Ulsan out to extend winning streak
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 11, 2014
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Former champions Ulsan Hyundai extended their winning streak in the AFC Champions League to 10 games with a 3-1 victory over Australia's Western Sydney Wanderers last month. |
Former champions Ulsan Hyundai will look to extend their already impressive 10-game AFC Champions League winning streak with the visit of Japan's Kawasaki Frontale in Group H on Wednesday at Munsu Stadium.
Undefeated in 13 games stretching back to May 2009 and their group stage defeat to Australia's Newcastle Jets, K-League Classic side Ulsan boast one of the most impressive undefeated records in the AFC Champions League founded on a run of nine straight wins in the 2012 edition that included a 3-0 defeat of Al Ahli in the final.
Ulsan then began their 2014 campaign in impressive fashion with a convincing 3-1 win over continental debutants Western Sydney Wanderers at Paramatta Stadium on Matchday One thanks to goals from Kim Shin-wook, Ko Chang-hyun and Kang Min-soo after Brendon Santalab had given the A-League side the lead inside the first minute.
Cho Min-kook's side also got their domestic season off to a flyer by beating reigning champions Pohang Steelers 1-0 on Saturday to gain some small measure of revenge after the same opponents beat them on the final day of the 2013 season to snatch the title.
Visitors Kawasaki also faced their country's champions over the weekend, although they were defeated 2-1 by Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
Their continental campaign, however, had began more positively as Kawasaki took all three points against China's Guizhou Rene thanks to a goal from Brazilian forward Renato.
"The Ulsan team has a lot of speed and power, and their team is at a very high level," said Kawasaki coach Yahiro Kazama.
"Looking at our own team's performance in the previous game [against Guizhou], I feel we still have many improvements to make as our players didn't do so well in the smaller details of the game."
Defeated on Matchday One, both Guizhou and Western Sydney have ground to make up in Group H and a positive result for either side at Guiyang Olympic Centre Stadium this week will be crucial for their AFC Champions League ambitions.
Since the defeat to Ulsan, the A-League side have been beaten by both Newcastle Jets and city-rivals Sydney FC, while Guizhou shared a goalless draw with Jiangsu Sainty on Saturday in their Chinese Super League opener.
In Group C, Qatari league leaders and 2013 quarter-finalists Lekhwiya will be hoping their domestic form can translate to the continental stage when they take on a Tractorsazi Tabriz side who will be without Ali Karimi after the evergreen playmaker was sent-off in the Iranian team's Matchday One victory over Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad.
Despite losing 2-1 to Al Ain in their group stage opener, Lekhwiya showed plenty of attacking intent through new acquisition and goal scorer Vladimir Weiss, although their defence will need to be alert against predatory Tabriz forward Karim Ansarifard who opened his AFC Champions League account with the game's only goal against Al Ittihad.
The day's later game will see Al Ittihad entertain early frontrunners and reigning UAE league champions Al Ain, with the Saudi side boosted by their 5-3 extra-time defeat of Al Nadha in the Champions Cup on Sunday.
Meanwhile, defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande underlined the task facing sides both on the continent and at home with convincing victories in both their AFC Champions League and Chinese Super League openers.
After coming back from two goals down at half-time to defeat Australia's Melbourne Victory 4-2 on Matchday One, the southern Chinese side defeated Henan Jianye 3-0 on Saturday to kick-off their domestic season.
Hosting them in Wednesday's Group G fixture will be Yokohama F. Marinos who, despite losing their AFC Champions League opener 3-0 to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors last month, began their J.League season with a 1-0 win over Shimizu S-Pulse at the weekend.
"As they are managed by (Marcello) Lippi, they have a very sophisticated way of playing. They also have a very powerful strike force," said Yokohama coach Yasuhiro Higuchi.
"We respect them a lot because they are the current champions but we look forward to challenging ourselves against them."
In Group G's other fixture, Melbourne will hope to take the positives from their first half showing against Guangzhou and claim three precious points when they entertain 2006 champions Jeonbuk at Docklands Stadium.
Finally in Group D, Qatar champions Al Sadd will face UAE President's Cup Winners Al Ahli looking to secure back-to-back victories following their 3-1 win over Iran's Sepahan in their AFC Champions League opener last month, while Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal travel to Isfahan.
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