AFC Champions League 2: Sanfrecce Hiroshima leave it so late to break Eastern hearts
Hong Kong’s Eastern lead then fight back to level before being stunned in stoppage time
Eastern were hit with a devastating sucker punch when Hayato Araki scored deep into added time to earn Japanese league leaders Sanfrecce Hiroshima a 3-2 AFC Champions League Two victory on Thursday night.
The outcome was desperately cruel on Hong Kong club Eastern, whose crestfallen players were given a huge ovation as they circled Mong Kok Stadium at full-time. Sanfrecce’s noisy fans, meanwhile, waved their giant flags and toasted a victory that edged their team closer to progress from Group E.
Eastern, who led through Dani Almazan’s fourth-minute strike, and recovered from falling 2-1 behind when Noah Baffoe equalised soon after half-time, are pointless from their opening two matches. Sanfrecce and Sydney FC, who beat Kaya-Iloilo 4-1 in the Philippines, both have six points.
For a large part of the opening half, the Hong Kong team had their fans believing they could topple their illustrious opponents.
Sanfrecce head coach Michael Skibbe, mindful of his side’s domestic title battle, replaced his entire starting 11 from Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Machida Zelvia.
