SAITAMA, Japan — Tomoya Ugajin’s freak goal gave Urawa Red Diamonds a 1-0 win over FC Seoul and a great chance of reaching the AFC Champions League quarterfinals in their Round of 16 first leg Wednesday.
Ugajin was alone on the edge of the box when he received Ryota Moriwaki’s raking cross, and he looked as surprised as anyone when his hopeful volley looped unstoppably into the far corner.
It was an unexpected but welcome dose of good fortune for the 2007 champion from Japan, who will hope it is a good omen for next week’s return leg in the South Korean capital.
Ugajin’s cross-cum-shot carried shades of Dutch legend Marco van Basten’s stunner in the Euro 1988 final — apart from the huge dose of luck that put it into the net.
FC Seoul created plenty in reply but Brazilian striker Adriano, after scoring 10 in the group stage, was out of sorts and ballooned a golden chance over the goal late in the first half.
Seoul keeper Yu Sang-hun saved sharply at the feet of Yosuke Kashiwagi early in the second half, before Osmar Barba blazed over at the other end on 67 minutes.
With two minutes left, Adriano had another chance to level the scores. But his shot was smothered and a pulsating game finished 1-0, to the delight of the vocal Saitama crowd.
FC Seoul reached the Asian final in 2013 and after their free-scoring romp through the group phase, they will be confident of making amends on home soil next week.
Later, Sydney FC’s first appearance in the knockout stages ended in a 1-1 draw against Shandong Luneng, which fought back from behind after missing an early penalty.
After Vedran Janjetovic got down well to stop Walter Montillo’s spot kick, Australia international David Carney nodded the visitors in front on the quarter-hour.
But the Chinese team, led by ex-Brazil coach Mano Menezes, came back firing. After Li Wei thundered a shot against the crossbar, Diego Tardelli equalized in the 57th minute.
The Brazilian forward half-volleyed a corner into the roof of the net for his sixth goal of the tournament to leave the tie delicately poised ahead of next week’s second leg.
In another encounter, Mohammadreza Abbasi’s 76th minute header earned Zobahan a 1-1 draw with inaugural ACL winner Al-Ain of the UAE in Al-Ain to leave the teams’ chances delicately balanced going into next week’s second leg.
Douglas netted nine minutes into a game controlled by the 2003 champions, but Zlatko Dalic’s side will be left to rue their inability – once again – to turn their dominance into goals after seeing Abbasi claim a vital equalizer.
The two teams will face off in Ishfahan next Wednesday.
Barca’s Qatar friendly scrapped
Spanish champion Barcelona’s scheduled friendly against Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli Saudi in Doha, Qatar, has been canceled by the club’s Qatari sponsors just six days before the game was due to take place.
“Qatar Airways, the host and sponsor of the friendly match between FC Barcelona and Al-Ahli Saudi FC, which was scheduled to be played on May 24 in Doha, has opted to postpone the game,” Barcelona said in a statement Wednesday.
“That same week, the region is also hosting the prestigious Emir Cup Final, as well as games being played in the AFC League.
“The coincidence of the match with these major sporting events means that the game will now be postponed to a later date (to be announced shortly) in order to encourage the best possible attendance.”
The news comes as talks over extending Qatar Airways’ shirt sponsorship of the five-time European champion continues to stall.
Barca signed a 150 million euro ($170 million) five-year deal with the Qatar Foundation in 2010 which runs out at the end of this season.
