Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Guangzhou: Sydney FC advanced to the AFC Champions League Round of 16 as Group H winners despite a 1-0 defeat to Guangzhou Evergrande of China on Tuesday.
Gao Lin’s strike in the game’s second minute proved to be the difference at Tianhe Sport Centre Stadium as the 2013 and 2015 continental champions, whose title defence ended a fortnight ago, claimed third place in the group.
But with Australia’s Melbourne Victory beating Japan’s Gamba Osaka 2-1 at home, Suwon missed out due to having conceded an away goal in the 1-1 draw between themselves and the A-League side earlier in the campaign as the pair finished level on points.
But with Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds failing to beat Korea Republic’s Pohang Steelers after a 1-1 draw in Saitama, Sydney FC top the standings by a point over the J.League side who take second place.
“It wasn’t the start we wanted, we started slow but overall I was very happy with the performance of the team, I thought we played excellent and we had enough chances to win the game tonight,” said Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold.
“I thought we dominated major parts of the game, but the final ball was just lacking a bit and we had trouble scoring which has summed our season a bit.
“But, of course, we’re delighted to be going into the next stage of the competition.”
The home side opened the scoring shorty after kick-off as Li Xuepeng’s left-wing cross was guided into the bottom corner by Gao’s fine first-time volley.
Milos Dimitrijevic then had Sydney FC’s first effort on target on 12 minutes with an effort from range that failed to trouble Liu Dianzuo but Guangzhou remained in the ascendancy as Huang Bowen’s 25-yard free-kick careened off the woodwork and Yu Hanchao steered the rebound wide.
Liu Jian headed over on 27 minutes from a corner before Brandon O’Neill also tried his luck from set-pieces without success in a first half that the hosts largely controlled.
Sydney FC midfielder Christopher Naumoff and Guangzhou forward Ricardo Goulart had opportunities at either end just after the hour before Shane Smeltz had a golden opportunity to net the equaliser with five minutes remaining as his header from Robert Stambolziev’s corner was kept out by a flying save from Liu Dianzuo.
By the end of the match both sides had players succumbing to the physical exertion the game demanded, with Guangzhou’s Xu Xin leaving on a stretcher and those in Sydney FC down on the field with cramp, but with news of the scoreline in Japan reaching southern China, the defeat was still one that was to be celebrated by the A-League club.
“Sydney is a strong team. They played well tactically, are physically strong, and they deserve to qualify from the group as the winner,” said Guangzhou coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.
“Now we are back on track and playing as we should it’s a pity that we couldn't make it out of the group ourselves.
“This has a lot to do with our FIFA World Club Cup schedule last year as well as the winter training session. And we also made some mistakes ourselves.”
Photo: Lagardère Sports