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Gamba beat Adelaide in Club World Cup quarter-final
TOYOTA, Japan (AFP) - Asian champions Gamba Osaka saw off a spirited Adelaide United of Australia on Sunday to win 1-0 in their quarter-final of the Club World Cup.
Yasuhito Endo, the most valuable player of the AFC Champions League tournament, scored the only goal of the game in the 23rd minute to secure the win for Gamba.
The hard-fought victory granted Gamba the right to face European champions Manchester United in the semi-final on Thursday in Yokohama.
Midfielder Takahiro Futagawa fed the ball to striker Ryuji Bando, who headed it inside the box to a charging Endo to score.
Gamba coach Akira Nishino said Adelaide had been impressive.
"Today, Adelaide came out very, very strong. We struggled more than I expected at the start of the game," Nishino said, adding, "But I think we were in control of the game."
The more than 38,000 fans had hoped for an easier win for the Japanese side, as Gamba easily beat Adelaide twice last month to win the two-leg Champions League final 5-0 on aggregate, their first regional title.
"They were not the Adelaide we fought before," Endo said. "They were in good condition and played hard."
Adelaide battled throughout the match, launching waves of attacks on the Gamba defence, particularly toward the end of the game, and coming close to scoring several times.
In the 13th minute, Adelaide skipper Travis Dodd charged forward on his own, beat Gamba's defenders and fired off a powerful shot that went just wide.
In the 42nd minute, a Dodd header came agonisingly close from a Scott Jamieson cross.
In injury time, another Dodd header inside the box just missed the target.
"We played a very, very good game tonight. We probably deserved a little bit more out of the game than what we got," Adelaide coach Aurelio Vidmar said.
Dodd was also disappointed.
"We attacked them, we put pressure on them and we created opportunities. The opportunities I had... they just didn't want to go in tonight. Maybe on another night they would have gone in," he said.
South American champions Liga de Quito of Ecuador face Pachuca of Mexico in the other semi-final of the tournament.
Info
Goals
0 - 1 |
23' Y. Endo
|
Lineups
| Player | Bookings |
|---|---|
| E. Galekovic | |
| S. Jamieson | |
| R. Cornthwaite | |
Cassio
|
 33'
|
| S. Ognenovski |
21'
|
| D. Mullen | |
| T. Dodd | |
|
Diego
|
|
| F. Barbiero | |
| P. Reid |
43'
|
|
Cristiano
|
Substitutions
| Player | Bookings |
|---|---|
|
for Cassio 71' |
|
|
for Cristiano 77' |
|
|
for Diego 88' |
| Player | Bookings |
|---|---|
| Y. Fujigaya | |
| A. Kaji |
41'
|
| S. Nakazawa | |
| S. Yamaguchi | |
| M. Yasuda |
36'
|
| Y. Endo | |
|
T. Futagawa
|
|
| T. Myojin | |
| H. Hashimoto | |
|
H. Sasaki
|
|
| Lucas |
Substitutions
| Player | Bookings |
|---|---|
|
for H. Sasaki 20' |
|
|
for R. Bando 81' |
|
|
for T. Futagawa 84' |
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