BEIJING SET TO BREAK BRISBANE IN ASIAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Dejan Damjanovic warms up alongside Batalla for Beijing

Beijing Guoan go into their clash with Brisbane Roar as virtually qualified for the Asian Champions League Knockout Stage, but that won't stop them taking three points against the Aussie club. 

The home team will as always be cheered on by around 40,000 Beijing-ites, and though they are currently experiencing a mini funk (drawn last 3 matches), they're still undefeated in their last 21 matches. 

Meanwhile, Brisbane will be fighting for their Asian Champions League lives. Of most concern for the Australians is their casualty list. Influential centre back Luke Devere is out, Shane Stefanutto is out, and along with that, Jade North will be nursing a dodgy groin, if he makes the field. Had it not been for this, I would have said Brisbane were good value. 

The Roar have definitely placed some importance on this fixture, evidenced by their decision to rest a throng of players for last Saturday's Melbourne Victory clash. Those missing in action included: Broich, McKay, Brattan, Borello and 'the slippery fish' Henrique. 

Young defender Daniel Bowles who recently returned from injury described the dressing room, "All the boys are buzzing and we will be going out there and giving it our all." Brisbane certainly have plenty of motivation, as their previous appearances in the competition have yielded little, but no one wants to go into a big match with an understrength back four. 

A patched up Brisbane did a commendable job against Muscat's Melbourne on Saturday, but being tested against unfamiliar opponents should prove too much. Not only will Brisbane face some of China's best in Yu, Dabao and Song, Boxuan, they'll also face off against classy Montenegrin Dejan Damjanovic and midfielder Pablo Batalla.

On a freezing cold night in Saitama two weeks ago Beijing Guoan looked anything but champions, still they managed to grind out a draw against Urawa. On Tuesday night, at home, at the Workers Stadium, Beijing will be up for it.

The green team have been looking on jealously for the last four years as Chinese rivals, Guangzhou Evergrande have taken all before them. This year could be the year that Beijing stamps their mark on continental football.

GUNNERS RALLY TO SHARE SPOILS WITH JETS YOUTH

Jake Adelson - scorer for Jets Youth 

South Cardiff Gunners and the Newcastle Jets Youth team played out an entertaining 3-3 draw at Ulinga Oval in the Northern NSW NPL on Sunday.

The Jets got scoring underway when striker Radovan Pavicevic found himself one on one with the Gunners keeper. He slotted home with aplomb, and the home team now had their backs firmly against the wall.

More than 20 minutes into the match, South Cardiff's Jeong Sangdeok was dispossessed in front of goal and the Jets flew into attack mode. Reeling off a shot that sailed narrowly over the bar.

Next it was the Jets left back who fired off a bouncing volley that was stray of the mark. Hay (the left back) and his counterpart Jake Adelson provided plenty of highlights for the visitors. Hay with his tireless work ethic found himself crossing into the box countless times, while Adelson on the right had an assured presence and the footspeed to trouble any opponent.

But half an hour in, the Jets would rue their profligacy when South Cardiff's Sean Clarke turned a quick counter into a stunning equaliser. Clarke showed surprising agility to swivel and shoot in the blink of an eye.

The parity was short lived though, as the Jets went to the break 3-1 up after Ryan Ensor curled a shot into the right corner, while Adelson drove one home from an acute angle.

The second half began with more of Clarke's patented swivel and shoot. This time the shot was parried skyward and eventually to safety by the Jets gloveman.

Playing into the wind the Jets nearly extended their lead when Beaudon Mcdonald lobbed the stranded Gunners keeper. With the shot off target, the Gunners struck back making it 3-2 with more than 20 minutes to play.

The Jets continued to threaten, making regular raids down the wings, but Pavicevic and substitute Burke were unable to get clear shots on goal. Sure enough, the Gunners made them pay.

Korean import Jeong led South Cardiff out of their own half with a determined run, fighting off a challenge before setting Dean Kelley loose on goal. The Gunners substitute sprung the offside trap and duly finished with the equalising goal. Jeong who came to the club courtesy of Newcastle Jets' Lee, Ki Je grew into the game, and will surely have more influence as the season goes on.

The final score of 3-3 will ring alarm bells for both coaching teams though, as the Gunners have conceded five goals in their first two matches, while the Jets even worse, have leaked six.

Next week South Cardiff host undefeated Weston Bears, while the Jets Youth travel to Maitland who had a heavy 5-1 defeat to Broadmeadow Magic today.    

J-LEAGUE VS CHINESE SUPER LEAGUE IN THE ASIAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

This week in the Asian Champions League it's Japan versus China. On Tuesday April 7th, it's Kashima Antlers vs Guangzhou Evergrande. On Wednesday April 8th, it's Urawa Reds vs Beijing Guoan and Shandong Luneng vs Kashiwa Reysol. Never has the Chinese Super League had a better opportunity to stamp it's authority over their rival than this, and particularly in the fixtures based in Japan.

First, China's inimitable Guangzhou Evergrande line up against Kashima Antlers, just two weeks after the J-League club went close to ambushing them in Canton. Kashima overturned Ricardo Goulart's classy 10th minute header when youngster Shoma Doi made it 2-1. Of course the Chinese club equalised and went ahead when new acquisition Goulart struck again. The Brazilian dashed from the centre circle after a clumsy Kashima turnover and headed straight for the box, barely veering from his path before unleashing. At 3-2 Kashima had claims for a penalty turned down in the 83rd minute (watch video and decide for yourself), but there were still more goals.

Finishing 4-3, Guangzhou Evergrande were lucky to escape in a fixture that painted a brighter picture for the struggling J-League. Kashima put on a bold show, unlike that of many a J-League side before them (in recent years). With their knockout stage hopes on death row, a desperate Antlers will surely provide another daring display on Tuesday night, worthy of the 'Champions League' tag.

Twenty four hours after Kashima fights for their Asian Champions League survival, Urawa Reds face up to a confident Beijing Guoan. The team in green from the Chinese capital are unbeaten in their last 18 matches. If you scan back to August 13th, 2014 you'll eye Beijing Guoan's loss to Guangzhou R&F. Most recently they put on a second half schooling of Tim Cahill's Shanghai Shenhua.

Urawa themselves are undefeated in four domestic outings, but the continental competition has proven a bridge too far. The J-League's leading club has been beaten in all three ACL outings. Though dispatched 2-0 by Beijing at the Worker's Stadium two weeks ago, the Japanese club had their share of opportunities. Also worth noting is that it was a goalkeeping blunder from Nishikawa in the 78th minute that allowed Beijing Guoan to go ahead.

Shandong will host the surprising Kashiwa Reysol, who have defied the trend of J-League clubs failing on the ACL stage - remaining undefeated after three matches. The Sun Kings looked a level above Shandong two weeks ago, but the Chinese club will be at home and they'll be desperate.

However, East Asia's focus will be on the clash of the heavyweights. Kashima, the J-League's most successful club faces the ignominy of being booted out of the Asian Champions League while on zero and by none other than Guangzhou Evergrande, the symbol of China's rising soccer status. Meanwhile, it will be no less shameful for Urawa. Skulking alone at the bottom of Group G with zero points, the club whose fans are undoubtedly the best in the J-League, faces the likelihood of being swept aside by the resurgent Beijing Guoan.

In Tuesday's match at Kashima the home team has the flying Mu Kanazaki (if he's recovered from a boot to the face on last Friday) lining up against ACL top goalscorer Ricardo Goulart and Elkeson. While on Wednesday at Saitama the home team will have their work cut out for them containing big Dejan Damjanovic and Chinese products Song, Boxuan and Chen, Zhizhao. Enjoy!

J-LEAGUE REPUTATION DAMAGED IN ASIAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Batalla of Beijing Guoan turning the Reds inside out.

J-League clubs are once again struggling in the Asian Champions League. Though the domestic competition is arguably the most popular across East Asia, the quality of the competition is in dispute as repeated failings against CSL, K-League and A-League clubs provide the evidence, the J-League is not all it's cracked up to be.

In this year's installation, J-League clubs have taken eight of 36 points available to them in the first three rounds of the ACL. Treble winners Gamba Osaka have been far and away the most disappointing. 

In their three fixtures they've gone down to China's Guangzhou R&F, Korea's Seongnam, and drawn with Buriram United of Thailand. After the failure in Korea (a match in which large numbers of Gamba fans attended) manager Kenta Hasegawa was typically apologetic, but sounded like the proverbial broken record, ". . . we will do our best in the next few games and try to qualify to the next round," he said.

Urawa Reds manager Mihailo Petrovic was still managing to find positives after his team's tepid display against Brisbane Roar on ACL Matchday 2. The manager spoke of promising signs on the training pitch, before his eerily similar, " . . . we are still in the race and will do our best to qualify for the next stage." Since the loss to Brisbane, Urawa went on to be soundly beaten by Beijing Guoan.

With Japan's best youngsters heading off to Europe at the first sign of interest it's not surprising the league is struggling to match the national team's success (in Asia). Add to that the fact Japan cannot compete with neighbouring China when it comes to luring quality imports, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Further compounding problems for the J-League's status is this year's bizarre end of season finals series puzzle. The heads of Japanese football decided with none - to little consultation of fans that the league should return to a two stage system. The explanation of the system on the J-League Official website, seems to indicate the finals series could involve three or four teams, depending on whether a stage winner also has the most points across the total 34 regular season matches. For more detail click the link provided above.

Before season kick off J-League boss Mitsuru Murai was interviewed by AFP and it was there that he stated, "I hope to see the J-League become tougher, quicker and more aggressive to help raise the level of the Japan national team." Though this would improve the league, a larger issue is the quality of imports in Japan as compared with those in China. Murai alluded to this in the interview, "The financial rewards are a little higher there so we need to do more to bring in star players." 

Unfortunately for Japan their ability to attract superstar imports will not exceed that of China's, unless there is some kind of economic upheaval in one of the two countries. So the J-League will have to rely on a new found, 'old fashioned' toughness to improve performances in ACL competition. 

KASHIWA VICTORIOUS IN ASIAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP TIE

Kashiwa Reysol have wiped the floor with Vietnamese opponents Binh Duong in the second group match of the 2015 Asian Champions League. National team hopeful Masato Kudo contributed for the home team with a brace, while Aussie import Vrankovic provided an own goal to add to the embarrassment for Binh Duong.

In the first half, Reysol barely saw a clear cut chance until they struck the go ahead goal in the 43rd minute. Kudo found himself with time and space in the box as Christiano beat a couple of defenders before crossing a low ball in from the right.

After a strong showing until that point, Kudo's goal triggered an avalanche. In first half injury time Aussie expat David Vrankovic headed the ball into the wrong net. The defender had previously fallen foul to two high boots from the Kashiwa strike force. Tracking back into his own box while being shadowed, Vrankovic's miscued header will feature in his next pre match nightmare no doubt.

South Korean Kim, Chang Soo got scoring underway in the second half with the aid of a sublime through ball from midfielder Akimi Barada. The Bing Duong goalkeeper had no chance, as Kim's first touch - under pressure - opened up the goal and the former Busan defender finished with aplomb.

Kudo popped up for his second in the 67th minute when a corner was allowed to cross the face of goal. The forward was alone again, and he made the visitors hurt. At 4-nil the Binh Duong manager decided to hook Nigerian goalkeeper Esele. But things didn't get any better.

After some stock standard J-League lead up play, the ball was turned back to Otani from the left. The midfielder struck with a half volley from beyond the box to make it 5-0.

The visitors picked up a consolation goal to make it 5-1 at full time, but their chances of ACL knockout stage qualification have taken a massive blow. Meanwhile, Reysol the best performing of the Japanese sides will host Shandong Luneng in two weeks time.

Kashiwa currently lead Group E on for and against, as first round opponents Jeonbuk also posted a victory on Matchday 2. With J-League credibility continuing to be questioned, ACL results are of vital importance to provide tangible evidence for the competition's exalted status. After 2014 treble winners Gamba Osaka were downed 2-0 by Seongnam it's now up to Urawa (v Brisbane Roar) and Kashima (v FC Seoul) to restore some pride for the J-League on Wednesday night.

AGUIRRE'S FATE IN JFA'S HANDS AFTER EARLY ASIAN CUP EXIT

Javier Aguirre and Japan arrived in Australia as favourites for the Asian Cup. As well as the burden of favouritism and the weight of expectation from back home, the manager himself was under scrutiny for his 'alleged' match fixing activities of the past. Despite that, the squad and Aguirre always looked in good spirits during their time in camp.

But in the aftermath of a shock quarter final exit to United Arab Emirates, it's fair to examine and review the team's performance, and in particular that of the manager.

Since being in charge Aguirre's Japan has conceded just eight goals in 11 matches. Four of them goals coming in the October thumping by Brazil, where the manager fielded an experimental squad. Settling on Yoshida (Southampton) and Morishige (FC Tokyo) for the Asian Cup, Aguirre seemed to have pulled the right rein. The pair conceded just once in their four matches in Australia.

Aguirre can also be credited for bringing fresh blood into the national team. In his short period of experimentation between the September friendlies and November friendlies, the Mexican gave time to numerous new faces. As a result youngsters Gaku Shibasaki, Yoshinori Muto and Gotoku Sakai were able to fit into the team seamlessly. The latter particularly impressive.

The debits on Aguirre's account are there, but were they debits already owed. Many reviews into Japan's World Cup performance concluded that Samurai Blue suffered a case of stage fright. Hailed as the 'golden generation', the team travelled to Brazil with a weight of expectation, unfamiliar to a Japanese national soccer team. They failed, and in Australia they failed.

In the Asian Cup quarter final against UAE, Japan bossed the possession 68% to 32%. They bossed the shots on goal stat 35-3. They won the corner count 18-0.

But as the realists among us know, stats count for nothing, and though he might want to, Aguirre can't put the ball into the back of the net himself. The manager witnessed Japan squander chance after chance against the emerging west Asian outfit.

Perhaps the biggest criticism of the Mexican has been his failure to rotate the squad during the tournament. Aguirre used the same starting eleven for all four Asian Cup matches. Managers can always counter this by referring to combinations, and the need to improve upon them with game time. Countering that though, is the harsh seasonal shift the players would have experienced, travelling from the northern hemisphere winter to Australia's hot summer.

Now Aguirre's fate is in the hands of the JFA. Will they use Japan's Asian Cup failure as an excuse to shift a manager currently under scrutiny for actions beyond the playing field, or will they stay loyal? 

KOREANS CRUISE INTO ASIAN CUP FINAL

Korean Republic have cruised into their first Asian Cup final since 1988. The Koreans overcame some early nerves to dispose of their less fancied rivals Iraq.

In front of a raucous 36,053 strong crowd on a wet Monday in Sydney, the Taeguk Warriors appeared to be letting the pressure of the occasion get to them. More than once the Koreans were dispossessed at the back while dwelling on the ball, no doubt causing heart palpitations for their managers Stielike.

But the early pressing from Iraq's Saad Abdulameer and Alaa Abdulzehra subsided after some threatening counters from Son, Heung Min. The conservative measures couldn't spare the Iraqis though, as Lee, Jeong Hyeop headed hard and low to make it 1-0 in the 20th minute.

The Koreans were on a roll from that point on, and a theme for the half was the sight of Younis Mahmoud's frustrated body language, remonstrating every time he was denied possession.

Kim, Young Gwon gave the Koreans a 2 goal buffer early in the second half, after a ball was chested into his path by a teammate. The Guangzhou Evergrande defender picking up a rare goal.

With Iraq forced to take more risks that match played out with Bundesliga star Son, Heung Min making a number of slalom runs through midfield, giving his final opponents more warning of his potential.

The final score of 2-0 meaning the Koreans remain undefeated and still yet to be scored against in the Asian Cup so far. The Taeguk Warriors now stay on in Sydney as Australia and United Arab Emirates play off in Newcastle for the other finals berth.