AFC Champions League Elite
Kim Joo-sung’s 26th minute sending off hampered the prospects of the visitors with Aketxe putting his side in front in the 52nd minute before goals from Bergson and Guilherme in the 63rd and 85th minutes respectively moved JDT into a commanding position.
Nene’s own goal allowed Hiroshima to pull one back with four minutes remaining and give the visitors reason to be hopeful ahead of the second leg in Japan next week.
Joao Figueiredo had given the visiting defence a fright in the third minute when he unleashed a long-range effort on the run that Keisuke Osako cleared for a corner with an unconvincing punch. Nene shot over the bar soon after as JDT made a bright start.
A flailing challenge on Nene saw Kim, who had been booked in the seventh minute, pick up his second yellow card in the 26th minute to take the Korea Republic defender out of the game and leave Hiroshima short-handed for well over an hour.
Kim’s absence was to prove crucial, with Nacho Mendez almost capitalising in the 32nd minute, the midfielder granted the space to unleash an unstoppable left foot shot from 25 yards out that thumped against Osako’s right post.
Hiroshima were inches away from going ahead with a little over six minutes left in the half. Hayato Araki’s header hit the woodwork and, while Taishi Matsumoto saw his attempt blocked by Eddy Israfilov on the line, Shuto Nakano shot over the bar.
Nakano was kept busy at the other end of the pitch minutes later when he blocked Nene’s goal-bound strike while Figueiredo’s header hit the crossbar in stoppage time with JDT cranking up the pressure.
Seven minutes after the restart JDT finally took the lead as the Hiroshima defence only half-cleared Guilherme’s corner from the right. The ball landed at the feet of Mendez and he teed up Aketxe to bend an unerring strike beyond Osako from 20 yards out.
Eleven minutes later JDT doubled their advantage, Bergson finding the top corner of Osako’s goal with a cool finish from 12 yards out after Israfilov cut the ball back to his Brazilian team mate.
Figueiredo then hit the post at the end of another rapid JDT counter before Guilherme calmly converted at the end of another flying sortie forward for the hosts.
Shuto Nakano’s long throw into the penalty area with four minutes to go yielded a goal for Hiroshima, Nene deflecting the ball past Andoni Zubiaurre to give Hiroshima a glimmer of hope.
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