Reigning J.League 1 champions Kawasaki Frontale were made to work hard for their first AFC Champions League win of the season on Saturday. Taking on South Korea’s Daegu FC at the Lokomotiv Stadium in Tashkent, Kawasaki edged out their opponents 3-2 to open their continental campaign with all three points. Elsewhere in the Uzbek capital, United City FC almost pulled off a win only to be pegged back as a Liang Shaowen free-kick ensured that Beijing Guoan would share the spoils with the Filipino champions in a 1-1 draw.
United City FC (Philippines) 1-1 Beijing Guoan (China)
A youthful Beijing side take on United City at the Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent, with the Chinese giants suddenly finding themselves as underdogs having left their first squad back home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. United City of the Philippines, on the other hand, are one of ASEAN’s best sides in recent years and are eager to make their nation proud as they seek to continue their ascendancy with a win over Beijing’s reserve squad.
As expected, United City assumed full control of proceedings from the get-go, however Beijing’s kids managed to keep themselves organized and disciplined to limit their opposition from creating any meaningful chances. However, the more experienced United City eventually found their way into the Beijing defense in the 28th minute, with none other than captain Stephan Schrock, a man who had been influential in United City’s rise in recent years, scoring the club’s first goal in the ACL group stages.
Shrugging off Beijing midfielder Nebijan Muhmet on his way to Guo Quanbo’s goal, Schrock unleashed a powerful curler from 18 meters out that went beyond the goalkeeper and into the far corner, a strike that allowed United City to draw first blood.
The Filipinos continued bombarding their Chinese opposition in the second half, retaining their dominance in possession but with an added offensive edge that kept the Beijing defense busy. Former Pattaya United man Hikaru Minegishi tested Guo with a sublime effort in the 50th minute, before Bienvenido Maranon forced Guo into a save shortly afterwards.
Beijing needed a moment of brilliance to get themselves back into the game and they got exactly just that in the 73rd minute. 19-year old Beijing captain Liang curled in a superb free-kick beyond the reaches of United City goalkeeper Anthony Pinthus, pegging the Southeast Asians back into square one and providing Beijing with some spark of confidence that they could get something out of this game.
United City went on the offensive once again in search of a winner, however Beijing managed to regroup themselves and hit their opponents back in the counter. However despite their best efforts, neither team could get the edge over the other, and the two sides were forced to share the spoils as the match ends in a 1-1 draw.
Kawasaki Frontale (Japan) 3-2 Daegu FC (South Korea)
Current J1 leaders Kawasaki had been in ominous form throughout 2021 and the closest they’ve came to losing is when they edged out J.League 3 side Nagano Parceiro on penalties in the 2021 Emperor’s Cup second round prior to their departure to Tashkent.
With that in mind, Daegu threatened to pull off the shock of the tournament as they went ahead after just 8 minutes, with Hwang Soon-min receiving a pass from Cesinha in the left flank before blazing his way into the Kawasaki defense. Goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong was powerless to stop Soon-min’s shot from penetrating his defenses, ensuring that Daegu would have the early advantage over the favorites.
Jung was made to sweat even more in the 28th minute after Kawasaki had conceded a penalty, with Jesiel fouling Daegu striker Edgar in the box. The former Buriram United man took it upon himself to dispatch the penalty, however Jung kept his calm and denied the Brazilian superbly as he dove into the right direction.
The penalty miss would prove to be costly for Daegu as Leandro Damiao managed to draw the scoreline level in the 41st minute in spectacular fashion, smashing home a bicycle kick past Choi Yeoung-eun to give Kawasaki a lifeline coming into the break.
Despite this setback, Daegu once again reclaimed the lead two minutes into the second half, after substitute Lee Kyun-ho managed to cross the ball to Cesinha, who smacked a header past Jung.
The lead did not last long as in the 51st minute Damiao once again came to Kawasaki’s rescue, seizing upon a loose ball to fire home past Yeoung-eun to draw the scoreline level once more.
Three minutes later Joao Schmidt completed the comeback for Kawasaki, taking advantage of a skirmish in front of the Daegu goal following a corner to bundle home from close range.
3-2 Kawasaki, and no further goals were scored afterwards as the J1 champions got their continental campaign off to a good yet thrilling start.
Kawasaki will face Beijing on Tuesday at the Lokomotiv Stadium, while United City take on Daegu at the Bunyodkor Stadium on the same day.