Adelaide United FC has fought out a 0-0 draw against Changchun Yatai in an energy charged encounter at Hindmarsh Stadium in Match 2 of the AFC Champions League 2008.

In a match that produced limited clear cut chances, United was made to settle for a point by a highly organised and physically imposing Changchun outfit.

The result leaves Adelaide United on top of Group E regardless of the score in the other Group E match and still has The Reds in a solid position to try and finish in the vital top spot.

The opening half was an even affair, the Chinese champions quickly settling into the conditions as United tried to apply early pressure. Changchun did their homework closely marking United playmaker Diego in central midfield, The Reds struggling to link up attacking moves into the attacking third.

A Jason Spagnuolo free kick from the left into a crowded penalty area in the 8th minute, could not find its way over the line before Yatai’s Tianbao Cao fired narrowly wide of the post at the other end.

In the 30th minute Nathan Burns went close to scoring but his well timed volley was blocked, Changchun captain Samuel Caballero running a tight back four in defence.

The best chance of the half came from the visitors in the 32nd minute when Zadi Dah just missed as he tried to curl a shot around United keeper Eugene Galekovic from the edge of the penalty area.

It was even at the break with the first half providing few chance for either side, United Coach Aurelio Vidmar told his players to keep battling away, and early in the second half , Burns nearly gave The Reds the lead when he got on the end of a long Cassio throw forcing a remarkable reflex save from Tianhe Mi.

An Angelo Costanzo blunder in United’s penalty area shortly after, nearly gave Changchun the lead but for some last ditch defending, kept the score 0-0.

A dangerous Changchun free kick was then well held by Galekovic, as the urgency from both sides began to lift.

Then on the hour mark Diego provided the highlight of the match when he latched onto a left footed volley from 30 metres that smashed onto the crossbar.

Diego’s effort seemed to bring the crowd and United to life as for the next 10 minutes The Reds tried to crack open a very organised Yatai defence.

However, United could not find the back of the net as Changchun smartly ran down the clock and valuable minutes ticked away.

There was some late drama when Yatai keeper received a yellow card for diving when he went down in the box after Costanzo brushed past him, but despite United’s best efforts, the match finished goalless.

The AFC Champions League now goes into a three week break before United heads to Vietnam to face Binh Duong, who was beaten at home by the Pohang Steelers 4-1 in the other Group E match. Match Day 3 is on April 9.

Match Details
Adelaide United (AUS) 0
Changchun Yatai (CHN) 0

Crowd: 10,510 @ Hindmarsh Stadium
Referee: Hiroyoshi Takayama (Japan)

Adelaide United: 30.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk), 2.Richie ALAGICH (23.Dez GIRALDI 82’), 4.Angelo COSTANZO, 6.CASSIO, 7.Lucas PANTELIS, 10.Nathan BURNS, 11.Bruce DJITE, 13.Travis DODD (Captain), 18.Robert CORNTHWAITE, 21.Jason SPAGNUOLO (14.Shaun ONTONG 75’), 22.DIEGO.
Substitutes Not Used: 1.Daniel BELTRAME, 3.Milan SUSAK, 12.Matthew MULLEN.
Yellow Cards: Robert Cornthwaite 35’.

Changchun Yatai: 28.MI TIANHE, 2.WANG Wanpeng, 4.Jorge Samuel CABALLERO (Captain), 5.MELKAM Chinwuzo Gabriel, 10.DAH Zadi Guillaume, 12.CUI Wei, 14.CAO Tianbao (7.JIANG Pengxiang 59’ (15.YANG Haibo 70’)), 17.HUANG Jie (3.TANG Jing 85’), 23.ZHANG Xiaofei, 24.YAN Feng, 25.LU Jianjun.
Substitutes Not Used: 20.LIU Chengyu, 21.LIU Weidong, 22.WANG Peng, 26.WANG Bo.
Yellow Cards: Yang Haibo 82’, Yan Feng 85’, Caballero 86’, Mi Tianhe 90’.