Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Nagoya Grampus Eight draw 1-1 with Newcastle

Nagoya Grampus Eight and Newcastle drew 1-1 in their Asian Champions League Group E match in Nagoya, Japan, this evening.

The Australians took the lead in the 9th minute when Marko Jesic had a shot turned against the post by the keeper and Tarek Elrich slotted home the rebound.

Elrich should have grabbed a second when a terrible defensive error by Nagoya let Sasho Petrovski in. He squared the ball to the unmarked Elrich, who mis-kicked with the goal beckoning.

Nagoya dominated first-half possession (59% to 41%), but managed only one shot to Newcastle's seven.

Nagoya equalised early in the second half with a marvellous free kick by Japan international, Keiji Tamada, who had come on as a substitute at half-time.

Nagoya had 69% of the possession overall and Newcastle 31%, while the home side managed only six shots at goal compared to Newcastle's ten.

Nagoya are coached by the former captain of Yugoslavia, Dragan Stojkovic, who was also a player with Nagoya when Arsene Wenger was their manager.

Tasmanian fans may recall that Nagoya Grampus Eight, with Gary Lineker in the team, played Tasmania at North Hobart and won 3-0 in 1993, when the Japanese club held a one-month pre-season training camp in Hobart.

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