1 Oct 2007(Mon)

September 28, 2007: Hopes of an all-Japan final in the Asian Champions League have been dashed with the elimination of Kawasaki Frontale at Todoroki on Wednesday night.

I must admit I feared the worst before the penalty shoot-out, as everything pointed to a Sepahan win. Frontale had dominated the match but failed to capitalise on several clear-cut chances, while the Iranians would have settled for a shoot-out even before the second leg kicked off.

Under such circumstances, Sepahan had nothing to lose, while Frontale were now under more pressure to finish a job they had started in Iran but could not quite manage at home.

So full credit to Sepahan. They had ridden their luck, and survived due to a combination of fine goalkeeping from Abbas Mohammadi and some wasteful finishing from Frontale, notably Juninho. Against the big, strong, occasionally violent and frequently cynical Irainian defenders, Juninho looked much smaller and lightweight than usual, but his speed and eye for an opening still got him into some decent scoring positions as Frontale poured forward.

With the swashbuckling Jong Tae Se (or Chong Tese if you prefer) alongside Juninho up front, it is not hard to see why Ganaha cannot get a look-in at the moment, and must settle for a few minutes off the bench.

A few words in defence of Jong/Chong.

In extra time, several Iranian players accused him of using his elbow in an aerial duel with centre half Hadi Aghily. He didn't. It was his head. He was a little bit late into a challenge, but it was not malicious, it was just...well, Korean.

From the theatrical reaction of Aghily's teammates, the blood must have been flowing freely, and they urgently beckoned the doctor/physio/stretcher bearers to come on.

This is when the referee is in a difficult position. Is the player really hurt, or is he faking like many of his teammates before? On this occasion he was hurt, but who could blame the ref for waiting a while because the Sepahan team had cried wolf so many times?

The Iranians accused Jong of using his elbow, and were trying to stir up trouble, but he didn't -- and, in his own defence, he pointed to his head when confronted by an irate Sepahan defender on the resumption of play.

So, in the absence of Frontale, good luck Reds!

In terms of fan base, Reds have an incredible success story to tell Asia and the world, and hopefully they can do it in the Champions League to qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup, regardless of where they finish in the J.League.

Even Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was impressed with the sheer volume of Reds fans, commenting that, outside the top 10 teams in the Premier League, Reds had as good a following as anyone in England.

Top 10? So many?

ends