The first group league matches of the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2019 took place on Wednesday 6 March, where Urawa Red Diamonds took on the Thai League 1 Champions Buriram United at home to register a 3-0 victory, while the J. League Champions Kawasaki Frontale suffered an away loss to the Chinese Super League Champions Shanghai SIPG 0-1.

Since their FUJI XEROX SUPER CUP match on Saturday 16 February to their recent J. League match against Sapporo on Saturday 2 March, Urawa had been kept scoreless in three matches where they recorded a draw and two losses. Despite their recent form, the two-time ACL Champions managed to win their first match by scoring three goals in the second half to start off their first ACL appearance in two years.

In their first match in Group G, Urawa showed their dominance in ball possession from the early minutes. Facing the Buriram side who started a defensive line-up with five defenders, Urawa attempted to create opportunities by utilising HASHIOKA Daiki in the right flank but struggled to be effective against the opponents who defended with eight players dropping deep in their territory.

An opportunity was created in the 24th minute when KOROKI Shinzo received a pass from the midfield before making a superb turn to fire a shot. Midfielders UGAJIN Tomoya and NAGASAWA Kazuki alsom made attempts to threaten the Buriram goal, but their efforts came short from finding the net.

The deadlock was broken in the fifth minute of the second half when defender MAKINO Tomoaki connected with a corner kick and struck a header into the goal, where he later reflected, “I have never scored a goal that has impacted the momentum of the match as much as this goal has.”

Buriram United saw their share of opportunities as a free kick taken by Korrakot WIRIYAUDOMSIRI struck the post in the early minutes of the second half. Their Brazilian attacker Pedro JUNIOR, who has played for Kashima and Gamba Osaka in the past, threatened the Urawa goals in multiple occasions, including the shot taken in the 54th minute, but Urawa’s goalkeeper NISHIKAWA Shusaku was there to make an excellent save.

Following the opener, Urawa started to find their rhythm in offence. In the 66th minute, Koroki came close to scoring the team’s second goal when he connected with a cross to force the opposing goalkeeper to make a save. He then collected the loose ball to fire a left footed shot but failed to convert the opportunity.

Urawa successfully doubled their lead in the 75th minute, when Hashioka responded to the deflection of Nagasawa’s shot to convert the loose ball with his right foot.

The third goal came in the 88th minute when the late substitute YURUKI Koya, who was newly acquired by the team, penetrated the left side before sending a cross towards the middle. Hashioka came crashing into the far side to capitalise the cross as the 19 year-old midfielder scored his second goal of the match to give his side a 3-0 victory and was named the Man of the Match.

Urawa will now face the Chinese FA Cup Champions Beijing Sinobo Guoan on Wednesday 13 March in Beijing. The Chinese side has lost to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (Korea Republic) 1-3 in their first match.

Kawasaki concedes late Penalty Kick

In Group G, Kawasaki faced the Chinese powerhouse Shanghai SIPG, who has advanced to the ACL knockout stage in the past three years.

With Kawasaki losing to the same opponent last year at home with a score of 0-1, they elected to start a similar line-up from their recent J. League match against Kashima on Friday 1 March. The only change they made in this away match was to start HASEGAWA Tatsuya in place for Leandro DAMIAO.

The match saw Kawasaki creating many opportunities, as their defence also showcased great persistency to hold off the former Brazil National Team duo, HULK and OSCAR to keep a clean sheet against the Shanghai offence.

However, the deadlock was broken in the final two minutes of the match. A penalty kick was given to Shanghai when a cross struck the hand of a Kawasaki defender. It was Hulk who converted the spot kick to deny Kawasaki’s opportunity to earn an away point.

Kawasaki will now face Sydney FC (Australia) at home on Wednesday 13 March. The Australian club has drawn against Ulsan Hyundai (Korea Republic) 0-0 in their first group match.

The group stage will take place until Wednesday 22 May, where teams play in a home-and-away round-robin format. Top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage. The competition will be separated in Eastern and Wester divisions until the semi-finals, and the Champion will be determined at the final scheduled in November.

Coaches and Players' Comments

Oswaldo OLIVEIRA, Coach (Urawa Red Diamonds)
It turned out to be a very tough match as expected. Our opponent consisted many talented players and they were well organised, making it hard for us to break through. We managed to stay patient against the opponents who were seeking for their opportunities to counter attack utilising the speed and wit of Pedro Junior, who is a player we are very familiar with. We were also able to showcase our patience in offence, as we kept the ball moving to exploit the spaces behind the opponents and tried out many combinations. We managed to score a goal from a set-play, which I have always thought to be one of our strong points. It was great to see the younger players excel and we are expecting them to be fighting for the starting position in the near future.

DF MAKINO Tomoaki (Urawa Red Diamonds)
In the recent years, defenders are asked to be more involved in offence, but I have never scored a goal that has impacted the momentum of the match as much as this goal has, so I am very happy. (Compared to the most recent league match) We saw more opportunities created and took more shots as a team. Although today’s match has given us great inspiration, we must maintain this level of quality while we build on top of this performance in each of the upcoming matches.

MF HASHIOKA Daiki (Urawa Red Diamonds)
I am glad I was able to score those two goals and help the team win our first match of the season. I am not a very skilful player, but I entered the match with a strong intention to win this match. I was benched in our previous match and came to realise that I must work harder. As a result, I was able to give my very best and with the support of my teammates, I was able to score two goals today. In both of the goal scenes, I was fully anticipating for the ball to come my way. I will continue to give my best performance in the upcoming matches.

Bozidar BANDOVIC, Coach (Buriram United)
I would like to congratulate Urawa. They were the better team today and showed great concentration to out play us. We were able to create some opportunities in the first half, but we normally possess the ball more and make better decisions on the field. Today our pressure was not strong enough and we were forced to play deep in our territory. We conceded too many goals, and the match got very difficult especially after the second goal.

Tournament Dates:
Play-offs: Tue. 5 - Tue. 19 February 2019
Group Stage: Mon. 4 March - Wed. 22 May 2019

Tournament Information