Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Guiyang: Guizhou Renhe missed out on a place in the knockout phase in their debut appearance in the AFC Champions League as a 2-2 draw with already eliminated Suwon Bluewings saw the Chinese Super League side slide out of the 2013 competition.
Zhang Cheng-lin scored with four minutes remaining to pull Guizhou level after twice going behind to the K-League side, but Gong Lei’s side were unable to claim the winner they needed to advance ahead of Central Coast Mariners.
The result leaves Guizhou in third place in Group H, one point behind the Mariners and well adrift of table toppers Kashiwa Reysol, who won 3-0 against the Australians in Gosford.
“This is our first AFC Champions League season and this match is just like a reflection of our journey from the first game until the last one with lots of ups and downs,” said Guizhou coach Gong Lei. “It would be a good script for a show.
“Although we haven't qualified, we have beautiful memories and this journey will benefit our team greatly. Guizhou Renhe has long-term plan for the future, so the persistence and resilience we showed in this game gives us huge faith and hope for tomorrow. This end is the beginning of the next journey.”
Guizhou needed to win and hope Mariners did not defeat Kashiwa to have any chance to advancing but their hopes were hit in the 34th minute when Lee Jong-min scored Suwon’s first goal of the 2013 competition with a right-foot free kick on the right that beat Zhang Lie to his left, going in off the post.
But a minute before the interval, Guizhou hit back as Sun Jihai outjumped the Suwon defence to score with a fine header that gave the home side a major lift going into the break.
However, just 10 minutes after the restart, Suwon reclaimed the lead when Kwon Chang-hoon steered his left-footed effort towards goal, the ball going in following a deflection off the foot of Brazilian defender Nano.
Guizhou pushed forward looking to level the scores, with Jonas Salley heading over the bar before Zhang equalised for the home team, diving in to head Yu Hai’s free kick past Jung Sung-ryong and give his side hope going into the dying minutes of the game.
With barely seconds on the clock, Zlatan Muslimovic looked set to pull off the most unlikely of come backs only for his close-range effort to find the side-netting as Suwon held on for a point that sent Guizhou out of the competition.
“Both teams gave their best and deserve applause,” said Suwon head coach Seo Jung-won. “Today I’m happy to see our substitutes and young players showed what they could do. They are from our own youth system, and today the match gave them precious experience. This is priceless.”
Photo: WSG