Brisbane Roar have suffered a first-up loss to FC Tokyo in their AFC Champions League debut.
Brisbane Roar have suffered a first-up loss to FC Tokyo in their AFC Champions League debut but the news wasn’t all bad for the Australian clubs as experienced campaigner Adelaide United delivered a shock win over Uzbekistan champion Bunyodkor.
Expectations may have been high for Hyundai A-League champions Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on Tuesday night but Ange Postecoglou’s side found themselves on the wrong end of 2-0 loss to a slick FC Tokyo.
The Japanese Emperor’s Cup winners had to wait until moments before the interval to open the scoring when Aria Hasegawa’s low cross found the onrushing Tatsuya Yazawa, who hammered home from close range.
Tokyo added a second when Michael Theoklitos could only parry Naotake Hanyu’s shot into the path of Hasegawa in the 56th minute.
Brisbane improved in the second half, however, going close through Henrique and Mohamed Adnan, but could not find a route to goal.
Tokyo’s J.League rivals Gamba Osaka, meanwhile, were not as convincing, falling to a shock 3-0 loss to 2009 Asian champions Pohang Steelers at home.
The Steelers stormed ahead in the opening half hour, with Kim Tae-Su netting on 13 minutes after Derek Asamoah’s clever work, before Zoran Rendulic made it 2-0 on 23 minutes.
Hwang Jin-Sung, who assisted Rendulic’s strike, set up the third, with Asamoah making it 3-0 on 76 minutes to seal an emphatic opening win for the Korean side.
There were more shocks in Tashkent with Hyundai A-League strugglers Adelaide United stunning Uzbekistan champions Bunyodkor 2-1 with a blistering counter-attacking display.
Nigel Boogaard converted the impressive Iain Ramsay’s corner on 13 minutes before Antony Golec made it 2-0 nine minutes after the interval, poking home Ramsay’s blocked shot at the end of yet another swift break.
Bunyodkor looked a different side after the second goal but were left frustrated in the final half-hour by Adelaide goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic, who made a series of saves before substitute Kamoliddim Murzoev scored deep into stoppage time to break Adelaide’s resistance.
Korean side Ulsan Hyundai started their campaign with a solid 2-1 victory over 10-man Beijing Guoan.
New signing Lee Keun-Ho set up Kim Shin-Wook to break the deadlock on 26 minutes before Go Seul-Ki doubled their advantage 10 minutes before half-time. Guoan did manage to pull a goal back through substitute Piao Cheng but it wasn’t enough.
Bani Yas made an impressive start in Group B, cruising to a 2-0 win over Al Arabi without star trio Amr Abdul Rahman, Mohammad Fawzi and Ahmad Ali.
Yousif Jaber scored from the penalty spot just before half-time for the Etisalat Pro League runners-up before Francisco Javier Yeste wrapped up the scoring.
Elsewhere, Iran’s Esteghlal scored a late winner through Frenchman Goran Jerkovic in a 1-0 victory over Qatari side Al-Rayyan, while the Group A match between Nasaf Quarshi and United Arab Emirates champions Al-Jazeera was postponed due to heavy snow in Karshi.
