Home > Sports > Football

Full Frontale assault: Pohang rusty in 4-0 ACLE loss to Kawasaki

Published: 12 Feb. 2025, 14:42

PAIK JI-HWAN
[email protected]

Pohang Steelers defender Jonathan Aspropotamitis, far left, reacts to the referee's call to send him off during the 2024-25 AFC Champions League Elite match against Kawasaki Frontale at Pohang Steelyard in Pohang, North Gyeongsang, on Feb. 11. [K LEAGUE]

The Pohang Steelers lost 4-0 to Kawasaki Frontale in the 2024-25 AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) on Tuesday, with one final match left to go in the league phase.

The Steelers were back at Pohang Steelyard in Pohang, North Gyeongsang, returning to the pitch for the first time since the 2024 K League 1 season ended in November last year.

The Steelers struggled throughout the 90 minutes, failing to gain much control of the game.

Kawasaki were better in nearly every area: sharper in front of goal, quicker in build-up play and more lethal when breaking forward.

The J League club went ahead with Shin Yamada netting a close-range header in the 38th minute.

The Steelers even put themselves at a disadvantage, as they went one man down after defender Jonathan Aspropotamitis picked up a second yellow card in the 43rd minute.

The Pohang side’s defense collapsed in the second half. Yasuto Wakizaka scored through a tidy link-up play with Yamada in the 71st minute, followed by goal No. 3 from So Kawahara two minutes later.

Erison added one more in the 88th minute, netting in a header that goalkeeper Hwang In-je failed to clear off the line.

Kawasaki locked a place in the round of 16 with Tuesday’s victory, while the Steelers will have to finish in the top eight on the 12-team league phase table to book a ticket to the knockout stage.

In the revamped Champions League, 12 teams apiece in West and East Asia compete in the league phase, from which top eight sides each reach the round of 16.

The Steelers will play their final game against Johor Darul Ta’zim on Feb. 18. But the Pohang side will first return to domestic action, with the club hosting Daejeon Hana Citizen on Saturday in their first game of the 2025 K League 1 season.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]