Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Jeonju: Coach Choi Kang-hee insisted he was not too downhearted with the outcome of his Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors side’s AFC Champions League quarter-final first leg against Gamba Osaka following their 0-0 draw on Wednesday.
Jeonbuk were on top of the contest for large spells at Jeonju World Cup Stadium but struggled to break down Gamba’s backline, despite chances falling to forwards Lee Dong-gook and Luiz Henrique, and were left frustrated at the end with the return meeting in Osaka to come next month.
Match report: Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 0-0 Gamba Osaka
Determined defensive display halted Motors declares Hasegawa
Nevertheless, the result sees Jeonbuk continue to boast an undefeated home record in the AFC Champions league this year and, having also won 1-0 away against Beijing Guoan in the Round of 16 second leg after a 1-1 draw in Jeonju, Choi (pictured) is still optimistic about his side’s hopes for progression to the semi-finals.
"We wanted to get a good win for our fans today, so from that side it's a pity we couldn't achieve a victory today," said Choi, who led Jeonbuk to the 2006 AFC Champions League title as well as a runners-up finish in 2011.
"However, we can make a difference in the away leg and we can do well in Osaka, so it's important we don't get disappointed about this draw.
“We had to focus on shutting down Takashi Usami because if we conceded the players would panic and things could have gotten bad. Usami is half of Gamba, he takes 70 to 80 percent of the shots on goal for their team.
“In the second leg we will try different tactics and different options to get the result we want.
“We got an away win against Beijing in the last 16 and I truly believe we can do that again in the second leg against Gamba.”
Former AFC Player of the Year Lee Keun-ho made his first AFC Champions League start for Jeonbuk since his summer loan move from Qatari club El Jaish, and the Korea Republic forward looked sharp in the first half before he was substituted for Brazilian striker Luiz Henrique in the second period.
“We had a lot of expectations for Lee Keun-ho in the match today and in the first half he pressed very well and as a result we played well, although the key passes to him from the midfield weren't good,” added Choi.
“In the second half we made changes to try to score goals but we couldn't break through. Lee Keun-ho is still working on his match fitness but I believe he will get back to his best in the future.”
Photo: WSG