Koroki late show leaves Evergrande winless

Shinzo Koroki’s late strike kept holders Guangzhou Evergrande rooted to the bottom of their AFC Champions League group after a 2-2 draw with Urawa Red Diamonds on Wednesday.

Luiz Felipe Scolari’s moneybags Chinese champions had looked odds-on for the first win of their campaign after an early double from Brazilian playmaker Ricardo Goulart.

But a Zeng Cheng goalkeeping howler gifted Urawa their first goal on the half-hour, before Koroki struck in the 89th minute to snatch a point for the Japanese side.

The result leaves Evergrande bottom of Group H with just two points at the halfway stage and with work to do if they are to reach the knock-out rounds.

Sydney FC leapfrogged Pohang Steelers at the top of the group with a 1-0 away win over the South Korean side thanks to Chris Naumoff’s 42nd-minute winner.

Elsewhere, in Group F, Brazilian scoring machine Adriano reached nine goals in just three games with a brace in FC Seoul’s 4-1 win over China’s Shandong Luneng.

In Guangzhou, Goulart opened the scoring from the penalty spot after just six minutes, and he doubled Evergrande’s advantage from close range eight minutes later.

But a comedic moment from Zeng allowed Urawa to pull one back when the goalkeeper bungled a punch from a corner and Yuki Muto scrambled the loose ball over the line.

Evergrande’s record signing Jackson Martinez was among those to go close in an open game, but it was Urawa who had the final say when Koroki buried his shot when teed up by Zlatan Ljubijankic’s lay-off.

It was another unproductive night for China’s big-spending clubs as Shandong were floored by a second-half blitz from free-scoring FC Seoul.

Adriano grabbed the opener in the 27th minute as the visitors took control, only for Shandong’s Jucilei to equalise against the run of play on 62 minutes.

But Shandong’s goal drew the most emphatic of responses from FC Seoul, who were back in front in just three minutes and 4-1 ahead six minutes after that.

Go Yo-Han restored Seoul’s lead, before Dejan Damjanovic put them further ahead and Adriano finished a sublime team move which sliced through Shandong’s shaky defence.

FC Seoul had earlier totted up wins of 6-0 over Buriram United and 4-1 against Sanfrecce Hiroshima—with Adriano scoring seven of the goals—to assert themselves as the Asian club competition’s form team.

In matches played in West Asia, El Jaish notched up a 1-0 win over Uzbekistan’s Nasaf to stay unbeaten in three matches, while another Qatar club, Lekhwiya, were held 1-1 by Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr.

El Jaish struck in the 87th minute through Sardor Rashidov in the Group D clash in Doha after the visitors had dominated the exchanges.

Lekhwiya, however, had to share the spoils with Saudi side Al Nassr in Riyadh after an 89th minute penalty from Ibrahim Ghaleb cancelled out a seventh minute strike from Congo forward Alain Dioko in their Group B clash.

The result meant Lekhwiya stayed at the bottom with just two points from three matches, while Al Nassr continued to top the group with five.

The UAE’s Al Ain, meanwhile, also won in Group D, a 71st minute goal by Omar Abdulrahman helping them to their first victory after two successive defeats.
Source: AFP