Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Saitama: Former champions Urawa Red Diamonds slipped to second straight loss in the 2015 AFC Champions League on Wednesday as the 2007 winners slumped to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Brisbane Roar at Saitama Stadium.
Brandon Borrello scored just two minutes into the game to put Brisbane in front and Daisuke Nasu’s sending off in the 51st minute hampered any hopes Mihailo Petrovic’s side had of salvaging something from the game.
Petrovic rues Urawa display following defeat to Brisbane
Borrello struck with a firm finish in the second minute after Thomas Broich dispossessed a dithering Yosuke Kashiwagi 25 yards from his own goal before feeding Borrello, whose shot beat goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa at his near post.
Luke Brattan went close to adding a second in the 15th minute with a long range strike that dipped and swerved before going over Nishikawa’s crossbar while, four minutes before the break Broich tried his luck from range, only to miss the target.
Urawa offered little in the opening 45 minutes and were booed off by their own fans as they left the pitch for the half-time break.
Petrovic rung the changes at the start of the second half, replacing the ineffective Zlatan Ljubijankic with Naoki Ishihara while Kenichi Kaga made way for Tsukasa Umesaki, and Urawa looked sharper as a result.
Three minutes after the restart, Shinzo Koroki should have levelled the scores at the end of a slick passing move, only for the striker’s effort from inside the penalty area to be directed straight at goalkeeper Jamie Young.
Urawa were dictating the tempo of the game when, just six minutes into the second half, they were reduced to 10 men when Nasu was given a straight red card for hauling down Andrija Kaluderovic 40 yards from goal after the Japanese defender had given away possession.
However, the J.League side continued to control the pace of the game, but were open to the counterattack, with Henrique Silva forcing Nishikawa into action in the 69th minute.
With just a minute remaining of normal time, substitute Tadanari Lee went close to rescuing a point for the home side, only for his diving header to fly narrowly over Young’s crossbar as Brisbane picked up their first win of the 2015 AFC Champions League.
Photo: WSG