China's Shanghai SIPG were successful in their campaign as they managed to secure a slot in Group G of AFC Champions League. The team was able to score a 3-0 win against Thai team Muangthong in the play-off last Tuesday, Feb. 9, China.org reported.
Wu Lei scored the first goal minutes before the half-time at Shanghai Stadium and added another score in the second period. Meanwhile, Dario Conca scored another goal at the 82nd minute, assisted by Wu.
Tuesday's victory sealed Shanghai's fate in their AFC Champions League debut.
"It is good to start with a win. Today we were the better side and created more chances and we had the upper-hand in the game," said Sven Goran Eriksson, Shanghai's coach. "They were quite good at the beginning stage but we controlled the game for most of the time."
"In two weeks we will begin our formal ACL journey this season and our first opponent will be Melbourne. I wish we had a good result and qualify from the good," Eriksson added.
Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan also did well in the game, doing much of the early attacking during the match. Muangthong's goalkeeper, Kawin Thamsatchanan, proved to be quite an opponent, however, as the goalie successfully deflected several attempts on a goal by Gyan, Wu and Conca.
It was only before the break when Wu strode unchallenged to the goal. The midfielder unleashed a shot, scoring Shanghai's first goal, which landed into the bottom corner of the post.
Muangthong almost scored a shot roughly four minutes after Cleiton saw an opening, thanks to a mix-up between Fu Huan and Kim Ju-young. Yan Yungling's flying save, however, successfully deflected Cleiton's shot, denying Muangthong a goal.
From that point onward, most of the attacking came from Shanghai, with Kawin busy defending the goal from shots fired by Ekleson and Gyan.
Muangthong's defiance didn't last long, though. With only eight minutes remaining, Conca fired another shot and Kawin was unable to block the goal.
"I had told my prayer before the game that we have to keep our focus throughout the match and fully commit to my strategy," said Sripan Totchtawan, Muangthong's coach.
"The first half we were not bad, but unfortunately, we conceded a goal just before the break," Totchtawan added. "The second half we tried very hard to equalize but the result didn't go our way."