Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Saitama: Coach Mihailo Petrovic vowed that his Urawa Red Diamonds side will give everything to extend their hopes of a place in the AFC Champions League Round of 16 to at least the final round of the group stage and achieve victory over visitors Suwon Samsung on Tuesday.
The early season J.League leaders have been in impressive form on the domestic front but on the continent the 2007 winners have endured disappointing results and are bottom of Group G, and now only a win over Korea Republic’s Suwon will ensure their dreams of the continental knockout stage stay alive till at least next month.
Urawa did, however, show an improved performance against Group G leaders Beijing Guoan a fortnight ago in a 1-1 draw as Yu Dabao’s opener for the Chinese Super League side was cancelled out by Tomoaki Makino’s header that ended Beijing’s 100% record.
“Unfortunately the last match (against Beijing) ended in a draw and now we are in a very tough situation,” said Urawa coach Petrovic.
“We still have a slight chance in the AFC Champions League though, so we have to win against Suwon and we will play with our full power right from the beginning.
“Suwon are a fantastic team in good form now so I think the game will be very difficult. We will attempt to score as many as possible and try hard not to concede.”
Suwon come into the tie at Saitama Stadium 2002 on a high after they enjoyed a comprehensive 5-1 victory over archrivals FC Seoul in the K-League Classic on Saturday.
Victory in Japan would ensure Suwon’s return to the last 16 for the first time since 2011, while a draw would also be enough as long as A-League champions Brisbane Roar do not beat Beijing in the Chinese capital in Tuesday’s other game.
The visitors will be without defender Oh Beom-seok through suspension, though, and coach Seo Jung-won is also insistent that a victory of Urawa is by no means a given, despite his side coming out on top of their first meeting 2-1 in the opening round of the group stage.
“We won the last match against Urawa, but now they are in the first place in J League, so it will be very tough game,” said Suwon coach Seo.
“When we played that match in February, both teams were not in a good condition because our domestic seasons were just starting. But now, the situation has changed and I promise you to a fantastic game.
“You never know what will happen in football matches, but I hope we can get all three points.”
Photo: WSG