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United City coach rues missed chances vs Beijing Guoan

Sports

United City coach rues missed chances vs Beijing Guoan

By Jonas Terrado

United City coach Jason Withe

United City coach Jason Withe couldn’t hide his disappointment after being held to a 1-1 draw by Beijing Guoan in the club’s maiden AFC Champions League match Saturday, June 26 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The champions of the Philippines Football League looked like they were heading for victory after Stephan Schrock’s sublime goal in the first half until allowing Beijing to draw level on an equalizing free kick by the 19-year-old Liang Siaowen.

“I’m very disappointed,” Withe said in the post-match press conference. “I think we dominated for large periods of the game. You look at possession, it’s probably 70 percent possession for us, one shot on goal which was obviously a great free kick.”

Beijing players and coaches acted as if they had won the game after splitting a point against the UCFC side that looked dismay at having to share the spoils.

Still, United City became the first Filipino club to secure a point in Asia’s top club competition which Withe will gladly take.

“To go 90 minutes without conceding a shot, we should be pleased with that. We saw that Beijing FC were happy with the draw and celebrating at the final whistle, so I think we represented the club well,” said the English coach.

“It’s all about testing yourselves against the best teams. I’m very pleased with what I’ve seen. We have created chances. The fine difference in football is scoring and not scoring. If you don’t put the ball in the back of the net, you don’t win. We created chances but didn’t take them. We learn from it and move on.”

A big challenge awaits United City on Tuesday, June 29 when it faces Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale, winners of last season’s J1 League.

Kawasaki opened its campaign also last Saturday with a 3-2 victory over Korean K-League club Daegu.

Related Tags

United City FC AFC Champions League

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