NEWS

Nagoya Grampus’ AFC Champions League campaign ended in the semifinals on Wednesday with a 2-1 loss to Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia in the second leg at Nagoya’s Mizuho Athletic Stadium.

The victory gave Al-Ittihad an 8-3 aggregate win.
The two-time ACL champions will play Pohang Steelers of Korea Republic in the one-off final at the National Stadium in Tokyo on November 7.
Pohang beat Umm Salal of Qatar 2-1 in Doha, following their 2-0 first -leg win at home.
Dragan Stojkovic’s side needed to score at least four goals to overcome their 6-2 first-leg loss and reach the final. The Serbian manager fielded seven offensive players, including attacking midfielder Yoshizumi Ogawa as right-back.
Nagoya enjoyed the early possession in a fast-paced game. However, with the visitors staying in their own half, the hosts struggled to break down the Saudi side.
Australian international Joshua Kennedy came close in the 18th minute with a mid-range blast, but his shot went wide.
Al-Ittihad, who won the ACL in 2004 and 2005, looked for chances on counterattacks and by sending long balls to Tunisian international Amine Chermiti, who played alone up front.
In the 23rd minute, midfielder Saud Khariri fired in a shot from the edge of the box, but Ogawa covered well and cleared the danger with a header.
The Saudis created further chances on counterattacks and came close again in the 31st minute through midfielder Saleh Al Saqri, but defender Takahiro Masukawa cleared the danger.
Nagoya created half-chances with crosses from Magnum and Shohei Abe on the left flank, and a header by Kennedy hit the bar in the 33rd minute. Five minutes later, Japan forward Keiji Tamada also came close.
Two minutes before halftime, the deadlock was broken, and it was the Saudi team who went ahead.
Midfielder Mohammed Noor, who scored a hat trick in the first leg in Jeddah a week ago, took a cross from the right and hit a shot from close range that was fumbled by Nagoya goalkeeper Toru Hasegawa. The ball fell to Saleh Al Saqri, who made no mistake in slotting it home.
Nagoya brought on midfielder Naoshi Nakamura at halftime in an attempt to rebuild their offense and create chances.
Kennedy came close with a 5-meter shot three minutes into the second half, but with a huge aggregate lead the Saudis could play without pressure, and they went further ahead in the 59th minute when Chermity headed in a Noor cross.
Grampus cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 67th minute when Keita Sugimoto, who had come off the bench three minutes earlier, controlled a Magnum cross with his chest and hit an overhead shot from a tight angle.
Brazilian midfielder Magnum had a big chance in the area after a layoff from Kennedy, but his shot was denied by Saudi goalkeeper Mabrouk Zaid.
Chermity and substitute midfielder Hicham Aboucherouane both came close late on, but the tie was as good as over.
Al-Ittihad manager Gabriel Calderon said, “We have produced good results, worthy of advancing to the final, as we have beaten a top team of Japan both at home and away.”
The Argentinian said that the game developed as expected.
“Grampus came out to pressure us from the start of the game, but we coped well with that and took control of the game.”
Stojkovic commented: “Congratulations for Al-Ittihad on reaching the final, and thanks for our supporters for coming here to give us great support today.
“We lost the game in Jeddah a week ago, and I don’t have any regrets about today’s game. I greatly regret our first game.”
“We played good football today, attacking and courageous football, and we finished in the last four in Asia. I don’t think there was such a great difference between the two teams.”
The Serbian manager added: “I think this is our maximum – to be in the top four in our first ACL. Playing in Asia was a very new and important challenge for us.”
Ogawa commented: “We played very offensively and created many chances, but we couldn’t score on them. I guess this is where we are at the moment. We should improve small details to reach a higher level. But from today’s game, I’ve got a positive feeling that we can get better – if we score when we should.”