Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kashiwa: With a goal lead and home support Kashiwa Reysol coach Tatsuma Yoshida believes his side have all the advantages going into their Round of 16 meeting against Korea Republic club Suwon Samsung, with a place in the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League at stake in Tuesday’s second leg at Hitachi Kashiwa Stadium.
Last week at Suwon World Cup Stadium, a brace from Brazilian striker Leandro and an Akimi Barada goal handed Kashiwa a 3-2 win over Suwon as the J.League club took a huge step towards the last eight.
Kashiwa had to recover from an early Yeom Ki-hun strike before going two goals ahead, although DPR Korea striker Jong Tae-se did pull a goal back for the home side to keep the tie in the balance.
Nevertheless, Yoshida is confident 2013 semi-finalists Kashiwa will confirm their return to the quarter-finals in front of their own fans in Chiba Prefecture.
“We won the first leg and we’ll now play at our home stadium, so we’ll have the advantage in the match,” said Kashiwa coach Yoshida.
“My team will need to keep calm during the game, though, as although we won in Korea Republic we did not completely control the match the way we wanted to.
“We should also be cautious about Suwon as their players have speed, technique and good strength. We had a good preparation for the second leg meeting, though, and we want to perform to our best on the pitch in front of our fans.”
Kashiwa had earned a return to the AFC Champions League for the first time since reaching the semi-finals in 2013 after a successful play-off campaign when they edged past Thai side Chonburi in the final round of qualifying.
But despite winning Group E with a game to spare, Kashiwa have not been so successful in the early spells of their domestic campaign – unlike Suwon, flying high in second place in the Korean championship – with Yoshida’s outfit currently in 14th place, albeit with two games in hand.
The 2011 J.League champions also appeared in the group stage of the AFC Champions League in 2012 and progressed to the Round of 16 where they were eliminated by K-League Classic side Ulsan Hyundai.
Photo: WSG