AFC'S CHINESE NEW YEAR GREETINGS

Kuala Lumpur: The AFC would like to wish the Asian football family a very happy and prosperous Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year is a time for celebrations, happiness and the arrival of spring and with it great abundance. It is a time to reflect on the year that has passed and spend time with family and friends as we welcome the coming year.

It’s also a time to forge closer ties between our communities, Member Associations and other stakeholders as we gear up and move forward to ensure the success of Asian football.

In this very special Year of the Goat, the AFC would like to wish everyone celebrating: “Gong Xi  Fa Chai” and may the New Year bring peace, prosperity, success and good fortune to all.

ROUND-UP: AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AND AFC CUP PLAY-OFFS

Kuala Lumpur: The Play-offs for the Group Stages of the 2015 AFC Champions League and 2015 AFC Cup concluded on Tuesday.

AFC Champions League Groups

A: Al Nassr, Lekhwiya, Persepolis, Bunyodkor
B: Al Ain, Pakhtakor, Al Shabab, Naft Tehran
C: Foolad Khouzestan, Lokomotiv, Al Hilal, Al Sadd
D: Tractorsazi Tabriz, Al Ahli (UAE), Nasaf Qarshi, Al Ahli (KSA)
E: Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Shandong Luneng, Binh Duong, Kashiwa Reysol
F: Gamba Osaka, Seongnam FC, Buriram United, Guangzhou R&F
G: Brisbane Roar, Urawa Red Diamonds, Suwon Samsung, Beijing Guoan
H: Guangzhou Evergrande, Western Sydney Wanderers, Kashima Antlers, FC Seoul  

AFC Cup Groups:

A: Salam Zgharta, Al Nahda, Al Wahda, Al Wehdat
B: Al Shorta, Al Jazeera, Wadi Al Nes, Al Hidd
C: Qadsia SC, Arbil, FC Istiklol, Ahal FC
D: Riffa, Kuwait SC, Nejmeh, Al Jaish
E: Bengaluru FC, Persipura Jayapura, Warriors FC, Maziya S&R
F: Kitchee, Kingfisher East Bengal, Johor Darul Ta’zim, Balestier Khalsa
G: Yadanarbon, South China, Global FC, Pahang FA
H: Persib Bandung, Ayeyawady, Lao FC, New Radiant SC

NO TIME TO REST ON PLAY-OFF LAURELS SAYS SEOUL COACH CHOI

Seoul: Coach Choi Yong-soo insists former finalists FC Seoul must quickly forget about Tuesday’s emphatic 7-0 win over Vietnam’s Hanoi T&T in the AFC Champions League play-offs with a re-match with China’s Guangzhou Evergrande already looming in the group stage next week. 

Striker Jung Jo-gook scored twice while the impressive Yun Il-lok, Everton Santos, Sergio Escudero, Lee Seok-hyun and captain Koh Myong-jin were all on target at Seoul World Cup Stadium as FC Seoul comfortably secured a third consecutive appearance in the group stage having also reached the semi-finals last year. 

But FC Seoul, who do not begin the new K League Classic season until the start of March, must now turn their attentions to next week’s trip to Tianhe Sports Center Stadium next Wednesday for their Group H opener against the side they lost the 2013 final to on away goals having drawn the second leg 1-1 in China. 

“We prepared really hard at the winter camp and it paid off,” said FC Seoul coach Choi, who also saw his side draw the first leg of the 2013 AFC Champions League final 2-2 at home. 

“The important thing is we have to forget about the match today and we need to prepare for the next game. 

“We have an away match against Guangzhou and I know they are really strong team. They have a strong squad, however, in football, we don’t know anything until the final whistle.”

Vietnamese league runners-up Hanoi had beaten Indonesia’s Persib Bandung 4-0 in last week’s second preliminary round, but Phan Thanh Hung’s side found the gulf in class too much having reached the quarter-finals of the AFC Cup last year. 

“FC Seoul is a strong team. I want to say congratulations and also good luck in the group stage,” said Hanoi coach Thanh Hung. 

“The atmosphere in Seoul was really good today and Seoul performed really well. 

“The weather today was really cold and it made it difficult for us to perform well. Also a lack of experience in the ACL was another difficult factor. 

“From the experience today, we hope to play well when we have another chance to play in this tournament.”

AL SADD ARE IN IT TO WIN IT INSISTS AMMOUTA

Abu Dhabi: Al Sadd coach Lhoussaine Ammouta believes former winners Al Sadd can again challenge for the continental title after securing a place in the group stage of the AFC Champions League after winning a second consecutive penalty shootout following Tuesday’s victory over Al Wahda of the United Arab Emirates. 

Goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb saved from Hussain Fadhel in sudden death after 120 minutes had left the side’s deadlock at 4-4 after former AFC Player of the Year Khalfan Ibrahim had scored a hat-trick for Al Sadd, which included the 95th minute equaliser at the end of normal time. 

And having edged out Bahrain’s Al Riffa 11-10 on penalties following a goalless draw in last week’s preliminary round, Al Sadd will now take their place in Group C alongside Iran’s Foolad Khouzestan, Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv and Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal having won the title in 2011 on penalties having also begun in the play-offs. 

“I’m extremely happy with the exciting win as we gave our best tonight and we had great determination to make a good comeback and win the match in order to qualify to the group stage of the competition,” said Al Sadd coach Ammouta, pictured during last year's ACL campaign..

“We were behind tonight, but we came back stronger and we should have sealed the match before the penalty shootout. 

“We want to have a good performance in the group stage and compete for the title.” 

Al Wahda had taken an eight minute lead through Damian Diaz only for Yusef Ahmed and Ibrahim to turn the tie in favour of Al Sadd just after the hour mark. 

Amer Omar quickly levelled the tie again with 18 minutes remaining before team-mate Mohamed Al Shehhi net what appeared to be the winner in the second minute of stoppage time. 

But after a mass coming together of players shortly after saw Al Wahda’s Diaz and Adil Hermach receive red cards while Al Sadd’s Kasola was also given his marching orders, there was still time for Ibrahim to equalise. 

The striker then reclaimed the lead for Al Sadd eight minutes into the second half of extra-time only for Ismail Matar’s superb free-kick to send the tie to penalties. 

And after Grafite missed for Al Sadd and Omar missed for Al Wahda, Al Sheeb eventually emerged as the hero by denying Kuwaiti defender Fadhel in sudden death. 

“I believe Al Wahda deserved to win tonight following the good performance that they showed today,” said Al Wahda coach Sami Al Jaber. 

“We controlled the proceedings and the players showed great fighting spirits and I thank them for what they gave us tonight. 

“Al Sadd are a big team and they have previously won the AFC Champions League title. We were not lucky in the last minutes of regular time and they managed to score, while we showed a good performance in the two extra halves, but the penalty shootout didn’t go our way.”

WE HAVE PROVEN OUR ACL CREDENTIALS SAYS GUANGZHOU R&F COACH CONTRA

Gosford: Coach Cosmin Contra insists China’s Guangzhou R&F fully deserve their maiden appearance in the group stage of the AFC Champions League after recording an eye-catching 3-1 win over Australia’s Central Coast Mariners in Tuesday’s play-off. 

Jiang Ning opened the scoring after just eight minutes at Central Coast Stadium, and after Guangzhou survived a strong start to the second half from the home side, Lu Lin added a second just before the hour mark. 

Josh Rose’s spectacular own goal from just inside his own half with just under two minutes remaining extended Guangzhou’s lead before Glen Trifiro’s stoppage time free-kick handed the home side a consolation having been outplayed for the majority of the contest. 

“I am very happy for my players because they worked very hard in the last six weeks. I think we deserve to go through to the group stage as in general, we were the better team,” said Romanian coach Contra, who replaced Sven-Goran Eriksson as Guangzhou coach at the end of last year.  

“We scored very fast in the first 10 minutes and I think this changed the game for the opponent also and we had more space for counter-attacks and we had three or four more chances on these counter-attacks, but we didn’t score. 

“And after we survived the first 15 minutes of the second half, after the second goal, we had the victory in our hands. 

“We scored very fast and this opened the game up, then it was more difficult to attack us as we had more space and we have players who can make very good counter-attacks. We were lucky on some occasions as they pushed very hard in the second half.” 

Guangzhou will now travel to Japan next week to face J.League champions and 2008 AFC Champions League winners Gamba Osaka in Group F, which also contains 2010 continental champions Seongnam FC from Korea Republic and Thailand’s Buriram United. 

“I don’t know much about our opponents as I was focused on these two games, but we will sit down and look at the three opponents we will have in the group and I will have more information in the next few days,” added Contra having seen Guangzhou also beat Singapore’s Warriors FC 3-0 in last week’s preliminary round. 

“I think we have a chance as we have proven our self in these two games against very good teams.” 

The defeat ended Central Coast’s chances of securing a fourth consecutive appearance in the group stage of the AFC Champions League having reached the Round of 16 in 2013. 

“We gave ourselves a mountain to climb after conceding that early goal and we didn’t defend the diagonal well and we didn’t defend the goal well. It was a quality finish, but it is probably the story of our season as we give way cheap goals,” said Central Coast coach Phil Moss. 

“We had good possession, we had some good entries into their box tonight, but it is just that cutting edge in front of goal.”

AL AHLI SUBSTITUTIONS PAID DIVIDENDS SAYS GROSS

Jeddah: Coach Christian Gross credited the impact of his second-half substitutes in helping Al Ahli recover from a goal down to gain victory and a place in the AFC Champions League after Tuesday’s 2-1 comeback victory over Kuwaiti club Qadsia SC.

AFC Cup holders Qadsia SC has taken the lead on 33 minutes courtesy of Bader Al Motawaa’s stunning free-kick but they were pegged back by Omar Al Soma’s penalty within the final 10 minutes, and had earlier lost the services of defender Khaled Al Qahtani who was red carded for conceding the spot-kick.

And in extra-time it was Al Ahli midfielder Mustafa Al Bassas’ who reacted quickest to prod home a loose ball in the penalty area with just five minutes of the additional 30 remaining to ensure the Saudi club took their place in Group D alongside Hazfi Cup winners Tractorsazi Tabriz of Iran, the United Arab Emirates champions Al Ahli and Uzbek club Nasaf Qarshi.

“We were hoping to score early but it wasn't an easy match and we lost concentration after we conceded the goal to Qadsia SC. We played against a strong team as Qadsia SC are one of the best teams in Kuwait and they made it hard for us today,” said Al Ahli coach Gross (pictured), who brought on Ahmed Al Aloufi, Abdullah Al Mutairi and Hussain Al Moqhawi in the second period.

“We made several substitutions which were good for us and eventually we made a good comeback before winning the match in the extra time.

“I want to thank our fans who showed in big numbers tonight and they gave us great support.”

Qadsia SC had edged Jordan's Al Wehdat 1-0 last week in the previous round of play-offs but, much like their 2014 campaign when they were eliminated at the final qualifier for the group stages by El Jaish of Qatar, the climax to the continental play-offs proved again a step too far for the Kuwaiti Premier League champions.  

“I would like to congratulate Al Ahli for their win today but at the same time I want to congratulate my players for their great performance as they had a good match until we were one man down,” said Qadsia SC coach Antonio Puche, whose side will enter the AFC Cup and form part of Group C as the look to defend their title.

“I'm proud of my team and I thank the players for what they showed especially against a strong team like Al Ahli. The fans of Al Ahli were great and it was a good match from the two sides.”

NAGATOMO A MAJOR DOUBT FOR JAPAN’S KIRIN CUP CLASH WITH TUNISIA

Tokyo: Japan and Inter Milan defender Yuto Nagatomo is a doubt for the Samurai Blue’s March 27 Kirin Cup clash with Tunisia after being ruled out for six weeks with a hamstring injury.

Nagatomo suffered a slight tear of his right hamstring while on duty for Japan at the recently concluded AFC Asian Cup in Australia, but aggravated the injury during Inter’s 3-0 Serie A win against Palermo last weekend.

The 28-year-old underwent an MRI scan in Italy which determined that he has a second degree hamstring strain, leaving a major question mark over his availability for next month’s meeting with the Tunisians in Oita.

The Kirin Cup encounter with Tunisia will be Japan’s first international outing since they crashed out of the 2015 Asian Cup at the quarter-final stage following a penalty shootout defeat to the UAE – a loss that hastened the departure of then head coach Javier Aguirre. 

Japan will use the March friendly to fine-tune preparations for their joint 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and AFC Asian Cup 2019 qualifying campaign which is scheduled to begin in June.