TOKYO: Domestic title-holders Vissel Kobe beat South Korea's Gwangju FC 2-0 at the top of the Asian Champions League Elite group stage Tuesday on a good night for Japanese teams.
Kawasaki Frontale scored three times in the first half at home on the way to a comprehensive 3-1 victory over newly crowned Chinese champions Shanghai Port.
Akihiro Ienaga, Yusuke Segawa and Sai van Wermeskerken were on the scoresheet.
Matias Vargas pulled back a consolation for Port, who pipped rivals Shanghai Shenhua by a point to win the Chinese Super League on Saturday.
In Kobe, the hosts and J. League champions took the lead in first-half injury time when Taisei Miyashiro buried his penalty following a handball in the box.
Nine minutes after the break, Daiju Sasaki pounced from close range with a header to double the hosts' advantage.
The deserved victory left Vissel top of the 12 teams in the East zone of Asia's premier club competition with three wins and a draw. Gwangju dropped to second.
The top eight reach the next phase.
Central Coast Mariners scored deep in injury time as they roared back to grab a 2-2 home draw with Shanghai Shenhua.
The Australians finally got a point on the board in the group stage after four matches.
They did it in the most dramatic fashion, with Bailey Brandtman poking home in the 95th minute, the hosts having been 2-0 down.
Shenhua, supported by nearly 1,000 away fans in Gosford, took the lead five minutes after the break through the Brazilian Andre Luis.
Substitute Yu Hanchao stroked the ball into the same bottom corner to make it 2-0.
With 15 minutes left, Sabit Ngor rounded the Shenhua goalkeeper for 2-1, before Brandtman popped up in the final minute to earn the Australians a point.
That left Shenhua third in the group. The Mariners are one off bottom.
Later Tuesday, Johor Darul Ta'zim host another Korean side in Ulsan, who are last in the standings.
In the West zone, Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr face defending champions Al Ain of the UAE in Riyadh in the biggest match of the day. - AFP