Marinos ascend to the top of the Asian Champions League as Kobe and Gwangju stumble

Vissel Kobe and Gwangju FC wasted the chance to secure their spots in the competition’s round of 16, while Yokohama F Marinos defeated Central Coast Mariners 4-0 on Tuesday to take the lead in the Asian Champions League Elite rankings.

Gwangju FC was held to a 1-1 draw after 10-man Shanghai Port equalized with Oscar’s late penalty to gain a point, while Kobe, who were leading going into Tuesday’s games, lost 3-1 to Pohang Steelers.

In contrast, Thailand’s Buriram United and Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) drew 0-0 in Johor.

Kento Inoue gave John Hutchison’s team the lead with two goals in the first half hour as Marinos easily defeated the Australian champions in Gosford.

The winger extended the lead 24 minutes later with a nice finish after Inoue scored in the sixth minute after cutting in from the left to bend his shot around goalkeeper Dylan Peraic-Cullen.

In the 36th minute, Anderson Lopes’ deflected goal gave the J-League team a third goal, and 20 minutes from the end, Jun Amano’s curling free kick completed the triumph.

No team from the eastern side of the competition can confirm their advancement to the next round as Marinos’ victory puts them 13 points clear of Kobe and Gwangju on goal differential.

The round of 16 is scheduled for March, and the top eight finishers from East and West Asia in the league phase move on to the knockout stage.

Heo Yool gave Gwangju the lead in Shanghai seven minutes prior to halftime, and Wei Zhen was sent off for an apparently harmless off-the-ball altercation with Shin Chang-moo ten minutes into the second half, leaving Port with just ten men.

Oscar, however, calmly converted in the 76th minute to put seventh-place Shanghai Port on eight points after Kim Jin-ho’s foul on him gave the Chinese Super League winners a lifeline.

With a 3-1 victory over J-League leaders Vissel Kobe in South Korea, the Pohang Steelers rekindled their chances of qualifying, moving Park Tae-ha’s fifth-place team to nine points from six games.

The home team took a 13th-minute lead with to a strong strike from Han Chan-hee at an indirect free kick, and Kim In-sung’s attempt seven minutes later doubled the lead.

After 34 minutes, Kobe’s penalty kick from Daiju Sasaki gave them a response, but Jeong Jae-hee won in injury time.
In a heated match in Johor, Buriram United held JDT scoreless and both teams sent off players.

The game ended with JDT’s Park Jun-heong being sent off in injury time, while Buriram captain Theerathon Bunmathan followed suit after Murilo Henrique was sent off for the home team in the 13th minute.