Ulsan Hyundai Face Melbourne Victory in AFC Champions League Round 16

Doha, December 05 (QNA) - Ulsan Hyundai FC will be chasing more of the same when they face Australia's Melbourne Victory in the AFC Champions League Round of 16 at Education City Stadium on Sunday. Frustrated to have narrowly missed out on domestic league and cup honours, Kim Do-hoon's side have been untouchable in Doha, winning all five matches since arriving in the Qatari capital to register a total 16 points from six matches. Such was their dominance of Group F that an Ulsan outfit featuring just one of the 11 players from their previous outing eased to a 4-1 win over Shanghai Shenhua on Thursday, in a match where the Chinese side were fighting to stay alive in the tournament. Head coach Kim Do-hoon believes Ulsan Hyundai FC will advance despite the challenge Melbourne Victory will pose. "I think the fact that Melbourne Victory qualified for the Round of 16 means they are strong enough and that they have the quality to be here. I noticed that they are very organized and rather than relying on individuals, they benefit from a strong organisation as a team," said Kim. While Junior Negrao stood out by scoring 26 times in the K League this season, the goals have been coming from everywhere in Asia. Ulsan have netted a tournament-high 14, with four-goal midfielder Yoon Bit-garam one of four players in the squad to have found the back of the net multiple times in the group stage. That impressive array of attacking weapons gives the Korean side confidence they can end a run of Round of 16 defeats which has seen them exit the competition in the past two seasons. The history that is in Ulsan's favour comes from their previous meetings with Melbourne, with the Koreans winning 6-2 and drawing 3-3 in the group stage in 2018. While some of Ulsans key personnel remain at the club, including head coach Kim and starting striker Junior, it is a new-look Melbourne Victory which has defied all expectations to reach the knockout stage. In pre-season following a dismal 2019-20 league campaign, and with a string of new signings who had barely met let alone played top level competitive football together prior to the tournament, they have progressed to be the last Australian team standing in the competition. Assistant coach Steve Kean said, despite the knockout nature of Melbourne Victory's previous outing against FC Seoul, they would be mentally ready to do it all again on Sunday. "I think if (we face) a difficulty, it won't be through effort or application. I think the biggest challenge is going to be physically. I think weve shown that, step by step, the players have done amazingly well to keep on producing and keep on getting better, and I dont think thats going to change," said Kean. "We just hope that our levels can stay at a level where we can continue to produce and stay concentrated. The game that was set out was executed perfectly well in the last game, and the only danger I don't think it will be any other thing will be size of the physical ask against a very good, in-form team." Thursdays 2-1 win against FC Seoul was the crucial result in driving Victory to the knockout stage, with early goals from Marco Rojas and Jake Brimmer paving the way before the four-time A-League champions had to weather a second-half storm. Now in his third stint at the club, Rojas appears crucial to Victory's chances. The 29-year-old New Zealand international has played a major role in attack for the Australian side, who became the first team to advance from a standard six-match group stage since IR Iran's Zobahan in 2018. Victory have reached the Round of 16 once before, losing to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in 2016, and a win against Ulsan would make them the first Australian quarter-finalists since Western Sydney Wanderers, who went on to win the competition in 2014. (QNA)