Ulsan Hyundai maintained its hopes of a place in the next stage of the Asian Champions League as Oh Jang-eun’s second-half strike secured a 1-0 victory over Beijing Guoan at Beijing Workers Stadium.
The victory means Ulsan is second in Group E with six points, two behind leader Nagoya Grampus while Beijing is third with four points alongside Newcastle Jets.
The hosts made a good start to the game as they attacked from the outset. Joel Griffiths fell in the area after failing to connect with the ball but the referee waved away the penalty calls.
Beijing continued to press but was struggling to create any chances of note in the final third as Yang Hao’s long-range effort brought a rare save from Kim Young-kwang.
Ulsan finally awoke as the game headed towards half-time as a Hyun Young-min free-kick was cleared by the defence and Slavcho lobbed the ball into the net but the referee ruled the goal out due to an earlier infringement.
Beijing had chances soon after the restart as Du Wenhui and Matic Darko both sent shots wide of the goal as it looked to take a swift lead.
But it was the visitors who made the breakthrough in the 70th minute when Oh rose highest inside the area and headed home Kim’s free-kick.
The hosts pressed for an equaliser as Griffiths had another penalty appeal turned down when he tumbled inside the box while the Chinese found themselves frustrated by the Ulsan defence, who held firm to ensure the three points went the way of the Koreans.
Kashima Antlers moved level with Suwon Bluewings at the top of Group G following a 5-0 rout of Singapore Armed Forces at Kashima Soccer Stadium.
Shinzo Koroki grabbed a brace while Takuya Nozawa, skipper Mitsuo Ogasawara and Yuya Osako also found the back of the net.
Goals from Lee Sang-ho and Bae Ki-jeong helped Suwon Bluewings fight back from a goal down to see off Shanghai Shenhua 2-1.
But the hosts had Park Ho-jin to thank for hanging on to three points after the goalkeeper saved Hernan Barcos’ 77th-minute penalty.
Suwon also had Chinese defender Li Weifeng sent-off six minutes from the end when he collected a second yellow card for time wasting.
Fernando Baiano scored a deserved equaliser 19 minutes from time to rescue a point for Al Jazira as the United Arab Emirates side held two-time Asian Champions League winners Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia to a 1-1 draw at Prince Abdullah Stadium.
Osama Al Harbi headed the home side ahead just before the interval but Baiano capped a fine second-half comeback, firing the Dubai side level and keeping alive its slender hopes of reaching the last 16 of the competition.
Al Hilal put itself within touching distance of a place in the knockout stage of the ACL with a 3-1 win at Al Ahli of the United Arab Emirates at Al Rashid Stadium.
Mahmood Qassim’s speculative effort gave the hosts the lead early on before Tareq Eltaib led the fightback for the Saudi Arabians when he struck in the 21st minute.
Airel Radoi scored from the spot in the 53rd minute before Yasser Al Qahtani made the win safe just after the hour mark.
Al Hilal is second in Group A and needs just one point from its remaining two games to progress to the last 16.
Pakhtakor put one foot in the last 16 after battling back from a goal down to defeat Saba Battery of Iran 2-1.
Mohammad Nori opened the scoring for the visitors after just five minutes but Pakhtakor was level shortly before the break through Odil Ahmedov’s penalty.
Stanislav Andreev then grabbed the winner for the hosts early in the second half to secure the three points that keep the Uzbek side top of Group A with 10 points from four games.
Esteghlal remains bottom of Group C despite a creditable 1-1 draw with Umm Salal at the Azadi Stadium.
Arash Borhani gave the Iranians the lead just before half-time only for Umm Salal to level through Saud Ghanem 20 minutes from the end.
