Soccer-The week in Asian football

Talking points for the week in Asian football: KOROKI STRIKE EARNS URAWA ASIAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ADVANTAGE Urawa Red Diamonds have the advantage heading into the second leg of the Asian Champions League final after the Japanese side secured a 1-1 draw with defending champions Al Hilal in Riyadh on Saturday. Salem Al Dawsari gave the Saudis the lead in the 13th minute at a sold-out King Fahd International Stadium before Shinzo Koroki levelled eight minutes into the second half.

Talking points for the week in Asian football:

KOROKI STRIKE EARNS URAWA ASIAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ADVANTAGE Urawa Red Diamonds have the advantage heading into the second leg of the Asian Champions League final after the Japanese side secured a 1-1 draw with defending champions Al Hilal in Riyadh on Saturday.

Salem Al Dawsari gave the Saudis the lead in the 13th minute at a sold-out King Fahd International Stadium before Shinzo Koroki levelled eight minutes into the second half. Al Dawsari was sent off four minutes from time after lashing out at Ken Iwao and will miss the second leg at Saitama Stadium outside Tokyo on Saturday.

ZAWADA GOAL EARNS WELLINGTON FINAL A-LEAGUE PLAYOFF SPOT Wellington Phoenix beat bottom side Macarthur FC 1-0 on Sunday in the last round of the A-League's regular campaign to complete the six-team line-up for the post-season finals.

Oskar Zawada's 11th minute goal was enough to earn Ufuk Talay's team the final berth in the playoffs, where they join table-toppers Melbourne City as well as Central Coast Mariners, Adelaide United, Western Sydney Wanderers and Sydney FC. City and Mariners progress directly to the semi-finals while Western Sydney Wanderers will host crosstown rivals Sydney FC for a place in the last four. Wellington will travel to take on Adelaide United.

KOBE INCREASE J.LEAGUE ADVANTAGE AS LEADERS DOWN SHONAN J.League leaders Vissel Kobe bounced back from last week's loss to Yokohama F Marinos by beating Shonan Bellmare 2-0 on Saturday.

Ryo Hatsuse powered a 30-yard free kick into the top corner in the 21st minute to put Kobe in front before Hotaru Yamaguchi made the points safe 10 minutes from time as Vissel moved two points clear. Sanfrecce Hiroshima moved into second with a 1-0 win over Cerezo Osaka, climbing over Nagoya Grampus after they were held 1-1 by defending champions Marinos, who are fourth.

JOO'S LATE WINNER EARNS ULSAN VICTORY Ulsan Hyundai maintained their six-point lead in Korea with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Gwangju FC.

Lee Kang-hyun put visiting Gwangju in front with eight minutes remaining but goals from Valeri Qazaishvili and Joo Min-kyu, who scored in added time, secured an eighth win in 10 games for Ulsan this season. FC Seoul moved into second with a 3-0 win over Suwon FC on Saturday and are now level on 19 points with Pohang Steelers, who lost 2-0 to Incheon United.

Nine-time champions Jeonbuk Motors continued their poor start to the season with a 1-0 defeat by Gangwon FC to sit 10th in the 12-team top flight. SHANGHAI DERBY ENDS IN DRAW

Yu Hanchao's second-half goal earned Shanghai Shenhua a 1-1 draw with neighbours Shanghai Port as both clubs saw their perfect records in the Chinese Super League end. Port took the lead when Wu Lei headed in Oscar's corner in the 29th minute before Yu levelled with a low strike in the 69th minute.

The Shanghai clubs lead the standings on 10 points while defending champions Wuhan Three Towns picked up their second consecutive win with a 3-0 victory over Qingdao Hainiu to move to within three points of the leaders.

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