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Luneng draw 1-1 with Sydney FC in ACL round of 16 game

Xinhua, May 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

Although a 1-1 draw on Wednesday gave the visiting Sydney FC an edge over hosts Shandong Luneng FC with one precious away goal, the second-half equalizer still boosted the Chinese team' s confidence in winning the second leg and reaching the quarterfinals of the Asian Champions League (ACL).

Luneng should have taken the lead in the fifth minute when they were awarded a penalty after midfielder Wu Xinghan was brought down by Sydney goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic, but the Croatian custodian denied the shot from Luneng' s Argentine midfielder Water Montillo by saving low to his left.

The Chinese Super League side were punished for their missed opportunity after 10 minutes when Sydney forward David Carney scored a header at back-post after receiving a cross from the left-wing by his teammate Riley Woodcock.

The hosts then wasted another golden chance when Brazilian striker Diego Tardelli shot high above the crossbar in the 27th minute, leaving right-winger Liu Binbin' s effort to break through Sydney' s defense line in vein.

Luneng played more aggressively during the second half when Sydney seemed to be shifting towards safeguarding their narrow lead, bearing in mind that playing the first leg at home means they can neither afford a loss nor concede more goals.

Captain Li Wei' s thunderous effort challenging the goal from distance in the 54th minute led to a culmination of the hosts' morale, and they did level the score two minutes later when Tardelli found the net after Jucilei headed Montillo' s corner from the right to let the ball come to the Brazilian' s way.

Luneng head coach Mano Menezes sent on three substitutes in the attacking line between the 72nd and 73rd minutes in an effort to win the game, but the scoreboard kept unchanged when the final whistle was blown.

Menezes told a press conference after the match that his team should have won because they had created a lot of chances. "However, this is football," he said, "sometimes you have advantage but it does not mean you can win the game."

Yet, Menezes said the game had made the players more confident. "If we can do better, we will have a greater possibility to win in Sydney."

Although feeling disappointed about conceding a goal from a set piece, Sydney manager Graham Arnold said the team were "very happy" with the result overall. Endit