By REDintern Kenneth Tan

Henan, China, Wednesday, February 24, 2010 – Under chilly conditions and in front of nearly 21,000 spectators, reigning S. League champions SAFFC clinched a creditable point against China's Henan Jianye by holding them to a goalless draw in their first AFC Champions League (ACL) Group G football match.

The ACL is the premier Asian club football tournament hosted annually by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is contested by the top 32 club teams from the top 10 leagues within the region. The 32 teams are divided into groups of four each and the top two teams in each group will qualify for the knockout stages.

SAFFC have been drawn into Group G together with Japan's Gamba Osaka, Korea's Suwon Bluewings and China's Henan Jianye and will face off with each side on a home-and-away basis.

SAFFC qualified for the ACL for the second year running after going through two playoff qualifiers, while Henan Jianye, who are making their debut in this competition, qualified by finishing runners-up in the Chinese Super League.

The draw was achieved after enduring barrage after barrage of attacks from the Chinese side. The dominance of Henan was evident as the hosts fired 18 shots in total compared to SAFFC's tally of four.

SAFFC, who were missing left-back Shaiful Esah and midfielder John Wilkinson through injuries, set out to sit back and contain the pressure coming from Henan. They succeeded through a mixture of good luck and great goalkeeping.

The woodwork came to the Warriors' rescue three times in the match. Besides that, goalkeeper Shahril Jantan also played a blinder to secure the draw, making several crucial saves to keep the Warriors in the game. Notable saves include a point-blank reflex save from a header from six yards out by Henan striker Amadou Diallo, and an incredible double save which saw him push away Diallo's shot and fellow Henan striker Netto's follow up inside the Warriors' box.

The point gained meant SAFFC have already equalled last year's tally of one point from six games, which was clinched via a 1-1 draw against Shanghai Shenhua at home last May.

According to SAFFC head coach Richard Bok, he was very satisfied with his team's showing.

“We came here with the aim of getting a point and we did it. When you (the opponents) don’t score, you don’t win. Therefore our strategy tonight was to soak and counter attack," said coach Bok.

SAFFC captain Shahril Jantan echoed his coach's thoughts.

“The team played according to plan. We stayed compact throughout the game and managed to frustrate the opponents.”

In the other Group G game, Suwon Bluewings played out a 0-0 stalemate on their home ground against Gamba Osaka.

SAFFC will next take on the Korean powerhouse Suwon Bluewings in a home game at Jalan Besar Stadium on Wednesday, March 10th. The two teams also faced each other in last season's group stage phase, with Suwon going home 2-0 winners at the ground.

I urge all you Singaporean football supporters to turn up at the stadium and support the Warriors on their course to rewrite history on 10 March!

SAFFC' starting lineup against Henan: Shahril Jantan (GK, captain), Hafiz Osman, Daniel Bennett, Ivan Lovric, Noh Rahman, Niklas Sandberg, Rhysh Roshan Rai, Taisuke Akiyoshi, Ahmad Latiff, Indra Sahdan, Federico Martinez.

Video highlights from the game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzowXZnnp7U

SAFFC ACL Fixture Schedule

Henan Jianye 0 SAFFC 0
Wed, Feb 24, 2010
Hang Hai Stadium

SAFFC vs Suwon Bluewings (Korea)
Wed, Mar 10, 2010, 7.30pm
Jalan Besar Stadium

SAFFC vs Gamba Osaka (Japan)
Tue, Mar 23, 2010, 7.30pm
Jalan Besar Stadium

Gamba Osaka vs SAFFC
Wed, Mar 31, 2010
Expo ’70 Stadium

SAFFC vs Henan Jianye (China)
Tue, Apr 13, 2010, 7.30pm
Jalan Besar Stadium

Suwon Bluewings vs SAFFC
Tue, Apr 27, 2010
Suwon World Cup Stadium