K-League Round 4

The two sides occupying second and first places going into K-League round four met as Gangwon hosted Gyeongnam. The visitors made it four wins from four to retain their place at the top. The league’s top scorer, Marcao, was on target twice for Gyeongnam to take his tally for the season to six goals. The home side trailed 1-0 when they were awarded a penalty, only to see the decision reversed after VAR consultation. Despite this set-back, Gangwon rallied and equalised just five minutes later through Deric. However, they were behind again a mere three minutes later. There was a question mark over whether the ball had gone out of play before Marcao added his second, but after more VAR consultation the goal stood. Kim Hyo-gi sealed the points for Gyeongnam with ten minutes to play. The defeat saw Gangwon slide to fourth.

Pohang Steelers are second after a 2-1 home win over the league’s bottom side, Ulsan. Pohang sit two points behind Gyeongnam at the top while Ulsan remain pointless at the foot of the table. The visitors did manage their first goal of the K-League season, however, as Junior Negrao took advantage of hesitant defending to score their late consolation. Despite their poor domestic form, Ulsan now have the opportunity to book their place in the knockout stage of the AFC Champions League. They face Melbourne Victory at home on Wednesday knowing a win will guarantee progress based on their head to head record against the A-League side.

Jeonbuk sit third after a 1-0 win at home to Sangju Sangmu, Adriano sliding in an early winner following a neat breakaway. The visitors have lost three of their opening four games, their only victory coming against bottom side, Ulsan. Jeonbuk travel to Japan next to face Kashiwa Reysol in the AFC Champions League knowing that a point will assure them of qualification for the last sixteen.

Suwon Bluewings went into the international break in good form and continued in the same manner with a 1-0 win at Jeju United, Dejan Damjanovic finding space in the penalty area to score the winner after a quarter of an hour. The win leaves Suwon in fifth place and next up is a home game against Sydney FC on Tuesday in the AFC Champions League, when the K-League side will have the chance to sew up qualification for the knock-out stage. Jeju will also be in Champions League action midweek, travelling to Japan to face Cerezo Osaka. Jeju are currently bottom of Group G and badly in need of a win to keep their hopes of progress alive.

There was late drama in the Gyeongin derby at Seoul World Cup Stadium as Incheon’s Si-woo Song scored a stoppage-time equaliser to deny FC Seoul their first win of the season and leave coach Hwang Sun-hong’s position looking precarious. The home side had led through substitute Evandro’s composed finish in the fifty-fifth minute. But just after the clock ticked past ninety minutes the home side failed to deal with a simple long ball and Song turned to finish smartly with his left foot. It was a deserved equaliser for the visitors, who had struck the crossbar in the first half and the post in the second.

Also missing out on a first win of the season were Daegu, who themselves conceded late at home to see two points slip away. Choi Jae-hun levelled with five minutes to play to give Jeonnam Dragons a 1-1 draw. The home side had gone ahead through Hwang Jae-won’s spectacular first-half goal but are left second-bottom of the table behind FC Seoul on goal difference.

 

AFC Champions League West Region – Matchday 5

Two-time AFC Champions League runners-up Al-Ahli can secure their place in the last sixteen if they beat Group A’s bottom side, Iran’s Tractor Sazi. The game will be played in neutral Al-Ain, in the UAE, due to diplomatic tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran. It’s a huge week for group-leaders Al-Ahli, managed by former Dynamo Kyiv and Tottenham forward Sergiy Rebrov, as they also face a potentially decisive Saudi League match at home to Al-Hilal. Champions Al-Hilal lead the league by a single point from Al-Ahli with two games to play. The two sides face each other on Saturday in Jeddah. In Group A’s other match, UAE’s Al-Jazira and Qatar’s Al-Gharafa both know they could progress to the next round with a win as the sides meet in Qatar.

Qatari side Al-Duhail have already qualified from Group B with a one hundred per cent record from their four games. They travel to Isfahan, Iran to play second-placed Zob Ahan. Lokomotiv Tashkent will go to Abu Dhabi to face Al-Wahda with the bottom two sides in the group both still in contention for a place in the next round.  

Ten-times Iranian champions Persepolis know that a point against Nasaf Qarshi in Uzbekistan will be enough to see them through to the last sixteen. The other match in Group C sees group-leaders’ Al-Sadd take on already-eliminated Emirati side Al-Wasl in Doha. The home side know that a win will see them progress.

Al-Hilal travel to face Al-Ain in Group D before their vital Saudi League match against Al-Ahli. Al-Hilal are bottom of the group and facing an uphill struggle to remain in the competition. First takes on second in Tehran as Esteghlal welcome Qatar’s Al-Rayyan. The two sides are level on six points at the top of the group, but neither is yet assured of progress to the next round.

 

2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup

The Women’s Asian Cup kicks off in Jordan on Friday with Group A taking centre stage. China face Thailand before the hosts take on the Philippines. The Philippines have never progressed beyond the group stages of this competition and will be looking to improve on their showing at the 2017 SEA Games, where they lost 3-1 to Group A rivals Thailand on their way to finishing fourth in the five-team competition.

Group B gets underway on Saturday as defending champions Japan meet Vietnam. Japan go into the competition with a poor recent defensive record. At last July’s Tournament of Nations in the USA, where they drew with Brazil but lost to the hosts and Australia, Japan conceded eight times in three games. Four of those goals were scored by The Matildas, one of Japan’s Group B rivals. Since then they have continued to leak goals, including a 6-2 thrashing from the Netherlands.

South Korea, four times semi-finalist but never finalists in this competition, will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing showing at the EAFF Championships in Japan in December, where they lost all three of their games against North Korea, China, and Group B rivals Japan. They open their campaign against Australia on Saturday.

The top two sides in each group will progress to the semi-finals while the two third-placed sides will meet in the Fifth Place Match. As well as crowning the regional champions, the competition also acts as the final stage of Asian qualifying for the 2019 Women’s World Cup, with the top two in each group and the winners of the Fifth Place Match being awarded a place in France.