Borneo FC Samarinda staged a brilliant comeback to seal their place in the AFC Challenge League knockout stage after defeating Tainan City FC 3-1 last night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With maximum points from two matches, the win confirmed top spot in Group D for the Indonesian club with Chinese Taipei\u2019s Tainan City battling it out with Yangon United of Myanmar on Saturday for the other quarter-final spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The opening salvo went the way of Tainan City as they opened the scoring in the 11th minute, thanks to a solo effort from Kim Sang-jun who picked up the ball on the left flank, shrugged off the challenge of Rei Okada before squeezing a low shot between Kadu and his near post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Borneo woke from their slumber and almost found the perfect response six minutes later when Gabriel Oliveira powered his way into the box and lifted the ball over goalkeeper Pan Wen-chieh but his effort bounced off the bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Captain Juan Villa was next to have a go, a spectacular drive from inside his own half which had Pan backtracking furiously to tip away and from the ensuing corner kick, the Tainan City custodian produced a stop on the goal line to thwart Daniel Mikolajewski\u2019s powerful header.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Borneo fluffed their lines again a minute before the end of the first half, Okada\u2019s cross from the right was perfect but Moussa Diarra could not keep his header on target despite being unmarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mauro Jeronimo sent his Borneo side out on the attack in the second half and it wasn\u2019t long before the Indonesian side restored parity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hugo Samir got hold of the ball on the left in the 51st minute and released it to Villa to smash a low strike past a rooted Pan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Borneo were not done yet as they went ahead six minutes later, Villa turning provider this time as the creative midfielder produced a defence-splitting pass for Kablan N\u2019Goma to curl the ball beyond Pan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tainan City had the opportunity to salvage a point when Isreal Opoku put Wilker Da Silva through on goal in the 64th minute but Kadu made himself big and blocked the shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amar Brkic made sure of the win for Borneo in the 82nd minute, smashing a left footed effort from outside the box into the top corner to ensure his side\u2019s journey in the competition continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A dominant Shan United FC defeated Kasuka FC 2-0 in their Group E match at Thuwunna Stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On four points, Han Win Aung\u2019s side will face Manila Digger FC on Saturday to decide who advances to the knockout stage on the group winners\u2019 ticket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a cagey start, Shan United started to impose themselves as the group hosts went in search of the first win of their campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stephen Halm\u2019s clearance in the 17th minute floated but Mark Sekyi\u2019s acrobatic effort was saved by Jack Landreth before the Shan United forward struck the outside of the box from an acute angle in the 27th minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Myanmar side edged ahead seven minutes later when Rodrigue Nanitelamio powered in a header from Thet Wai Moe\u2019s corner delivery from the right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nanda Kyaw sent Edson Junior racing through on goal in the 45th minute and despite Landreth making a good save, the Brazilian forward tucked home the rebound to give Shan United a healthy lead at the break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kasuka were handed a chance to halve the deficit six minutes into the second half, Everett Boateng miscued a clearance with the ball landing nicely for Lee Seong-yo to thump towards goal but Kyaw Zin Phyo stood strong to palm the ball away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shan United missed chances of their own with Ye Yint Aung hitting the side netting before Carlos Damian smacked an attempt against the bar from close range from an Edson cutback but it proved not to be costly as the Myanmar side comfortably saw out the win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Manila Digger FC stayed on course for a spot in the knockout stage following a 1-1 draw with New Taipei City Hang Yuan FC\u00a0 in their Group E tie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stalemate moved Manila Digger to four points and they will need to beat Shan United FC on Saturday for top spot, while Hang Yuan take on Kasuka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Manila Digger started on the front foot and threatened in the 15th minute, with Dilane Wamba Tafem finding Saikou Ceesay inside the box, only for the Gambian forward to send his overhead kick wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Philippines side\u2019s pressure paid off five minutes later when Baboucarr Touray found a way past his markers before firing a powerful low drive from above the box into the bottom right corner, leaving Odo Jacobs with no chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hang Yuan struggled to contain Manila Digger\u2019s pace and almost conceded the second after failing to clear Dilane Wamba Tafem\u2019s cross into the box, leaving Ceesay to pounce and smash his effort against the bar,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Chinese Taipei side grew into the game and came close to equalising in the 39th minute when Shingo Koreeda forced a fine save from Omar Njie, who was beaten seconds later from the ensuing corner following Lin Hai-cheng\u2019s glancing header into the net. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Manila Digger, who cruised 5-0 past Brunei Darussalam’s Kasuka FC in their opener, pushed to regain the lead after the restart but wasted another opportunity in the 52nd minute when Ceesay\u2019s tame effort was comfortably saved by Jacobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another chance went begging for the Philippines side in the 68th minute when Touray slipped a fine pass through to Ceesay, only for the ball to run beyond the forward\u2019s reach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Borneo FC Samarinda staged a brilliant comeback to seal their place in the AFC Challenge League knockout stage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[430],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t