Jeonbuk beat Yokohama for first win at Champions League

Football

Published: 20 Apr. 2022, 14:54

Jeonbuk beat Yokohama for first win at Champions League

Yokohama F.Marinos' Kouta Watanabe, left fights for the ball with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors' Paik Seungho during an AFC Champions League Group H match at the Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chih Minh City on Tuesday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors picked up their first win of the 2022 Champions League on Tuesday, beating Yokohama F. Marinos 1-0 at Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City.

The reigning K League champions and J League runner-up looked to be fairly well matched in the first half, trading opportunities for the first 30 minutes of the game.

Yokohama's Elber had the first serious chance in the fifth minute, picking up a poorly-placed clearance for a clear shot on goal, but sent the ball flying over the bar. Kim Jin-su had a similar chance for Jeonbuk in the ninth minute, but failed to seriously concern goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka.

In the end it was Kim who provided the opportunity for Jeonbuk to break through, although not in the way he might have wanted.

With the Korean international having proven a consistent threat down the left wing, defender Ken Matsubara took things too far in the 30th minute, bringing Kim down hard in the box and triggering a penalty.

Stanislav Iljutcenko delivered from the spot, although even that was a close thing — Takaoka got a hand to the ball and nearly sent it over the crossbar.

A string of missed opportunities and impressive goalkeeping from both teams kept the score at 1-0 for the rest of the first half. Little changed after the break, and Jeonbuk walked away with a much-needed three points to rise to the top of Group H.

Tuesday's win made up for a disappointing start to the campaign for 2006 and 2016 champions Jeonbuk, who drew their opening game 0-0 with Sydney FC on Saturday. The four points are still good enough to take the K League club to the top of the group, followed by Yokohama on three points and Sydney on two.

Jeonbuk's win on Tuesday came on the heels of a terrible day for Korean football on Monday, when Ulsan Hyundai, Daegu and the Jeonnam Dragons all suffered humiliating losses in what should have been fairly routine fixtures.

Ulsan, the 2020 Champions League winners, were upstaged by Malaysian club Johor Darul Ta’zim, a team that has never made it out of the group stage at the continental tournament.

Ulsan's 2-1 loss was still better than Jeonnam, who lost 2-0 to Thai side BG Pathum United, and Daegu, who lost 3-0 to Singaporean debutants Lion City Sailors, a team that has only really existed since 2020.

As a result, Jeonbuk are the only team currently positioned to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament, with Ulsan, Jeonnam and Daegu all dropping into third place in their respective groups at this early stage of the competition.

The third round of games will begin for the four Korean clubs on Thursday. Ulsan will take on Guangzhou at Tan Sri Dato' Haji Hassan Yunos Stadium in Johor, Jeonnam will face Melbourne City at Pathum Thani Stadium and Daegu will play the Urawa Red Diamonds at Buriram Stadium in Buriram, Thailand.

Jeonbuk will play their third game on Friday against Vietnamese club Hoang Anh Gia Lai at Thong Nhat Stadium.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]