Kawasaki, Bunyodkor and Umm Salal win in AFC Champions League

Kawasaki Frontale, FC Bunyodkor and Umm Salal all won their home games in the first leg of the AFC Champions League quarter finals.

The round kicked off with a Japanese clash between Kawasaki Frontale and Nagoya Grampus. Australian forward Josh Kennedy put Nagoya in the lead after 28 minutes, but Kengo Nakamura equalised on the hour. A winning goal came two minutes later and was scored by Kawasaki’s Brazilian striker Juninho.

South Korean side Pohang Steelers started well at Uzbek outfit FC Bunyodkor, as Byung-Joon Park scored an opener after just seven minutes.

Victor Karpenko leveled in minute 29 however, for Server Djeparov to complete the turn-around in the 79th. The forward added a third and final goal seven minutes later.

The other South Korean side, FC Seoul, did even better in the first half at Qatar’s Umm Salal with two goals from Jo-Gook Sung. The 25-year-old first netted in the third minute, then in the 45th.

But Umm fought their way back into the game after the break. Magno Alves made it 1-2 ten minutes into the second half, and Fabio Montezine balanced things with six minutes to go. A minute later, Alves even added a winner.

The only remaining quarter final, between PSMS Medan of Indonesia and Singapore’s Armed Forces, is set to be played on Thursday.