With a 2-1 victory at home in the first leg, Kawasaki Frontale travelled to Nagoya needing only a draw to advance to the semifinals in AFC Champions League action. Unfortunately, they weren't up to the task, giving up 2 first-half goals to fall behind 3-2 in the aggregate. Chong Tese got one back before the end of the half.
With no goals for most of the second half, it looked like extra time would decide things, but Joshua Kennedy scored a late marker to give Grampus a 3-1 victory and the 4-3 aggregate to send them on to the next round. They will play Saudi side Al Ittihad in the semifinals. The other match features Korean club Pohang Steelers against Umm-Salal. The semi-finals are played on October 21st and 28th.
I'm a bit disappointed that Frontale is out; I was hoping to see a semi-final game down in Todoroki but it's not going to happen. I'll still go to the championship game regardless of who is playing, but certainly having Nagoya in the final will make it more interesting for Japanese soccer fans.
Best,
Sean
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