Well it's that time again, when the ACL resumes after a summer hiatus. The first legs of the quarter finals kick off this wednesday. Let's have a look at the fixtures: 2.Kawasaki Frontale vs Nagoya Grampus 3.Pakhtakor vs Ittihad 4.Bunyodkor vs Pohang Steelers 1.Umm Salal vs FC Seoul Return fixture next wednesday winner of 2 meets 3 in semis,1 meets 4
not much interest here it seems Pakhtakor vs Ittihad will be played on Thursday, due to clash with Bunyodkor's ACL match. Some team news from Ittihad: Ittihad will missing Ahmad Hadeed (suspension), Osama al-Muwallad and Luciano (injury), plus of course Nayef Hazzazi. The team arrived in Tashkent on monday. Their first training session sheduled for that evening was cancelled due to poor weather. Hope the weather clears up for the game.
I think all games seem pretty interesting. We have an all Japanese affair again, so should eb an exciting game. Looking forward to seeing what side turns up for Umm Salal, they seem to be a hit in tournaments but struggle in a league campaign a bit. Could cause a surprise. I'd like to see Pakhtakor win it, or at least go further than Bunyodkor, but i can't see this happening. They have bene lacking at homr recently.
Enough interest here. I put $100 bucks on both those games. Pohang to win (although I also bet on the tie) Seoul to win (No doubt) I also bet on Ittihad to win... i hope they deliver... the only thing I know about them is their fine form a few years back.
My prediction is: Kawasaki Frontale 1-0 Nagoya Grampus Pakhtakor 2-2 Ittihad Bunyodkor 0-2 Pohang Steelers Umm Salal 1-2 FC Seoul
druryfire, Umm Salal are lucky to make it this far to be honest. I thought both al-Jazirah and Esteghlal were far better teams, and Hilal likewise. But you have to give them credit, what they lacked in quality they made up in grit, plus they have a strike force that can snatch something. Against Seoul they are likely to park the bus and rely on counters, so it's really about weather Seoul can break them down and just as importantly not concede. Regarding Pakhtakor, I also like them better to Bunyodkor (who have a whiff of al-Rasheed in them), but unfortunately they face Ittihad. Otherwise I would've liked them to do well.
Chosun, I hope they deliver. This Ittihad team IMO looks better than the ones that won the tournament, so I'm optimistic, but football is a strange game.
HT Kawasaki Frontale 0-1 Nagoya Grampus Nagoya's first goal was a header scored by Joshua Kennedy, Australia NT striker.
yeah, i agree with that. But i do feel that Seoul could struggle away, especially in West Asia. They are a new up and coming team, but possibly could be stage freightened? At home they would come out all blazing. I guess you could say Umm Salal are anti-football, but you have to like their spirit, most teams would just role over. Again, they do to me seem to be a team that can win things on a one off basis (such a two legged affair) but struggle over a long campaign, there more of a cup team than a league team. Will this help them today? Probably not!
First result: Kawasaki Frontale 2 K. Nakamura (60'), Juninho (63') Nagoya Grampus 1 J. Kennedy (28') Venue: Tokyo National Stadium Attendance: 17939
FT Bunyodkor 3-1 Pohang Steelers Pohang completely collapsed after the sending off of their midway through the second half. Bunyodkor took advantage and scored too late goals.
In my opinion, that should be enough to see them through, sure Pohang will come at them, but i'm positive that Scolari can tactically hold them out.
Bad day at the office for the Koreans today lol . FT: Umm Salal 3-2 FC Seoul Have to give credit to the Qatari team, they were worth a draw at least. In a way it was good Seoul scored early because it forced Umm Salal out of their shell. I wouldn't say either fixture is over. Seoul still favourites to go through, and I think Pohang is not out. I can see them winning at the steelyard by a 2 goal margin.
Good come back by Umm Salal, at 2-0 down i thought, boy, what side has turned up tonight? Back in Seoul, they will be either solid as a rock, which they can be and get that important draw, or they could just as easily cave in. If they are drawing at half time come the return leg, then i would fancy them to go through Alves got two tonight and in turn comes joint 2nd in the all time goalscorers list for ACL. Seem's a striker most teams could do with?
Seoul will move on... I don't know about Pohang though.. Scholari is a vet. bad day for the Koreans... and my wallet...
match card: Bunyodkor 3 V. Karpenko (30'), S. Djeparov (79',86') Pohang Steelers 1 No B.J. (8') lolz at the name! Expulsions: Kim H.I. (67') Venue: JAR stadium Tashkent Attendance: 8350
Watched Bunyodkor - Pohang. The guy Hasanov was a beast. He created many chances. Pohang might be lucky not to concede more goals.
Who is the 1st? Alves is a good striker. He was a member of the Brazilian national team and won the top scorer award of the Brazilian, Japanese and Qatari league.
Both K-League teams had a terrible second half. They pretty much went to sleep after solid starts. It's not over yet, but Seoul and Pohang, especially, have a lot of work to do in the return leg.
It seems like Pohang was little overconfident. As of late Pohang has won their recent domestic matches something like 5-1 type of blowout, including the record-setting 8-1 asskicking over Jeju United. They might they were going to streamroll the home side just like that after the early strike. It will be a wake-up call for them. I still see Pohang has chance because they are extremely tough to beat at the Steelyard. I don't recall when was the last time they lost at their home pitch. They average more than 2 goals there this season. Speaking of FC Seoul, they are still in good position to win the series and book their tickets to the semis. All they need to do is just score a goal and hold on. The Korean sides had nightmare but I think they will bounce back.