SHANGHAI SIPG secured its place in the knockout rounds of the Asian Champions League (ACL) on Tuesday evening as an improved second-half performance earned the Chinese Super League side a 1-0 win over Ulsan Hyundai. Elkeson scored the only goal of the game five minutes after the break and following the half-time introduction of Odil Ahmedov and Wu Lei, which turned the game in SIPG’s favor. As promised, coach Vitor Pereira altered his lineup after Saturday’s domestic victory over Shanghai Shenhua, calling up Lin Chuangyin and Lu Wenjun for Ahmedov and Wu, but SIPG struggled for fluency. Ulsan dominated and should have gone into the break leading after Yohei Toyoda and Richard Windbichler squandered opportunities to give the K League side an advantage ahead of the interval. Pereira’s half-time changes brought about the desired effect, and within five minutes of the resumption, SIPG claimed the only goal of the game when Hulk stormed into the Ulsan penalty area before cutting the ball back for Elkeson to score from close range. The win moves SIPG on to 10 points from its first four games and, with Melbourne Victory defeating Kawasaki Frontale 1-0 in the other game. SIPG lead the group with Ulsan and Melbourne on five points and Frontale on just one. With Ulsan and Melbourne still to face each other, only one can finish above Shanghai, ensuring the club’s qualification for the knockout phase for the third season in a row. Matters are less positive for Shanghai Shenhua, which suffered its first defeat of the campaign after a lackluster performance against Suwon Bluewings resulted in Wu Jingui’s side slipping to a 2-0 defeat. Neither side impressed in a dire opening 45 minutes but Dejan Damjanovic put Suwon in front five minutes into the second half and Choi Seung-Guen claimed the crucial goal to keep the Korean side’s round-of-16 hopes alive. (SD-Agencies) |