Marcinho determined to lead Kawasaki’s revival

After securing just the solitary point in their opening two fixtures, the Horangi were able to salvage a lifeline when they defeated bottom side Guangzhou FC in their AFC Champions League™ 2022 Group I Matchday Three contest on Thursday to register their first victory of the campaign.

But while Hong’s men were able to notch a 3-0 triumph over Guangzhou, their dominance was still inferior to their more clinical Group I rivals – leaders Johor Darul Ta’zim and second-placed Kawasaki Frontale – both of whom managed to secure resounding 5-0 and 8-0 victories respectively against the youthful Chinese side.

The Filipino outfit showed signs of improvement from their earlier defeat against Melbourne City, and at times tested their in-form hosts, but a late avalanche of goals ensured BG Pathum walked away with their biggest ever win in the competition.

With the hosts holding a 1-0 lead for most of the second half, it was a 76th-minute error by goalkeeper Anthony Pinthus which provided the turning point, with Worachit Kanitsribumphen scoring the first of four goals in what became a horror 12-minute spell for United City.

The K League 2 side fought valiantly against the champions of Australia, but a first-half strike from left-back Lee Kyu-hyuk wasn’t enough to cancel out the goals from Carl Jenkinson and Andrew Nabbout which came either side of it in a frantic first half.

The result is a serious blow to Jeonnam’s hopes of reaching the Round of 16, with back-to-back defeats to BG Pathum United and Melbourne City putting them four points behind the top two and making last Friday’s 1-0 win over United City seem like a distant memory.