Substitute Jeong Jae-hee (centre) added a late third to secure the win and lift Pohang out of the elimination zone. (Aflo Sport/Reuters pic)
SEOUL: Pohang Steelers inflicted a first Asian Champions League defeat on treble-chasing Vissel Kobe today after they won 3-1, as Yokohama F-Marinos took another step towards the knockout round.
Japan’s Kobe racked up four wins and one draw from their opening five games but they could not cope with a hungry Pohang side looking to haul themselves into the eight qualification places in the East table.
Han Chan-hee and Kim In-sung gave the South Korean side an early two-goal lead before Kobe’s Daiju Sasaki pulled one back from the penalty spot before halftime.
Substitute Jeong Jae-hee added a late third to secure the win and lift Pohang out of the elimination zone in the East table.
Kobe, who have already won Japan’s domestic Emperor’s Cup and can clinch their second straight J. League title this weekend, are still on course for a place in the knockout round.
But they were knocked off the East table top spot by Japanese compatriots Yokohama, who thrashed Australia’s Central Coast Mariners 4-0 away from home.
“We need to switch our focus from the Asian Champions League to the J. League now,” said Sasaki, whose team lead Sanfrecce Hiroshima by one point heading into Sunday’s final day of the domestic season.
Pohang took the lead in the 13th minute when Han slammed the ball home from close range after Kobe had conceded an indirect freekick for a back pass.
Veteran Kim made it two less than 10 minutes later when he charged down the right and arrowed in a shot across the goalkeeper.
Sasaki pulled one back from the spot after Lee Tae-seok pulled down Rikuto Hirose in the box, but Jeong had the last word with a breakaway goal in second half injury-time.
Yokohama also started quickly in their stylish win over winless Central Coast.
Last season’s beaten finalists were three goals ahead by halftime after a brace from Kenta Inoue and one from Anderson Lopes, before substitute Jun Amano added a fourth goal after the break with a pin-point freekick.
“We could have scored more goals and I could have got more myself, but we went into this game with a lot of determination,” Inoue said after leading Yokohama to their third straight win in the competition.
The result left Central Coast well outside the top eight, having taken only one point with two games remaining.
“It’s not easy to stay motivated when you’re defeated 3-0 in the first half but one thing about the boys is they never give up,” said captain Brian Kaltak.
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