Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Ulsan: A pair of stunning long-range strikes gave Ulsan Hyundai a 2-1 victory at home to Kawasaki Frontale in their 2018 AFC Champions League Group F clash on Tuesday.
The J.League champions made the better start and Yu Kobayashi flashed a shot just wide from the edge of the box in the 15th minute.
The hosts hit back a minute later as Yohei Toyoda narrowly missed with a lunging effort from Kim Chang-soo’s excellent low cross.
The visitors were then inches away from the opening goal in the 29th minute when Akihiro Ienaga cut inside from the right and curled a left-footed shot off the post from 20 yards out.
But it was the home side who took the lead three minutes from half-time after some careless play from the Frontale defence. Hidemasa Morita and then Ryota Oshima lost possession inside the penalty box and Mislav Orsic fed the ball out to Jeong Jae-yong, who side-footed home from 20 yards.
Defensive slackness was also apparent when Ulsan went two goals ahead in the 66th minute. Hwang Il-su stole possession and his shot was saved by Frontale goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong before Tatsuki Nara cleared.
But the ball broke for Orsic and the striker teed up Lee Yeong-jae, who struck a thunderous drive into the top corner to seal the victory.
Frontale ensured a nervous finish for the hosts when Kei Chinen got down low to head in Kyohei Noborizato’s cross with five minutes remaining.
Ulsan will try to build on this result when they travel to China to face Shanghai SIPG in two weeks, while Frontale desperately need a victory when they host Melbourne Victory.