NEWS

J. League champions Kashima Antlers began their 2010 AFC Champions League campaign on a winning note, beating Chinese club Changchun Yatai 1-0, but Kawasaki Frontale lost 2-0 to Seongnam Ilhwa in Korea Republic on Tuesday night.

Kashima’s winning goal – a header from former Japan international Koji Nakata – came in the 42nd minute.
“I’m so happy that we made a very good start to the season with this win today,” Kashima manager Oswaldo Oliveira said.
Kashima, playing without key midfielders Mitsuo Ogasawara (suspended) and Masashi Motoyama (back injury), needed time to find their game in the opening stages. But with Changchun opting to play defensively, the hosts soon took control of the game.
Left-back Toru Araiba hit the bar from mid-range in the 15th minute and Kashima came close again with a header by Nakata in the 35th minute and a close-range shot by Brazilian midfielder Fellype Gabriel three minutes later.
The pressure paid off in the 42nd minute when Nakata headed in a Takuya Nozawa free-kick.
Changchun, who finished second in last year’s Chinese Super League, attempted to turn things around by making substitutions at halftime, but Kashima’s domination continued after the break.
“Our opponents tried to negate our strengths, but we responded well,” Oliveira said.
“It would have been better if we could have scored more as we had a few chances and goal difference may come into play later on, but this was our first game and the players did well.”
The Brazilian boss asked the fans for their help.
“There’s no easy game in the ACL, and the players can obtain extra power from the fans. That is the home advantage, and this is the tournament where you should be able to show that to put your opponents under pressure. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, but I hope we will be able to do that this year.”
Changchun manager Shen Xiangfu said, “Our players seemed defensive in the first half. Maybe they didn’t have enough confidence and felt unable to pressure their opponents when they were supposed to do.”
In Korea, Kawasaki were kept under pressure by an aggressive performance from the Korean League powerhouse. The visitors gave up the opener in the 35th minute through Colombian forward Mauricio Molina.
Kawasaki tried hard to get back into the game, but the J. League runners-up let their opponents add another goal when Montenegrin forward Dzenan Radoncic struck in the 78th minute after a break down the left side.
“It is a shame that we couldn’t win this important opening game,” said Kawasaki coach Tsutomu Takahata.
“It was a tough away game, and our players fought hard to the very end as they tried to score. But the difference came down to sharpness of finishing.”
On Wednesday, former Asian champions Gamba Osaka and ACL debutants Sanfrecce Hiroshima will play their opening games. Gamba will meet Suwon Bluewings in Korea, while Sanfrecce will host Shandong Luneng of China.