Brisbane Roar is still alive in the AFC Champions League, despite a 3-1 loss to Suwon Samsung FC in South Korea tonight.
With two group stage matches still to play, the Roar sit on four points – three behind tonight’s opponents Suwon and six points behind Group G leaders Beijing Guoan.
Brisbane now need to claim maximum points from their Match Day Five away trip to Beijing in two weeks’ time as well as in their final home match of the group stage against bottom-placed Urawa Red Diamonds on Tuesday, 5 May and rely on other results to progress to the knock-out stage of the competition.
The Roar controlled the midfield from the outset but struggled to string together any clear cut chances in the opening 45 minutes at Suwon World Cup Stadium before conceding three times in 20 minutes after the break.
Post-match, Head Coach Frans Thijssen said his side should have done better with their possession in the first half.
“We are disappointed with the result because in the first half we were on top and the better team,” he said.
“We were confident for the second half but because of mistakes, we gave the game away.”
Goalkeeper Jamie Young was involved in the two key incidents in the first half, first producing a timely save to keep out Seo Jung Jin’s header in the 18th minute before a mistake two minutes from the break almost allowed the home side to open the scoring.
His pass out from the back went straight to the feet of Lee Sang Ho but the Roar custodian made up for his error with a smart block, meaning the two sides went into the interval on level terms.
The Bluewings came out firing in the second half and substitute Kwon Chang Hoon made an impact just four minutes after his introduction, cutting inside Corey Brown to finish past Young.
Brisbane striker Brandon Borrello came close to giving his side an instant equaliser but couldn’t get his shot on target following build-up play from Thomas Broich and Andrija Kaluderovic, instead finding the side netting.
The miss proved costly with Seo making it 2-0 seven minutes later with a clever finish inside the area before Yeom Ki Hun extended Suwon’s lead with a stunning free kick in the 64th minute.
The Roar coaching staff introduced midfielders Devante Clut – who scored two goals against Suwon in Match Day Three – and last week’s hat-trick hero Steven Lustica but the away side pulled a goal back through an unlikely source.
Broich provided the perfect assist with a well-weighted free kick and defender Luke DeVere scored a header from close-range to make it 3-1 with less than 15 minutes left to play at Suwon World Cup Stadium.
The goal was DeVere’s fouth in his Roar career and marked his return to South Korea, where he spent four seasons with Gyeongnam FC until November last year.
Broich, playing his first 90 minutes since Round 21 of the Hyundai A-League season, had chances late in the match to make a difference but failed to trouble No Dong Geon in the Bluewings goal with either of his two shots on goal.
The Roar now travel straight to Adelaide for Saturday’s Round 25 match against Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium, before hosting Melbourne Victory on Wednesday, 15 April and Saturday, 18 April at Suncorp Stadium.
Suwon Samsung FC 3 (KWON Chang Hoon 51’, SEO Jung Jin 58’, YEOM Ki Hun 64’)
Brisbane Roar 1 (Luke DeVERE 76’)
AFC Champions League 2015 Match Day Four
Wednesday, 8 April at Suwon World Cup Stadium, South Korea
Referee: Abdulrahman Ibrahim Al-Jassim (Qatar)
Suwon Samsung FC: 3. YANG Sang Min, 4. OH Beom Seok (9. OH Jang Eun 73’), 5. JO Sung Jin, 7. LEE Sang Ho, 12. KO Cha Won (22. KWON Chang Hoon 45’), 13. SEO Jung Jin, 14. CHONG Te Se (18. KAIO, 68’), 21. NO Dong Geon (gk), 26. YEOM Ki Hun, 30. SIN Se Gye, 39. MIN Sang Gi
Substitutes not used: 2. CHOI Jae Soo, 11. LEO, 31. LEE Sang Wook (gk), 34. YEON Jei Min.
Yellow cards: OH Beom Seok 43’
Red cards: Nil
Brisbane Roar: 5. Corey BROWN, 9. ANDRIJA Kaluderovic, 15. James DONACHIE (14. Daniel BOWLES 64’), 17. Matt McKAY (c), 18. Luke BRATTAN (8. Steven LUSTICA 74’), 19. Jack HINGERT, 21. Jamie YOUNG (gk), 22. Thomas BROICH, 23. Dimitri PETRATOS (16. Devante CLUT 62’), 28. Brandon BORRELLO, 33. Luke DeVERE
Substitutes not used: 3. Shane STEFANUTTO, 4. Adam SAROTA, 34. Shannon BRADY, 36. Fraser CHALMERS (gk)
Yellow cards: Luke DeVERE 18’, Corey BROWN 63’, Daniel BOWLES 90’, Matt McKAY 93’
Red cards: Nil
