Teams from K-League all victorious in Champions League

All four football teams from Korea's K-League playing in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League were victorious in their group stage action this week, combining to put up 13 goals.

Both Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Suwon Samsung Bluewings won their games by the score of 4-0 on Wednesday. In Group G, Jeonbuk blanked Arema Indonesia on the road, as Luiz Henriquz grabbed a brace. Suwon routed Shanghai Shenhua at home in their Group H contest, with Ha Tae-goon scoring the first hat trick of his career.

A day earlier, Jeju United of Group E picked up its first-ever Champions League win, beating Melbourne Victory 2-1 on the road. FC Seoul shut out Hangzhou Greentown of China 3-0 at home for its second straight win in Group F.

After playing two games each, Jeonbuk, Suwon and Seoul have shot to the top of their groups. Jeju, which lost its opener two weeks ago, is in third place behind Tianjin Teda of China and Gamba Osaka of Japan.

There are eight groups of four clubs, and the top two teams from each will reach the knockout stage.

In Suwon, south of Seoul, Ha scored just three minutes in for Suwon and the home team never looked back.

"We were able to win because we got an early goal," said Yoon Sung-hyo, Suwon's coach. "When we're getting in positions to score, we are doing so, and the atmosphere around the team is good."

Despite the easy victory, Yoon said Group H is still wide open and acknowledged away games will always be difficult for his team.

In Malang, Indonesia, Jeonbuk played in a hostile environment with about 35,000 partisan fans cheering on their underdogs. After Jeonbuk's defense fended off an early Arema attack, Kim Ji-woong put the South Korean side on the board in the 26th minute. But Choi Kang-hee, Jeonbuk's coach, said it wasn't until Huang Bowen's goal that made it 2-0 in the 78th minute that he could smell the victory, adding that the opponents came out more aggressive than he'd anticipated.

"Arema played really well in the first half," he said. "They pressed us, and we were forced to sit back most of the time. If we hadn't scored first, the game could have gone either way."

In Melbourne Wednesday, Jeju gave up an opening goal to the home side before clawing back with goals by Park Hyun-beom and Lee Hyun-ho.

Jeju coach Park Kyung-hoon said his team is a confident bunch.

"We have the mindset that if we give up a goal, we could always answer with two or three scores," he said. "At halftime (tied at 1-1), I told the players we would definitely have a chance to score."

FC Seoul was powered by its formidable import duo, Dejan Damjanovic and Mauricio Molina. It was Damjanovic, the team's leading scorer last season, who set up Molina's goal in the second half just seconds after Molina entered the game as a substitute. Seldom-used players Ou Kyoung-jun and Lee Jae-an made the most of their playing opportunities, too.

"Molina and Dejan played huge roles for us," said coach Hwangbo Kwan. "And I also have faith in our young players who started today. We've had a taxing schedule of late, but the players gave all they had."

Jeju's next game is against Gamba Osaka of Japan at home on April 5. Suwon will be at home against Kashima Antlers of Japan on April 6.

Jeonbuk and Seoul are scheduled to travel to Japan to face Cerezo Osaka on April 5 and Nagoya Grampus on April 6, respectively, but their matches are in limbo in light of the massive earthquake and the ensuing nuclear crisis that has engulfed Japan.

During the group stage, AFC matches are held every two weeks until May -- when games will be on back-to-back weeks -- in order to accommodate participating teams' playing schedules in their domestic leagues. (Yonhap)