Kashima win AFC Champions League clash

Kashima Antlers won the clash of East Asia’s titans on Tuesday with a dramatic, 2-1 AFC Champions League win over Jeonbuk Motors, while Beijing Guoan dug deep to beat Kawasaki Frontale.

J-League champions Kashima came from behind to beat their K-League counterparts, with Koji Nakata and Yasushi Endo doing the damage.

Jeonbuk, who won the AFC crown in 2006, opened the scoring four minutes before half-time through their Brazilian star Eninho, who made the most of his chances after being put through by Lee Dong-Gook.

Nakata struck the equaliser in the 70th minute after latching on to a cross from Brazilian midfielder Fellype Gabriel and it looked destined for a draw before Endo prodded home a last-minute winner for Kashima.

In the other Group F game, Changchun Yatai, runners-up in last year?s Chinese Super League, crushed Indonesian minnows Persipura 9-0 in a lopsided contest.

Costa Rican Johnny Woodly Lambert and Gao Jian both scored hat-tricks at the Jingkai Stadium, while Liu Weidong bagged a brace and Wang Bo added a late goal to inflict an embarrassing defeat on the hapless Indonesians.

It was an easy three points for Changchun as they bounced back emphatically from last week’s 1-0 loss to Kashima.

Chinese teams enjoyed a good night, with Super League champions Beijing Guoan travelling to Japan and beating Kawasaki Frontale 3-1.

Australian striker Joel Griffiths opened the scoring for Beijing eight minutes before the break, only to see Kosuke Kikuchi level the match three minutes later.

But two second-half goals from Wang Changqing put the game beyond doubt to leave Kawasaki struggling with no points from their opening two games.

Melbourne Victory also remain pointless following a 2-0 home loss to Seongnam Ilhwa, who became the first South Korean club to win an AFC Champions League game in Australia.

Seongnam, seven-time K-League champions, remain unbeaten in Group E, thanks to well-taken goals from Australian Sasa Ognenovski and fellow central defender Yun Young-Sun.

Melbourne-born Ognenovski haunted his home-town club when he scored five minutes before half-time, rifling home from inside the six-yard box after a goalmouth scramble.

Yun ensured Seongnam’s breakthrough victory with a bullet header past goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak off a Mauricio Molina corner five minutes from time.

Elsewhere, Uzbek giants Bunyodkor look to build on their strong start when they visit Al Wahda in Abu Dhabi later Tuesday.

Brazilian legend Rivaldo, Uzbekistan winger Jasur Hasanov and new signing Denilson were all on target as Luiz Felipe Scolari?s side opened with a 3-0 win against two-time winners Al Ittihad last week.

Saudi giants Ittihad will be desperate to make up for their poor start when they host Iran’s Zobahan, who have three points after beating Al Wahda 1-0 at home during their opener a week ago.

In Group A, reigning Iranian champions Esteghlal host Al Jazira of the UAE, gunning for a second straight win, while Saudi side Al Ahli visit Qatar’s Al Gharafa in Doha.