Harry Kewell said his 10-man Yokohama F-Marinos “got our rewards” by reaching the Asian Champions League semi-finals Wednesday with a 3-1 aggregate win over China’s Shandong Taishan.
The Japanese side won their quarter-final second leg 1-0 at Yokohama International Stadium to set up a showdown with South Korea’s two-time Asian champions Ulsan next month.
Yokohama faced a tense second half when Katsuya Nagato was sent off two minutes after the break with his team only a goal ahead on aggregate.
But Anderson Lopes scored in the 75th minute to settle their nerves and take them comfortably into their first Champions League semi-final.
Former Leeds and Liverpool forward Kewell, who replaced fellow Australian Kevin Muscat as Yokohama coach at the start of the year, said the red card did not change his team’s attacking intentions.
“Shandong, for all their experience, left the wide areas quite open, and with our pace and our energy we were going to exploit that,” he said.
“Whether we had 11 men on the park or 10, we were going to play that way anyway.
“I felt we got our rewards.”
Yokohama were reduced to 10 men when Nagato was shown a second yellow card for a foul on defender Tong Lei.
Kewell said he had “seen great managers” react to red cards throughout his playing career and was determined not to rush his response.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to sit back, don’t let emotions get in the way, think about the situation,” he said.
“Then you can think clearly and make the right decision for the team.”
Shandong also finished the game with 10 men after Gao Zhunyi was sent off in the 83rd minute.
Yokohama took a two-goal lead in last week’s quarter-final first leg in China but conceded in the 91st minute to let Shandong back into contention.
Kewell said his team had to “go all out” to safely negotiate the second leg.
“I know through personal experiences that this is a tough competition,” said the 45-year-old.
“Whether it’s in Europe or Asia, it does not matter — a Champions League is a Champions League, and it’s very difficult to progress to the final stages.
“You have to be at your very best.”
