Wednesday, 10 March 2010 12:26
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South Korea's Pohang Steelers secured vital points in their Asian Champions League campaign with a welcome 2-1 victory over Japan's Sanfrecce Hiroshima at the Steelyard.
The defending champions needed a win after their costly loss against Adelaide United last week, but it took a dramatic last few minutes of the game before they sealed the deal.
Japanese powerhouse Gamba Osaka were held 1-1 at home, continuing their miserable start to the campaign following a loss last week to Suwon Bluewings.
Winning touch
Pohang regained their winning touch after captain Hwang Jae-Won put his side ahead in the 54th minute with a commanding header.
But late in the game Sanfrecce defender Tomoaki Makino was brought down in the box with just one minute left.
Bulgarian defender Ilian Stoyanov stepped up to convert the penalty but Sanfrecce lost concentration and Pohang struck back in injury time when Brazilian forward Almir prodded home a rebound from a Kim Jae-Sung free kick.
Japan's Gamba Osaka came from behind to draw 1-1 with Chinese Super League side Henan Jianye at the Expo '70 Stadium.
The result leaves the 2008 champions with just two points from two games after last week's loss, and is a disappointing effort from a team that was desperate to assert themselves after losing in the J-League over the weekend.
Zhang Lu put the visitors ahead after four minutes when he proved quickest to react after goalkeeper Atsushi Kimura failed to gather a shot from Senegalese forward Amado Dialo.
The scores were levelled when striker Lucas was hacked down in the penalty area, with the Brazilian dusting himself off to convert the spot kick 10 minutes before the break.
Gamba came back fighting in the second half but the Chinese defence held solid.
Bluewings victory
| ACL results |
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Group C Group D Group G Group H |
In the other Group G match Korea's Suwon Bluewings overpowered a 10-man Singapore Armed Forces 2-0, with impressive goals from Brazilians Juninho and Jose Mota capping an accomplished display.
Adelaide United moved back to the top of Asian football with an impressive 2-0 victory over Shandong Luneng, securing Group H top spot with a three-point gap over Shandong.
Serginho van Dijk and rookie Mathew Leckie scored the goals in a performance reminiscent of United's run to the 2008 Champions League final.
Dutchman Van Dijk opened the scoring on 28 minutes after getting on the end of a Lucas Pantelis cross at the back post to head home.
Leckie doubled their lead 20 minutes from the end when the youngster met Scott Jamieson's corner unchallenged with a flying header that bounced over the line.
It was a welcome result for the Australian side who are sitting last in the A-League.
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