KULALA LUMPUR, March 21 - Japanese outfit Urawa
Reds fought back from a two-goal deficit to hold Sydney FC to a
2-2 draw in their AFC Champions League Group E match in Sydney
on Wednesday.
Champions League debutants Sydney jumped to a 2-0 lead after
only 22 minutes with David Carney opening the scoring in the
first minute and Ufuk Talay adding a second from the penalty
spot.
Robson Ponte pulled a goal back after 30 minutes when he
turned in a square ball from Nobuhisa Yamada.
The Japanese side equalised in the 55th minute when Sydney
goalkeeper Clint Bolton spilled a cross from Ponte and Yuchiro
Nagai was on hand to calmly stroke home.
The Reds and Sydney have four points at the top of Group E
with the Japanese side ahead on goal difference.
China's Shanghai Shenhua are bottom with no points after a
shock 1-0 loss away to Indonesia's Persik Kediri, with Bertha
Putra scoring in the 71st minute.
Japan's other Champions League representative, Kawasaki
Frontale, needed a second-half own goal to force a 1-1 draw at
home against Thailand's Bangkok University in Group F.
Suriya Domtaisong gave the Thai side a seventh-minute lead
and Kawasaki had to wait until 12 minutes from time to salvage a
point when defender Patiparn Phetplun scored an own goal.
Bangkok played the last 13 minutes with 10 men after Ramthep
Chaipan was sent off for a second yellow card.
The draw sent Kawasaki to the top of Group F alongside South
Korea's Chunnam Dragons on four points.
The Dragons registered their first win of the competition by
beating Indonesia's Arema Malang 2-0, with second-half goals
from Kim Tae-su and Sandro Cardoso.
China's Shandong Luneng lead Group G with six points after
their 2-1 victory over nearest rivals Seongnam Ilhwa, of South
Korea. Australia's Adelaide United joined Seongnam on three
points after their first victory in Asia, a 2-0 result away to
Vietnam's Dong Tam Long An.
First-half goals from Brazilian midfielder Fernando and
Travis Dodd were enough to give Adelaide the win.
Uzbekistan's Neftchi collected their second straight win of
Group C, beating Syria's Al Karama 2-1 at home.
Teams from the Middle East are due to play later on
Wednesday.
Only the top team from each of the seven groups advance to
the quarter-finals, where they will be joined by defending
champions Chonbuk Motors, of South Korea.