Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Suwon: Japan’s Gamba Osaka held Korea Republic’s Suwon Samsung Bluewings to a goalless draw in their opening Group G encounter of the AFC Champions League at Suwon World Cup Stadium on Wednesday.
Last season’s K-League Classic runners-up Suwon were on top for most of an entertaining 90 minutes, though both teams were left to rue missed chances.
“We had more than enough chances to win the game and it is frustrating that we did not do so. We had no luck in front of goal and could just not make the breakthrough,” said Suwon coach Seo Jung-won.
“During pre-season, we saw the potential that some of the young players have and today we used many players that are products of Suwon's youth system and they impressed. In the future, we look forward to giving them more chances to see what they can do and perhaps they can mark the beginning of a new era at the club.
“Overall it is disappointing not to take the three points but we played well with some very encouraging performances. There is still a lot of football to be played.”
In an open start, Gamba came closest to scoring after 18 minutes as a long pass out of defence found Patric bearing down on goal and the Brazilian shrugged off the challenge of Min Sang-gi inside the penalty area only to shoot low against the inside of the post with No Dong-geon beaten.
That was the signal for Suwon to take control with Kwon Chang-hoon firing wide midway through the first half after being played in by veteran Yeom Ki-hun before the 22 year-old went close again soon after as the home side began to dominate.
Just before the break, Kwon went even closer as the midfielder hit the foot of the post with Gamba goalkeeper Masaaki Higashiguchi beaten following Ko Cha-won’s backheel pass from inside a packed penalty area before Yeom pulled a shot across the face of goal from a good position soon after.
While Suwon dominated much of the first half, the second was much more of an even affair with chances drying up as Gamba’s Takashi Usami screwed his shot wide after breaking into the area eight minutes after the restart.
Usami was soon replaced by Yasuhito Endo and after 70 minutes the veteran midfielder had to watch as Gamba goalkeeper Higashiguchi was alert at his near post to push a rising shot from Kim Gun-hee behind to safety.
But Suwon almost snatched all three points in stoppage time at the end of the second half as Kim Jong-min laid a cross back to Kim Jong-woo just outside the area only for the substitute's shot to cannon back off the woodwork.
“As the first game in the AFC Champions League and being away from home, it was a really tough test. Both teams had chances and it was a good result for us. We kept going until the end and kept our concentration as well as we could. We now can return to Japan and look ahead to the start of the J.League season and the next game in the group,” said Gamba coach Kenta Hasegawa.
“We had no option to play a little defensively. Overall, the condition of the players is not so great at the moment so we tried to focus on keeping things tight at the back.
“Suwon's attacking build-up play was excellent and they kept possession very well. Yeom Ki-hun and Santos were impressive in attack, but Kwon Chang-hoon especially was outstanding.”
Photo: Lagardère Sports