Defending Asian Champions League (ACL) title holders Pohang Steelers overcame a first-match loss to beat Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-1 on Wednesday on Almir’s goal two minutes into injury time.
The South Korean side were beaten 1-0 by Adelaide United of Australia’s A-League last week in its opening Group H match.
Adelaide made it two wins in a row with a 2-0 victory away over China’s Shandong Luneng, with goals from Sergio van Dijk and Matthew Leckie.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Gamba Osaka, the 2008 champions from Japan, drew 1-1 at home to China’s Henan Jianye while Suwon Bluewings of South Korea beat a 10-man Singapore Armed Forces 2-0.
Suwon got goals from Brazilians Juninho and Jose Mota and lead Group G on four points, two ahead of Gamba and Henan.
Gamba’s Lucas equalized with a penalty in the 35th minute after Zhang Lu gave Henan the lead after four minutes.
“Our players kept going until the very end and I am satisfied as they all gave their best. I think the fans could also see that the players put in a lot of effort,” Pohang coach Waldemar Lemos told the ACL Web site.
Hwang Jae-won gave Pohang the lead early in the second half before Ilian Stoyanov’s penalty leveled for Hiroshima.
In the west section, Saudi Arabia’s Al Shabab had a 3-1 victory over Pakhtakor in Tashkent to lead Group C with four points, one ahead of the Uzbekistan side, and two more than Iran’s Sepahan, who drew 0-0 at home with 2003 champions Al Ain.
Flavio scored twice for Shabab in the second half before Alisher Azizov scored for the home side. Ahmed Al Kaabi sealed victory for the Saudis in stoppage time.
Brazilian striker Leandro scored three goals for Al Sadd of Qatar in its 5-0 away win over Al Ahli in Group D.
“We didn’t expect to win so easily because Al Ahli have lot of young players,” Al Sadd coach Cosmin Olaroui said. “It does not matter whether it is by four or five goals.”
The next round of matches is scheduled for March 23 and March 24. The top two teams from each of the eight groups, after a double round-robin, advance to the last 16.
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