Kawasaki Frontale v Pohang Steelers

AFC Champions League - Group H: Tue, 19th May 2009

	0 - 2
		NOH BYUNG-JOON 12' DENILSON 72' SHIN HYUNG-MIN (sent off 89')

Venue: Todoroki Stadium
Attendance: 13,633

A tired performance from Frontale saw them relinquish top spot in Group H to a well-organised Pohang Steelers on Tuesday night.

With the next round of the ACL decided by a one-leg knockout match, Frontale will be unhappy they couldn't pick up the point that would have given them a home tie against the runners-up of Group E. Instead they now have the more difficult, albeit more familiar, prospect of a trip to Banpaku to face current ACL champions Gamba Osaka.

Vitor Junior and Yokoyama returned to the side after their enforced rest at the weekend. And Yamagishi kept his place - this time filling in for the suspended Mori at right-back.

The first half proved Frontale's undoing. Pohang dominated possession and a three-man attack, spearheaded by their big Macedonian, Stevica Ristic, gave the backline a torrid time.

The Koreans were helped on their way by a referee who, overall, was actually not too shabby by ACL standards. Twice in the opening 10 minutes he awarded the visitors free kicks right inside "the D" following wafer-thin contact from Frontale defenders.

From the first, they hit the post. From the second, they scored - Kawashima unsighted by a wall that had to be set up so deep it was practically on top of him.

It took until the 40th minute before Frontale managed to string together their first cohesive attack. And a decent passing move it was, culminating in Juninho feeding Chong Tese whose shot forced a good save from the Pohang keeper.

Frontale were much better after the break and took the game to the Koreans. With the twinkle-toed Renatinho on for the flounder-footed Yamagishi (Yokoyama moving to centre-back and Igawa out on the right) the visitors were penned back in ther own half for a good 15-minute spell. But Pohang defended stoutly and the home team were unable to make their pressure tell.

Then, the ghost of amateur defending once again reared its ugly head. A quick Pohang counter had Frontale stretched and, as an extra man joined the attack, three defenders were all drawn to the ball. This left the burly Brazilian Denilson free on the right to slot through Kawashima's legs and kill the game.

There was a little drama late on as Pohang had a man sent off for a second bookable offence. And at the very death, Renatinho saw a looping header tipped over. But on the whole it was simply a bad day at the office for the boys in blue.

Pohang Steelers v Kawasaki Frontale

AFC Champions League - Group H: Wed, 18th March 2009

	1 - 1
KIM JAE-SUNG 12'		TERADA 24'

Venue: Steelyard Stadium
Attendance: 7,335

Frontale maintained pole position in Group H with a hard-fought draw away to Korea's Pohang Steelers on Wednesday night.

Sekizuka called for an improved defensive performance from his team and, despite a nervy start, that's what he got.

It was clear from the choice of personnel and formation that the main priority here was to avoid defeat. Renatinho, Yamagishi and Igawa made way for Murakami, Mori and Yokoyama in what looked on paper like a return to the old 3-5-2. In fact, Terada and Ito were the only out-and-out defenders with Mori and Murakami playing increasingly restrained roles on the flanks and Yokoyama and Taniguchi sitting deep in the middle.

In the opening stages, this unfamiliar formation looked unlikely to help a team already short on self-belief. Kawashima was in action almost immediately to deny Pohang after they found a man in acres of space on the right of a lop-sided Frontale defense.

Then, with just 12 minutes on the clock, the home team took the lead. Exploiting another hole between Murakami and Ito, midfielder Kim Jae-Sung ran onto a well-weighted pass and poked the ball past big Eiji.

But, to be fair, that was as bad as it got. The Frontale players grew into their defensive roles and looked far more controlled for the rest of the match than in any of their previous outings.

And at the other end, Pohang were displaying frailties of their own. Keeper, Shin Hwa-Yong, was called upon to make fine saves first from Ito and then Kengo. But he was powerless in the 24th minute when Vitor Junior delivered a corner perfectly onto the head of Shuhei Terada, who made no mistake from 6 yards out.

The visitors could well have been in front by half time, with both Vitor and Taniguchi squandering good chances. The Brazilian, who's still not quite firing on all cylinders, misplaced his pass when he had the Pohang defense in disarray. Taniguchi, who'd recently had his nose burst by a stray boot, can be forgiven (just this once) for fluffing his shot in front of an open goal.

Pohang came out fighting in the second half, but never really troubled a relatively resolute Frontale defense. A slew of free kicks awarded by the whistle-happy Omani referee provided the home team's best opportunuties.

Frontale, on the other hand, were happy to sit back and play on the counter - Murakami and Mori rarely straying beyond the halfway line.

Their best chance of the second half fell to Kurotsu, on for Chong, but he could only direct his volley, from a Juninho cross, straight at the Pohang keeper.

Although Frontale could have taken all 3 points, this performance should have given their confidence a much-needed boost - at least defensively. And while Sekizuka's tactical approach doesn't quite have the dazzle of last season's all-out attack, one gets the feeling that the team will benefit from the former in the long, congested season ahead. (I reserve the right to reconsider that opinion if Yamagishi starts at right-back against JEF on Sunday!).

Extended highlights of the game can be found on YouTube: Part1, Part2, Part3.

Frontale's ACL fate decided

The draw for the group stage of the 2009 AFC Champions League took place in Dubai today.

Frontale have been drawn in Group H along with:

Central Coast Mariners (AUS) - A-League premiers* 2007-8
Tianjin Teda (CHN) - Chinese Super League 4th place 2008
Pohang Steelers (KOR) - Korean FA Cup winners 2008

Can't pretend to know much about any of these teams, but first impressions suggest it could have been worse. None of Frontale's opponents are overall champions of their respective leagues. And, although the trip to New South Wales will be a drain, Tianjin and Pohang are practically neighbours (relatively speaking).

Group H match schedule:

Game	Date	Opponent	Venue
1	11/03/2009 (Wed.)	Tianjin Teda	Todoroki Stadium
2	18/03/2009 (Wed.)	Pohang Steelers	Steelyard
3	8/04/2009 (Wed.)	Central Coast Mariners	Blue Tongue Stadium
4	21/04/2009 (Tue.)	Central Coast Mariners	Todoroki Stadium
5	5/05/2009 (Tue.)	Tianjin Teda	Tianjin Teda Stadium
6	19/05/2009 (Tue.)	Pohang Steelers	Todoroki Stadium

* In the A-League, whichever team tops the table at the end of the regular season wins the title of A-League Premiers. The top four teams then compete in a play-off series to decide the overall champion. Central Coast Mariners topped the table at the end of the regular season, but were runners-up in the play-off series to Newcastle Jets, who thereby became A-League Champions.