South Korean outfit Jeju United defeated Urawa Red Diamonds 2-0 to open their round of 16 series at the Asian Football Confederation Champions League Wednesday. Marcelo Toscano opened the scoring in the seventh minute, and substitute Jin Seong-uk rounded out the scoring in the dying moments of the opening match in the round of 16 showdown at Jeju Stadium on the southern resort island. The second leg of their showdown will be next Wednesday at Saitama Stadium 2002 in Saitama, Japan. The aggregate score after the two matches will determine who'll advance to the quarterfinals, and the away goals rule will be in play. This was the first meeting ever between the two clubs at the AFC Champions League. Jeju is playing in just its second ACL and this is their first appearance in the knockout stage. In another ecounter, Shanghai SIPG of China defeated Jiangsu Suning 2-1 in an all Chinese match. Jeju entered Wednesday's action as the first-place club in the domestic K League Classic. I t has compiled 24 points, one more than Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, with seven wins, two draws and three losses. Jeju also leads the competition with 24 goals. And the offense clicked nicely soon after the start as Toscano put Jeju on the scoreboard in just the seventh minute, by heading in a cross from Hwang Il-su. Urawa tried to answer in the 21st, but Ryota Moriwaki's shot that deflected off a Jeju defender was turned aside by goalkeeper Kim Ho-jun. At the other end, Zlatan Ljubijankic had his header saved by Kim in the 23rd. The Jeju custodian stood tall again in the 34th, denying Ljubijankic from point-blank range. Jeju nearly doubled the lead two minutes into the second half, with Lee Chang-min launching a cannon from outside the box that was punched out by Nishikawa. Urawa kept Jeju on their heels most of the second half, with Ljubijankic heading one wide of target in the 69th, and Yosuke Kashiwagi getting a wide open shot from the top of the box blocked by sliding Kwon Soon-hyung. Kim's teammates finally gave him some breathing room in added time. After the defense blocked a shot attempt, Jin Seong-uk got on a fast break and banged one in off the left post to cap off the victory. Jeju is the only K League Classic club left in this year's AFC Champions League. FC Seoul, Ulsan Hyundai and Suwon Samsung Bluewings were all sent packing in the group stage. — Agencies
