Salman Al-Faraj (R) of Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal fights for the ball with Musaab Khidir of Qatar's Al-Sadd during their AFC Champions League match at Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha Wednesday. — Reuters
SYDNEY — A hat trick from record signing Ricardo Goulart held off strong-finishing defending champion Western Sydney Wanderers and gave Guangzhou Evergrande a 3-2 win in the AFC Champions League Wednesday. Goulart was the difference for new boss Fabio Cannavaro's big-spending Chinese Super League champion, which looked set for a comfortable win with a 3-1 lead and 25 minutes left in Sydney. But a lengthy delay to treat stricken goalkeeper Zeng Cheng added 17 minutes' stoppage time to the game and gave the home side a chance to hit back. A goal in stoppage time by Dutch substitute Romeo Castelen gave the Wanderers a chance to snatch a last-ditch draw. But the tiring Guangzhou players hung on for a significant away victory to keep it unbeaten and at the top of the Group H standings. It was only the Wanderers' second loss at home in the ACL, following its 1-3 defeat to South Korea's Ulsan Hyundai in last year's championship season. Goulart put Guangzhou Evergrande ahead in the 19th minute after neat lead-up work from fellow Brazilian Elkeson and Gao Lin. Goulart, who scored the winner for the 2013 ACL champion last week over FC Seoul, drilled home after Elkeson's back header and a pass from Gao. There was lingering feeling from the last time the two teams met in a 2-1 Wanderers win in Sydney in the quarterfinals last year. Iacopo La Rocca made a heavy challenge on Zou Zheng, who fell to the ground clutching his ankle. La Rocca equalized for the home side 12 minutes after the resumption with a near-post header off a corner, but within a minute Goulart put Guangzhou back in front with his second goal. Goulart's slick finish off Gao Lin's cross punished Wanderers for a lack of concentration immediately after their equalizer. Wanderers paid for more slack defending when Gao's cross was only played into the path of Goulart, who rammed home for his hat trick on 65 minutes. Guangzhou lost goalkeeper Zeng Cheng after a sickening head clash with South Korean teammate Kim Young-Gwon, and there was a delay of 15 minutes before Cheng was stretchered off the field in a neck brace. He was later reported to have suffered a broken cheekbone. The match spilt over into extended stoppage time because of the Cheng injury delay. Castelen pulled a goal back in the fourth minute of stoppage time with a free header inside the box to fire up the home supporters. But Guangzhou held firm to stay unbeaten in the Asian competition. In the other Group H encounter, FC Seoul of South Korea edged Kashima Antlers of Japan 1-0. In Group C, Lokomotiv of Uzbekistan drew with Foolad Khouzestan of Iran 1-1, while in Group G, Brisbane Roar of Australia beat Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan 1-0. In the late matches: Beijing Guoan of China beat Suwon Bluewings of South Korea 1-0, Tractor Sazi of Iran downed Al-Ahli of UAE 1-0 and Al-Sadd of Qatar edged Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia 1-0. Salman wins unopposed Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa of Bahrain is poised to retain his position as head of Asian football for another four years as no one decided to oppose him at next month's Asian Football Confederation (AFC) elections. Along with the Asian Football Confederation presidency, Sheikh Salman will also secure himself a term as vice president of soccer's world governing body FIFA, replacing Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, who is challenging Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency. Seven candidates are, meanwhile, competing for three vacant Asia seats on FIFA's executive committee. The AFC confirmed the candidates, including Olympic power broker Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah of Kuwait, Chung Mong-gyu of South Korea, whose family owns World Cup sponsor Hyundai, and long-time incumbent Worawi Makudi of Thailand. The other candidates are: Tengku Abdullah, Malaysia; Kohzo Tashima, Japan; Saoud Al Mohannadi, Qatar; and Khalid Al Busaidi, Oman. — Agencies
