NEWS

Kawasaki Frontale suffered their second defeat in the AFC Champions League group stage, losing 3-1 to Chinese Super League champions Beijing Guoan at home on Tuesday.

But Kashima Antlers came from behind to beat Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2-1 on substitute Yasushi Endo’s last-minute goal.
Kashima improved their points total to six in Group F, three points ahead of Chinese club Changchun Yatai and Jeonbuk, while Indonesian club Persipura Jayapura remains bottom with no points. Changchun thrashed Persipura 9-0 at home in the day's other match.
In Group E, Seongnam Ilhwa and Beijing both have six points, while Melbourne Victory have three points. Kawasaki sit at the bottom of the group with no points. Seongnam won 2-0 at Melbourne in the other group match.
“We lost our home advantage because of the snowy weather,” Kawasaki manager Tsutomu Takahata lamented.
Snow started shortly before the start of the game and the home team struggled with the slippery conditions and low visibility.
Beijing adapted well to the snow-covered pitch and mounted attacks down the right through Yan Xiangchuang.
Kawasaki, who reached the quarterfinals in 2007 and 2009, managed to create some chances through forward Masaru Kurotsu, Renatinho and Yusuke Tasaka.
Their biggest chance in the first half came in the 33rd minute when Kurotsu received a Tasaka pass, cut into the box and fired off a shot, but his attempt deflected off a Beijing defender.
The opener came in the 37th minute, when Beijing took advantage of a Kawasaki defensive error. A poor clearance gave Beijing possession and Australian midfielder Joel Griffith moved into the box and guided the ball into the net.
Kawasaki replied four minutes later when defender Kosuke Kikuchi connected with a Tasaka corner at the near post.
As the snow continued to fall after the break, Kawasaki continued to struggle.
The visitors went ahead again in the 65th minute when Wang Changqing slotted home a Saraiva Erivaldo pass from 12 meters.
The halftime substitute got on the scoresheet again in the 86th minute with a well-controlled  lob.
“I told our players to try and win the second ball as much as possible and try to connect better,” Takahata said. “But we seemed to lack power overall.”
“It’s a really disappointing result. But we still have the possibility of qualifying for the next stage. We will reset our focus and work hard,” he added.
Beijing manager Hong Yuanshuo commented, “It was tough conditions to play in, but both teams fought hard and Kawasaki did well. But they didn’t use the chances they had and we made the most of the chances we had. I’m grateful for our players’ hard work.”
In Korea, substitute Yasushi Endo struck in the last minute to give J. League champions Kashima a 2-1 win over K-League champions Jeonbuk.
Kashima went behind after Enio Oliveira Junior’s 42nd-minute goal.
But former Japan international Koji Nakata equalized in the 70th minute, his second goal in this year’s ACL campaign.
In the 90th minute, Endo, who had come off the bench four minutes earlier, took a pass from Mitsuo Ogasawara, dribbled down the middle and slotted home the winning goal from 10 meters.
“I’m glad we scored on the chances we had and came from behind to win,” said Kashima manager Oswaldo Oliveira.
“It was a tough, close game. We had chances in the first half but couldn’t score on them. After we leveled the scores, both teams were obviously eager to score.”
The Kashima boss added: “We did nothing special against Jeonbuk, but just tried to focus on doing the things we had to do. I knew we would be able to create chances if we kept our cool when we got into their half, and we did that very well.”
On Wednesday, Gamba Osaka will host Chinese side Henan Jianye in a Group G match, while Sanfrecce Hiroshima will play Korean League club Pohang Steelers in Korea in Group H.
The top two finishers from each group will advance to the Round of 16.