Asian Champions League 2010

Hiroshima overturn flat Reds
by Chris Dunkerley

Group H - Round 4 - 2nd Leg
7:00pm, Wednesday 24 February, 2010
at Hiroshima's 'Big Arch' Stadium


Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC 1
(Hisato Sato 45'+1)
defeated
Adelaide United FC 0


Adelaide United FC lost their first game of the campaign with their J-League opponents running out 1-0 winners on Tuesday 30 March, 2010 at Hiroshima's 'Big Arch' Stadium - through a first half stoppage time goal by Hisato Sato.

The home side started brightly and enjoyed most of the possession in the opening exchanges with Sato and Masato Yamazaki (who won the AFC Champions League with Gamba Osaka in 2008 when they beat Adelaide in the final) threatening for Sanfrecce.

Sato fired wide after 14 minutes from just outside the area before Yamazaki combined with Issei Takayanagi before the former Gamba man tested Reds goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic midway through the first half.

Yamazaki came even closer just a minute later hitting the Adelaide bar with Galekovic struggling to cover.

A free-kick from midfielder Koji Morisaki again threatened the Adelaide goal 10 minutes before the break before Galekovic turned away Satoru Yamagishi’s well-struck drive in the last minute of the first half. But from the resulting corner Koji Nakajima flicked on Morisaki’s delivery at the right post and the unmarked Hisato Sato made make no mistake with his header from close range at the left.

Adelaide were ruing an opportunity in the 33rd minute when Travis Dodd had the ball in the area but could not get a shot in before being bloacked, and then Matthew Leckie could only shoot weakly from the rebound.

Defender Robbie Cornthwaite threatened with a header on the hour mark and again 10 minutes later before striker Sergio van Dijk tried his luck from outside the area only to be denied by Sanfrecce goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa two minutes later.

The home side continued to be pushed on the back foot by the Reds with series of corners but Nishikawa and his defence stood firm.

Dodd had the ball on the top of the netting, and Pantelis send a cross from the right that deserved someone on the end of. Sergio Van Dijk though almost snatched a point for the visitors in the last minute but his effort from near the penalty spot agonisingly went the wrong side of the post to the relief of the home side.

Adelaide needed to have taken the half-chances that they grafted in the second half, as if they had it was only Ryoto Moriwaki who came close for Hiroshima.

"We’ve been longing for a win for a long time, which made me feel happier with our victory. This is our first win in the ACL and is historic for our club," said Sanfrecce's coach Mihailo Petrovic.

With defending champions Pohang Steelers doing the Reds a favour beating Shandong Luneng 2-1, Adelaide stay on top on goal-diffrence and the K-League side moved to the top of Group H alongside Adelaide with two games remaining- while Sanfrecce joined the Chinese side six points adrift of the leaders but still holding onto a slim chance mathematical of advancing.

Adelaide caretaker coach Joe Mullen, meanwhile, lamented the Reds’ sluggish performance after the visitors, who beat Sanfrecce 3-2 at home last week, failed to convert a string of chances in the second half. "We were slow in our build-up in the first half and the movement of our players in the attacking third was also slow and Sanfrecce took advantage of that," he said. The second half was a lot better!"

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