just booked a place in the Last 16. It was the first time in three tournaments for three J. League teams to advance to the knockout phase of the ACL.

Kawasaki dominate with four goals

In a must-win game to qualify to the next round for Kawasaki Frontale, midfielder NAKAMURA Kengo with two assists after coming back from injury and forward RHAYNER with an opening goal and an assist performed brilliantly and contributed to their team’s victory.

Kawasaki took control of the match by dominating possession against Eastern who stood back and defended in numbers. Both playmaker Nakamura and midfielder OSHIMA Ryota were instrumental in creating scoring chances for their side by superbly exchanging passes in midfield and finding areas to exploit in the opposing defence.

The awaited opener for the Japanese club came in the 28th minute as defender KURUMAYA Shintaro cut inside from the left near the byline and sent a perfectly weighted dinked ball towards Rhayner who headed comfortably into the open net.

Threatening moments continued for the Hong Kong side, as centre forward ABE Hiroyoki attempted to score on a volley in the 35th minute and midfielder HASEGAWA Tatsuya reacted to the defection off an Oshima’s shot four minutes later, but ruled offside. Furthermore, Oshima created another scoring chance in the 42nd minute with a neat lobbed ball, but Hasegawa failed to find the target.

Kawasaki doubled their lead right on the stroke of halftime, when defender TANIGUCHI Shogo leaped above the surrounding defenders to direct Nakamura’s right corner into the back of the net.

Second half saw Frontale dominate the match as well. In the 49th minute, Rhayner surged up the pitch and ran past the defenders before he delivered a brilliant low cross to onrushing Hasegawa on the far post, where the Kawasaki striker composedly slotted the ball into the back of the net. Furthermore, after 53 minutes, another superb right corner from Nakamura found defender NARA Tatsuki scoring the fourth for his side with a well-directed header.

The remainder of the match continued with Frontale threatening the Eastern goal with some excellent attacking plays by Rhayner and Oshima. Another good news came for the Kawasaki club as forward IENAGA Akihiro returned from injury and entered the pitch for the first time since late February, making a pair of goal-threatening attempts in the 78th and 90th minutes. Despite the dominance in the last 30 minutes of play, the Japanese side failed to add another to an already commanding lead and ended their group-stage campaign with a comprehensive 4-0 win over the Hong Kong club.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

In the coming round-of-16 tie, Kawasaki will face the second-placed team in Group E on Tuesdays 23 and 30 May. Their opponents will be decided by the head-to-head match on Wednesday 10 between the two already qualified clubs, Kashima Antlers and Muangthong United (Thailand).

Gamba fail to score

Falling to bottom of the group after their fifth group-stage match with a record of one win, three losses and one draw, Gamba Osaka only had a slim chance of qualifying to the knockout phase. Having lost the previous encounter against Jeju United 1-4 at home, the Osaka club need a commanding win over the second-place Korean counterparts with three-goal difference or more to level the points and advance to the next round on head-to-head competition. All of this was provided that one-point adrift Adelaide United in third place will not win their final match against group leaders Jiangsu FC.

Gamba entered the match with more attacking players, forward NAGASAWA Shun, midfielder DOAN Ritsu with three-game scoring streak, and midfielder IZUMISAWA Jin, but their qualification hope was soon dashed in the 29th minute as defender CHUNG Woon was cleanly put through with a lobbed pass behind the Gamba defence to open the scoring for the Korean side.

Unable to capitalise on their scoring chances in the first half, Gamba subbed in ADEMILSON for Izumisawa after halftime and defender FUJIHARU Hiroki for defender YONEKURA Koki in the 56th minute. However, it was the Korean club who doubled their lead with forward HWANG Il-Su’s goal in the 66th minute. Continuing their hunt for goals, the Osaka club brought in midfielder FUJIMOTO Jungo in the 69th minute, but were unable to find the Jeju’s net until the final whistle. With a 0-2 loss, Gamba was eliminated in the group stage of ACL for the second consecutive year and the fourth time overall.

Jeju United stretched their points to ten and ended their group-stage campaign with a record of three wins, two losses and one draw. The Korean team secured the second spot of Group H and advanced to the knockout stages along with Jiangsu FC (China) who already qualified as the top of the group after their fifth match. The Chinese club extended their points to fifteen after defeating Adelaide 1-0 in their final game and finished their group stage with five wins and one loss.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

Coaches' and Players' Comments

ONIKI Toru, Coach (Kawasaki Frontale)
In an important match where a win would qualify for the knockout phase of the competition, my players performed brilliantly under pressure. Goals came in a timely manner, and scoring two goals in the first half allowed us to play advantageously for the remainder of the match. I have to thank my players for a wonderful performance today. We faced many hardships getting through the group stage, but at the same time allowed us to perform with patience and persistence as we did today. We were in a difficult situation where we needed to win the last two games to qualify for the next round. But coming through this adversity will certainly be a plus going forward as well as in the ACL competition. I believe my players are now playing with confidence.

FW RHAYNER (Kawsaki Frontale)
We got through an important, must-win match to advance to the knockout phase of the competition. I believe that today’s result was achieved with players displaying what was required by the coach during the game. Looking ahead of the next opponents, I understand that it will either be Muangthong or Kashima, but since we are looking to showcase the strength of the Japanese clubs in Asia and also hoping to meet with the J. League teams further down the competition, I wish it will the Thais.

MF NAKAMURA Kengo (Kawasaki Frontale)
I am simply happy that we got through the group stage. We were tense in the beginning, but Rhayner opened the scoring and then we added the second from a set piece. At the end, we all came together to secured an important win. We drew an away game in the previous must-win encounter, but today we kept a high level of motivation and came through a crucial home game. I believe we had many close matches, but not losing any of them helped us reach this result today. We also had few injuries, where the reserves had to rise up to the occasion and perform well. We qualified to the next round with joint efforts from all of us. I also sense that we are improving with every match of the ACL competition. We are looking to challenge any opponents in the next round.

CHAN Yeun-ting, Coach (Eastern SC)
I am content with the efforts my players put in today, and especially those who had limited chances to play for the Hong Kong league matches worked very hard. We haven’t participated in a championship at this level before, and I wished we managed the time better, but at the same time learned a lot including tactics and conditioning of my players through this tournament. We performed well in some of our home games, and I believe my team is making significant progress. It was a precious learning experience not only for my club but also for the future of football in Hong Kong as well.

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

Group E
10 May 2017 (Wed) 19:00 Kick-off (TBC)
Kashima Soccer Stadium
Kashima Antlers (Japan) vs Muangthong United (Thailand)

Group F
10 May 2017 (Wed) 19:00  Kick-off (TBC) ＜Local Time＞
Seoul World Cup Stadium
FC Seoul (Korea) vs Urawa Reds (Japan)

Tournament Information