 |
| Jeonbuk Motors players celebrate after a 2-1 win over Al Ain in the first leg of the Asian Champions League on Saturday in Jeonju World Cup Stadium in the southwestern city. / Yonhap |
By John Duerden
.jpg) |
Jeonbuk Motors took one more step towards a second Asian Champions League title on Saturday with a 2-1 win over Al Ain in the first leg of the 2016 final. But it was only a small one.
The second leg takes place in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday and while the Koreans have an advantage, it is only one goal.
Al Ain scored a vital away goal which means that if the UAE team wins 1-0 on November 26, then it wins a second title of its own. Basically, if Jeonbuk keeps a clean sheet or draws then the trophy is coming back to Korea.
It will be tense but then it was tense on Saturday when it could have been a bad night for the Greens. After a drab first half, Al Ain took the lead through Danilo Asprilla. The Colombian scored a goal after 64 minutes. At that time, the team's coach Zlatko Dalic would have happily stopped the game there and then.
Then came Leonardo. Jeonbuk's Brazilian maestro already had eight goals to his name in the tournament going into the game at Jeonju World Cup Stadium. With 20 minutes remaining and Jeonbuk looking increasingly desperate, Leonardo curled home a beauty from outside the area.
That goal brought relief to the 40,000 or so cheering their team, but the second goal was cause for celebration. Mohamed Salah brought down Kim Shin-wook in the area. Leonardo kept his cool for his tenth of the tournament and Jeonbuk's second of the game.
There were even chances for the host to score a third goal to take a bigger cushion to West Asia but it was not to be. Overall however, Jeonbuk will be satisfied if not delighted with this first leg.
Hard work is ahead however. Al Ain's biggest star Omar Abdulrahman was employed in a ‘false nine' position, a striker who drops deep into midfield, did not work. Coach Choi Kang-hee sent Choi Chul-soon into the defensive midfield to keep a close eye on the playmaker and Abdulrahman did not seem to like it.
"Choi Chul-soon was nearly perfect today," said coach Choi. "But in the second leg, Al Ain will change their tactics, so we should be prepared."
Al Ain will be more aggressive and surely more dangerous going forward. Jeonbuk has to be prepared for defense. The question for Jeonbuk is whether it attacks and looks to score goals of its own, or sits back to protect what it has.
The Motors are more likely to do the former rather than the latter.
"We have many players who can score goals on the road," said Choi. "If we play too defensively, we'll not have a good game. I believe any of our players will do their job when they enter the pitch," he added. "Our players are especially doing well on the attack."
They may have to continue. Al Ain is as desperate as Jeonbuk for more Asian glory.
"We played against (a) very strong team," said coach Dalic. "I can be happy with our performance tonight, but I'm not happy with the result. Of course, we'll change our style of football because we have to score goals."
It is Jeonbuk's job to stop that from happening. It all could hinge on one mistake or piece of luck, bad or otherwise, The Motors are in the driver's seat but Al Ain is still capable of throwing a wrench in the works.
The second leg takes place in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday and while the Koreans have an advantage, it is only one goal.
Al Ain scored a vital away goal which means that if the UAE team wins 1-0 on November 26, then it wins a second title of its own. Basically, if Jeonbuk keeps a clean sheet or draws then the trophy is coming back to Korea.
It will be tense but then it was tense on Saturday when it could have been a bad night for the Greens. After a drab first half, Al Ain took the lead through Danilo Asprilla. The Colombian scored a goal after 64 minutes. At that time, the team's coach Zlatko Dalic would have happily stopped the game there and then.
Then came Leonardo. Jeonbuk's Brazilian maestro already had eight goals to his name in the tournament going into the game at Jeonju World Cup Stadium. With 20 minutes remaining and Jeonbuk looking increasingly desperate, Leonardo curled home a beauty from outside the area.
That goal brought relief to the 40,000 or so cheering their team, but the second goal was cause for celebration. Mohamed Salah brought down Kim Shin-wook in the area. Leonardo kept his cool for his tenth of the tournament and Jeonbuk's second of the game.
There were even chances for the host to score a third goal to take a bigger cushion to West Asia but it was not to be. Overall however, Jeonbuk will be satisfied if not delighted with this first leg.
Hard work is ahead however. Al Ain's biggest star Omar Abdulrahman was employed in a ‘false nine' position, a striker who drops deep into midfield, did not work. Coach Choi Kang-hee sent Choi Chul-soon into the defensive midfield to keep a close eye on the playmaker and Abdulrahman did not seem to like it.
"Choi Chul-soon was nearly perfect today," said coach Choi. "But in the second leg, Al Ain will change their tactics, so we should be prepared."
Al Ain will be more aggressive and surely more dangerous going forward. Jeonbuk has to be prepared for defense. The question for Jeonbuk is whether it attacks and looks to score goals of its own, or sits back to protect what it has.
The Motors are more likely to do the former rather than the latter.
"We have many players who can score goals on the road," said Choi. "If we play too defensively, we'll not have a good game. I believe any of our players will do their job when they enter the pitch," he added. "Our players are especially doing well on the attack."
They may have to continue. Al Ain is as desperate as Jeonbuk for more Asian glory.
"We played against (a) very strong team," said coach Dalic. "I can be happy with our performance tonight, but I'm not happy with the result. Of course, we'll change our style of football because we have to score goals."
It is Jeonbuk's job to stop that from happening. It all could hinge on one mistake or piece of luck, bad or otherwise, The Motors are in the driver's seat but Al Ain is still capable of throwing a wrench in the works.
