Osaka: Coach Kenta Hasegawa has urged 2008 winners Gamba Osaka to keep their slim hopes of a place in the last 16 alive by securing their first continental victory of the year, when they host K-League Classic visitors Suwon Samsung Bluewings in their penultimate AFC Champions League Group G tie on Tuesday.
Gamba have failed to win any of their four games in the 2016 edition of the Asian competition so far, while Friday’s 1-0 defeat by Kashiwa Reysol saw Hasegawa’s side suffer their fourth defeat in seven J.League matches.
However, even a win over the Korean side might not be enough to guarantee last year’s semi-finalists avoid elimination with a game remaining should Australia’s Melbourne Victory avoid defeat at China’s Shanghai SIPG in the tie between Group G’s top two sides.
“Since we have no options but win, we’ll exert all of our abilities to win at home tomorrow and I will put all my faith in my players,” said Hasegawa.
“It’s true our chance to qualify for the next stage will vanish if Melbourne wins, even if we win the game. However, we still have many fans hoping to see us win at our new stadium and we want to meet the expectations from our supporters.
“We have to believe in our potential and try to get the first goal in order to win the game – that would be ideal. We know we have to win but we cannot do so by sheer force, but by playing our style.”
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Like Gamba, two-time continental champions Suwon would be eliminated should they suffer defeat at Suita City Football Stadium on Tuesday, with a draw also being insufficient should Melbourne take at least a point home from their trip to Shanghai.
A first win of the 2016 continental campaign for Seo Jung-won’s side would, though, ensure their hopes of a last 16 place continues into the final Matchday in a fortnight’s time when they host Shanghai.
“We are currently third in our group but, with two more matches remaining, we cannot give up. Tomorrow it’ll be an important game that we must win,” said coach Seo, who saw his side share a goalless draw with Tuesday’s hosts in their continental opener.
“Last time when we played Gamba, it was still early in the season and I had to use some of our younger players. We couldn’t win that game but we still put on a satisfactory performance.
“Tomorrow, we have some experienced players back from their injuries and I hope they can perform well. It is important for us to wintomorrow as it would be very meaningful to me and our players.”
Photo: Lagardère Sports
Source: the-afc.com