The AFC Champions League (ACL) 2017 saw the second leg of the Round of 16 (first round of knockout phase) on Wednesday 31 May, and Urawa Reds Diamonds advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2008 and third time overall, after beating Jeju United 3-0 to claim a comeback tie win 3-2 on aggregate from extra-time goal by defender MORIWAKI Ryota.

Urawa and Kawasaki Frontale from Japan got through the Round of 16, and two or more teams from the J. League advanced to the quarter-finals for first time since 2015. While the first legs of the quarter-finals are to be played from 21 to 23 August, the second legs are scheduled from 11 to 13 September. The draw deciding the quarter-final matchups will be held on Tuesday 6 June.

Two goals in first half

After losing the first leg 2-0 in an away encounter, Urawa required a win with at least three-goal difference to advance to the quarter-finals or 2-0 scoreline in regulation time to send the tie into extra-time contest.

Urawa’s forward players took the initiative from the beginning of the match and led the team in creating early chances for their side. In the 17th minute, midfielder MUTO Yuki was illegally taken down and earned a free kick. Forward Koroki Shinko connected midfielder KASHIWAGI Yosuke’s delivery with a header to open the scoring for the Reds.

Midfielders KOMAI Yoshiaki and LEE Tadanari were instrumental in creating scoring opportunities down the right flank by exploiting the space the behind the backline. In the 30th minute, Lee fashioned a chance by sending a cross towards the centre, where midfielder SEKINE Takahiro attempted to double the lead from short range, and one minute later Lee fired a shot just outside of the box, but both efforts struck the goalpost.

However, in the 33rd minute, Lee reacted to the lobbed pass from Koroki behind the defenders and slotted in a left-footed finish from a tight angle on the left to level the tie 2-2 on aggregate.

Making the second appearance in the ACL and advancing to the Round of 16 for the first time, Jeju stayed back and defended solidly, and looked for their scoring chances on the counter. However, Urawa were fully aware of their game plan, and did not allow the Korean club to strike back on a breakaway by making swift defensive transitions and not giving away any easy chances to channel effective passes.

Still Jeju found a pair of scoring opportunities against the run of play from set pieces. Midfielder and Rio de Janeiro Olympics squad member LEE Chang-Min directly fired a free kick at goal in the 35th minute and defender KIM Wong-Il rushed into the front of the goal and reacted to the placed-kick delivery with his right foot just after halftime. However, both threatening attempts were saved by the Japanese goalkeeper NISHIKAWA Shusaku.

Thereafter, Urawa tried to carve open the opposing defence with Komai, Koroki, and MAKINO Tomoaki on the attacks, but were unable to find the Korean net.

Jeju were down to ten men in the 81st minute as defender CHO Yong-Hyung was sent off after receiving a second yellow card on a foul against Koroki. In attempt to score a decisive goal, Urawa employed a power play by placing defender Makino upfront. Then, in added time, Makino reacted to substitute midfielder TAKAGI Toshiyuki’s cross with a header, but denied by the Korean keeper.

The match did not find its finish line in regulation time and went to overtime. In the first half of the extra time, while fatigue kicked in for both sides, Jeju threatened the Urawa again off a set piece, where Kim reacted to the free kick and attempted to score a go-ahead goal.

Urawa, on the other hand, were exchanging passes to find a gap to break through the Korean defence. Then, the tie-breaker came in for the Reds in the 114th minute, as Moriwaki reacted with his right foot to score a game decider from a left cross towards the far post by Takagi.

Tempers flared in the closing minutes of extra time and players were booked and reserve players were sent off during this turmoil. The chaos continued even after the game with staff and players from both teams still unable to settle the dispute. However, the match concluded with Urawa winning the overtime battle to overturn the two-goal deficit in the first leg and advance to the quarter-finals.

Match Report (Japanese version only)

Meanwhile, other round-of-16 match in East Asia on the same date saw Shanghai SIPG beat Jiangsu Suning 3-2 and advance to the quarter-finals after coming on top of the Chinese contest with an aggregate score of 5-3.

In the Western Region, the following four teams secured a spot in the quarter-final competition: AL AIN (UAE), AHLI SAUDI (KSA), PERSEPOLIS (Iran), and AL HILAL (KSA).

Coaches' and Players' Comments

Mihalo PETROVIC, Coach (Urawa Red Diamonds)
It was a very tough and difficult match. Judging from the way they played against Gamba Osaka, I expected Jeju would stay compact to defend and swiftly hit us on the counter. In the first away leg, we attempted to break through their defence too hastily, allowing the opponents to regain possession and counter-attack effectively. This was the worst case scenario for us. However, this problem might had been caused by several players not in top form from playing consecutive matches with short break, and on the positive they still managed to create decent scoring chances. Based on this observation, I truly believed that we would have a chance of scoring three or four goals and win the tie as long as we defended solidly and denied their chances to score breakaway goals. In J.League matches, we faced a number of opponents who stayed backed and looked for their chances to counter-attack. Today, we won 2-0 in regulation time and scored the third decisive goal to win the tie in extra time. It was a wonderful match where both teams competed hard until the end to grab a win.

Tempers flared at the end of the match. Jeju have many young players, and I fully understand that they can become frustrated and get emotional. However, I am not a fan of leaving the match with bad aftertaste. Sports can foster friendship. I hope we can mend the relationship through friendly matches.

DF MORIWAKI Ryota (Urawa Red Diamonds)
‘We are Reds!’ is exactly how I would describe today’s outstanding performance. We allowed the opponents to score in the first leg, since we did not brave ourselves for the match. Learning from this poor performance, we made the necessary adjustments and, as a result, we were able to come up with a win today. Making good judgments also played a significant part, and this, I view, as the primary difference with the away encounter. In regards to goal I scored, I simply dashed towards the goal believing Takagi would send in a good cross. I believe it was an excellent goal for the team as well.

DF ENDO Wataru (Urawa Red Diamonds)
We did not attack too hastily as we discussed prior to the match and created chances from the flanks as targeted as well. Three backline defenders were disorganised and I believed we would get to the second balls first. Furthermore, we were swift in returning to defend on our end, and coped well with the opponents’ counter-attacks.

CHO Sung-Hwan, Coach (Jeju United)
Taking into consideration of the first leg, our game plan was to defend and score on the counter in this away meeting. My players were thinking about extra time, and along with a poor work-rate and a low level of focus, we were not able to score off counter-attacks. We were the only team from the K.League to get though the group stage, and we regret that we couldn’t live up to expectations. We are also sorry that we failed to show our K.League fans a better performance and conduct. Our desire to win might have been too strong as well. I believe professional conduct should come first for both winners and losers.

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

Tournament Information