Asian Champions League 2010

Beijing Guoan freeze out Victory
by BOTN

Group E - Round 1 - 1st Leg
7:30pm (10:30pm AEDT), Tuesday 23rd February, 2010
at Beijing Workers Stadium, China



Beijing Guoan FC 1
(Joel Griffiths 52')
defeated
Melbourne Victory FC 0

On a bitterly cold Beijing evening, and on a horrid pitch, Melbourne Victory were unable to come back from a 1-0 deficit caused by a finely taken goal in the 52nd minute by Beijing Guoan's Australian striker Joel Griffiths.

In the 52nd minute Joel Griffiths, hemmed in, received a ball from Zhu Yifan and in one fluid movement turned beating Victory captain and hard-man in the process, and shot. A small deflection off Roddy Vargas's boot took it under Mitch Langerak and into the goal. 1-0

Melbourne had chances, with Tom Pondeljak hitting a spectacular 30m shot that had goalkeeper Yang Zhi at full stretch to his right to palm the ball away. Nik Mrdja missed two chances, including a close header wide in the final moments.

The hosts were a constant threat throughout the game particularly before weariness of being out of season told at the end of both halves when Melbourne gained a supremacy that they couldn't covert into a goal. As well as Saraiva 'Otto' Erivaldo being a menace, Joel Griffiths came close to adding a second when Xu Yunlong sent a cross into his path but Langerak made a reflex save to deny the former Jet from close range.

Beijing secured all three points which puts them second in Group E, behind Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma after the South Koreans beat Kawasaki Frontale of Japan 2-0.

Melbourne now face Seongnam Ilhwa FC at Docklands on Tuesday 9 March.

Alan Fleming at the game provides his take on the game and occasion:

After attending the thrashing of Melbourne Victory at the hands of Beijing Guoan, I was overcome by an amazing sense of excitement at the potential future of our beloved game. Not because I was in Beijing, watching two relatively tiny clubs battle for advantage in a highly recognised and coveted club competition, but rather because even though I’m half-way across the world, submerged in an alien culture that doesn’t quiet ‘get’ football yet, I still got that match day buzz that draws us all into this game and makes us fall in love with it.

Some believe this buzz exists everywhere, for every game, be it the local pub comp or the World Cup, but those of us who have been to matches where the surrounds are not right, where the feel is off, when it just feels like the football Gods are not present, we know, the buzz is important.

This time last year, Beijing Guoan easily disposed of the Newcastle Jets in their ACL encounter on a decent winter pitch, in front of a completely hostile and racially abusive crowd. Chants of ‘Big Nose’ and ‘Donkey Dick’ were rife. The fans behaviour was compounded by the generally poor organisation of the hosts, resulting in no allocated seats, punters standing in aisles blocking the view of others, almost non-existent security and of course the constant loop of the Beijing Olympic theme song playing through the deafening and scratchy PA during the breaks. Needless, to say, last year there was no buzz.

Oh how things have changed. This year, the feel was completely different. Racially motivated chanting was replaced by the traditional footballing harmonies that we all know and love; clap, clap, clapclapclap, clapclapclapclap, BEIJING! There was even a lone trumpeter who heralded the change of tune and dance move when required. The Beijing Ultras, behind the goal and dressed from head to two in green and white, were in full swing; singing and dancing to the beat of their own three piece band. Even the usually conservative and always stern Police took part in the festive mood, jovially dealing with the chants of ‘Sha Bi’ (the English equivalent of the word rhymes with punt) aimed at them when they tried to calm over-excited punters.

Outside the ground the changes were just as evident. Police were controlling traffic on the main roads around the mighty Workers Stadium, allowing fans and ordinary punters alike to walk freely and safely on and across the bustling and often down right dangerous roads and alleyways to get to the ground. This meant that for the duration of the 15 minute walk from my apartment to the stadium we were surrounded by Beijing fans that were already worked up by just being amongst the growing crowd.

Security was also enhanced such that all seats were allocated, and no one was able to stand in the aisles or on the landings of the stairs. Oh what a difference it makes to be able to focus all of one’s anger on the common target of the referee rather than each other!

I'm not sure who organised this particular event, whether it was Guoan, the Chinese Football Association or the AFC directly, but whoever it was, hats off to you for creating an atmosphere that was world class and also, for helping tens of thousands of people fall in love with our great game.

The only disappointment was the distinct lack of away supporters trying to out-class the majority with their fervour and excitement. But as this competition grows, and if more games like this are held in Beijing, maybe we’ll see bigger and bigger away support and who knows, maybe the ACL will start to rival it’s European Cousin!

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