Shanghai SIPG falls to Melbourne Victory in AFC Champions League opener

A controversial late penalty to Melbourne Victory dashed any hope of Shanghai SIPG stealing a point on the road in their AFC Champions League (ACL) clash in Melbourne on Wednesday.

SIPG looked close to securing a 1-1 draw in the closing stages of the first round ACL match, however a controversial penalty call - in which Kosta Barbarouses looked to be felled outside the box - in the 72nd minute allowed Victory forward Besart Berisha to seal the 2-1 win.

Despite the best efforts from star midfielder Dario Conca and dangerous right winger Wu Lei, SIPG were also unable to capitalize on a number of late chances which would have drawn them level at 2-2.

Following the entertaining affair, SIPG head coach Sven-Goren Eriksson said his side "didn't deserve" to lose the game, and said while SIPG had many chances to score, a disallowed goal to Elkeson because of a second ball on the pitch cost his team dearly.

"It was a good football match and I don't think we deserved to lose if you look at how we played," Eriksson told the press following the loss.

"They were very good the first 15 minutes, but then we created lot of chances and scored a goal.

"We didn't deserve to lose this game. We'll have to take points somewhere else."

It was Victory who managed to settle first and get the early jump on the visitors, asserting their physical game and dominating possession before SIPG managed to settle and begin to play their own brand of football.

But the Australian team's back four managed to halt any foray forward from the visitors, and their ability to quickly fire out a ball on the counterattack stretched the SIPG defense. The Chinese side continued to press and look more likely to break the deadlock; it was Elkeson and Conca who were dominating the ball around the Victory's box, but a trademark Victory counterattack left SIPG down 1-0 after half an hour, as Ollie Bozanic fired a pinpoint through ball to forward Jai Ingham who steadied and made no mistake from inside the box.

As if to highlight just how against the flow the Victory's goal was, it was the Chinese club who continued to pressure the Victory defense after the score.

Wu's dashing pace down the right side, and fleet-footed work from Elkeson and Conca in the middle almost proved too much for the Victory, and with just a minute to go before the break, the latter two combined to send a set play ball just wide of an open goal.

After the restart, it was Victory again who got the jump on the visitors - backman Jason Geria slipped past the defense to be one-on-one, but unselfish play cost his side a second goal.

But - in the theme of the match - it was SIPG who scored against the Victory's growing momentum, with Elkeson sending a lovely cross to the open Victory box, and Wu was able to collect the ball on the bounce and send it past the Victory keeper.

But the late penalty to Barbarouses - which was later found to be the wrong decision by Qatari referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim - and the disallowed goal to Elkeson was enough to deny SIPG from taking a point back to Shanghai.

In a further blow for SIPG heading deeper into the ACL, Asamoah Gyan was stretchered off with what Sven-Goran Eriksson described as a high quad injury. Eriksson however, said he didn't know how serious the injury was.

"I don't know how bad it is... I hope it's not (serious) but we have to see tomorrow when we arrive back in Shanghai," he said.

Eriksson also praised Victory for playing an attractive, aggressive brand of football.

"Physically they are a very good team, very good in counter attacks. But after 15 minutes I think we handled it well," Eriksson said.

"Even if we lost, I'm rather happy with our performance against them."

Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat told the press he was thrilled to come away with a win against what he described as a "very strong" opponent.

"We were up against a good opponent tonight - a very strong side - which makes the result all the more pleasing," Muscat said.

For their next ACL match, Shanghai SIPG will face South Korean side Suwon Bluewings at home next Wednesday, while Melbourne Victory travels to Japan to take on Gamba Osaka. Endit