Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The three groups in the ASEAN Zone of the AFC Cup return on Tuesday and Wednesday as Matchday Four follows hot on the heels of last week’s rounds of fixtures.
Ceres Negros, Yangon United and Song Lam Nghe An look good at the top of Groups F, G and H respectively, after giving the chasing packs plenty to do in order to catch them.
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Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The three groups in the West Zone of the AFC Cup are starting to take shape ahead of the 12 sides’ return to action for Matchday Four on Monday and Tuesday.
On Monday, the four teams in Group B take to the field, before Groups A and C resume on Tuesday in what could be a tournament-defining week for some of the clubs.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bali: Bali United staged an impressive second half comeback to beat Group G rivals Thanh Hoa 3-1 and earn their first win of the 2018 AFC Cup campaign on Wednesday.
The away side were handed the opportunity to open the scoring in the 14th minute after a foul by Demerson on Ryutaro Karube resulted in a penalty. But Pape Omar Faye’s spot-kick was well saved by Wawan Hendrawan.
Five minutes later, Thanh Hoa came close again when a corner kick came off Demerson and rebounded back off his own crossbar.
It was no surprise when the Vietnamese side took the lead with a fine strike in the 29th minute. After they were awarded a free kick 20 yards from goal, Karube curled the ball into the top corner.
Just before half-time, Nguyen Trong Hoang fired in a powerful long-range shot that Hendrawan pushed wide.
But the hosts took the upper hand in the second half and levelled in the 66th minute through Yabes Roni. Nick van der Velden flighted the ball over the top and the substitute controlled the ball on his chest before prodding it past the advancing Tran Buu Ngoc and into the Thanh Hoa goal.
And Bali didn’t have long to wait for the second as Demerson headed home from Fadhil Sausu’s corner in the 72nd minute.
Incredibly, the home side went further ahead three minutes later. A free kick from van der Velden caught out the Thanh Hoa defence and Stefano Lilipaly latched onto the ball and lobbed it over Buu Ngoc to make it 3-1.
Bali United have edged one point ahead of Thanh Hoa in Group G and the Vietnamese side will be determined to take revenge when they face Bali on home turf next Tuesday.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Singapore: Tampines Rovers and Johor Darul Ta’zim played out a 0-0 draw in their AFC Cup Group H clash at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Tuesday.
Both teams were coming off losses on Matchday Two and were keen for a win to keep touch with Vietnam’s Song Lam Nghe An at the top.
It was the visitors, who fielded an all-Malaysian starting 11, that had the better of the going in the first half, with eight shots to four, but they couldn’t make the most of their chances and it remained scoreless at the interval.
The introduction of Safiq Rahim for the second half allowed the 2015 AFC Cup winners to continue to play on the front foot, and but for Tampines Rovers goalkeeper Syazwan Buhari, they would’ve taken the lead on the hour mark.
The home side’s defence failed to clear a free-kick whipped into the box by Safiq, with Aidal Zafuan turning and shooting from the edge of the six-yard box, but Syazwan was up to the task, spectacularly saving the defenders effort from point blank range.
As the match approached 90 minutes Amirul Adli came close to winning the match for the home side, but his header was cleared on the line by Afiq Fazail.
The two sides meet again next week in the return leg in Johor in what will be a must-win match for both sides.