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Adelaide United has maintained its AFC Champions League form by moving past the group stage for an unprecedented third time in the club’s history.
The Reds were held to a scoreless draw by Bunyodkor at Hindmarsh Stadium last night but the valuable point guarantees United safe passage into the round of 16.
“We’ve qualified for the second round of the AFC Champions League so the objective was pretty much achieved tonight which is a good thing,” Assistant Coach Luciano Trani said.
“We’re in this particular competition now that we find ourselves in the top 16 clubs in Asia and that’s a huge benefit to the club. The branding of Adelaide United continues in Asia and that’s a reputation that will hold for years to come.”
After opening their ACL campaign by defeating Bunyodkor in Uzbekistan, United didn’t have it all their own way in a contest that could have gone either way.
“They (Bunyodkor) made it very difficult and when they’ve got a number of players who are all capable of creating openings and are comfortable on the ball, they are always going to give you a huge challenge, but we were disciplined at the back and also in midfield,” Trani said.
“It was one of those games where they were very good and we had to be really on our game to make sure that we didn’t get ourselves punished in any way.”
In front of more than 7000 people Adelaide turned their back on a dismal Hyundai A-League season by becoming the first Australian side to qualify for the knockout stages of the 2012 AFC Champions League.
“It’s a great achievement and I look at it this way – we haven’t failed, in fact it has been a success,” Trani said.
The Reds almost took the lead in the 21st minute after Daniel Mullen’s chipped pass across goal wreaked havoc in the Bunyodkor box. Chances fell to Iain Ramsay, Bruce Djite and Zenon Caravella in a goalmouth scramble before the visitors managed to clear the danger.
The first half was a lacklustre affair with very few chances for either side as the teams went into the break at 0-0.
The second half saw a more productive display from the hosts as they searched for the decisive goal that would move them closer to top spot in Group E.
An Iain Fyfe thunderbolt in the 76th minute almost caught Nesterov off guard as the Bunyodkor ‘keeper only managed to punch away Cassio’s initial cross.
Dario Vidosic returned to the starting line-up but his influence on the game was muted before being replaced by Teeboy Kamara after 83 minutes.
Both sides pushed late for a winner but didn’t find any way past Galekovic and Nesterov as the defences held firm. The result puts United in first place on 10 points with one game remaining while Bunyodkor will face-off against Pohang in the final group stage game with the winner qualifying for the round of 16.
Crowd: 7794
Referee: Liu Kwok Man