Guangzhou holds Kashiwa; Brisbane hangs on to draw

Posted Thursday, April 05, 2012 by YAHOO Sport

KASHIWA, Japan (AP)—South Korean champions Jeonbuk Motors got its Asian Champions League campaign back on track Wednesday with a 2-0 win over previously undefeated Burriram United of Thailand.

In other early matches, J-League champion Kashiwa Reysol was held to a 0-0 draw at home by China’s Guangzhou Evergrande in Group H, while A-League champion Brisbane Roar held on for a 1-1 away draw Ulsan Hyundai. Piroozi Athletic of Iran tightened its grip on Group D with a 3-0 victory over Al Gharafa of Qatar.

Striker Lee Dong-gook opened the scoring for Jeonbuk in the ninth minute and Seo Sang-min doubled the lead in the 33rd. Burriram, which was the surprising Group H leader after the first two matches, struggled with its attack in an ill-tempered match that featured six yellow cards.

Burriram remains top of Group H despite the loss. Kashiwa and Guanzhou remain two points back after their draw.

In Group F, A-League champion Brisbane Roar managed a draw against Ulsan Hyundai despite playing the second half with 10 men after Matt Jurman was red carded in the 47th minute for grabbing at a goal-bound Kim Seung-young. The Australians opened the scoring via Nick Fitzgerald’s powerful right-foot strike in the 36th minute and, despite Michael Theoklitos’ brilliant save of Lee Keun-ho’s penalty attempt, the Korean club equalized through Lee Jae-seong in the 54th.

Mitch Nichols missed a chance in the 68th to put the Roar ahead, while Ulsan wasted late opportunities when skipper Kwak Tae-hwi’s header hit the crossbar.

Ulsan moved to five points from three matches, while Brisbane has two points and is yet to win in the continental competition.

Brisbane Roar is involved in the A-League playoffs, taking a two-goal advantage to Central Coast Mariners on Sunday, aiming to secure direct entry to the Australian league grand final.

In the other Group F match, Tokyo FC joined Ulsan at the top after a 1-1 draw with Beijing Guoan. Wang Xiaolong opened the scoring for Beijing in the 11th minute but Ariajasuru Hasegawa ensured Tokyo would get a share of the points with a strike in the 44th minute.

Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan beat Al Arabi 3-1 in Group B, handing the Qatari side its third consecutive loss and possibly an early exit from the competition.

Sherzod Karimov got Pakhtakor off to a great start in the ninth minute, when his attempted cross floated into the far corner of the net.

Al Arabi got back on level terms in the 37th minute after an error by defender Aleksey Nikolaev on the edge of his box. He lost the ball to Al Arabi’s Boualem Khoukhi, who fired home the equalizer.

But Pakhtakor went ahead for good when Stanislav Andreev’s long throw was headed onto the crossbar by Hadi Aghily and fell to substitute Dilshod Sharofetdinov, who swept the ball home. Temurkhuja Abdukholiqov sealed the Uzbek club’s first victory in the competition in stoppage time. The ball was flicked on to him by Kakhi Makharadze in the center circle and he ran clear of two defenders before slotting a low shot past goalkeeper Rajab Hamza.

In Group D, Piroozi had no trouble with winless Al Gharafa. Gholam Reza Rezaei opened the scoring in the second minute and Eamon Zayed doubled Piroozi’s lead just three minutes later. Javad Kazemian put the match out of the reach with a goal in the 73rd minute.

Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia missed a great opportunity to move up the table in Group D, settling for a 1-1 draw with Al Shabab of the United Arab Emirates. The home side opened the scoring in the 37th minute courtesy of Brazilian striker Ciel. But South Korean striker Byung-Soo Yoo drew Al Hilal level in the 70th minute.