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Soccer-Late Barrow strike ends Gamba's Asian Champions League hopes

By Michael Church

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Mo Barrow came off the bench to score two minutes from fulltime and earn Jeonbuk Motors a 2-1 win over Gamba Osaka in Group H of the Asian Champions League in Tashkent on Saturday, ending the Japanese club's hopes of advancing to the last 16.

The former Swansea City striker raced through the middle of the defence before slotting into the corner after Gamba had pushed forward looking for the win they needed to stay alive in the competition.

Gamba fought back after going behind to an early penalty from Brazilian striker Gustavo, who scored from the spot in the sixth minute after Kim Young-gwon had brought down Park Jin-seong.

Eight minutes into the second half, the 2008 winners pulled level when Patric thumped a bouncing ball past Lee Bum-young from a tight angle to reignite Gamba's challenge.

But with time ticking down and Gamba needing all three points to claim one of the three spots available for runners-up in the next round, Jeonbuk capitalised to secure the win when Barrow struck.

Jeonbuk were already confirmed as Group H winners ahead of the game and had sealed a place in the next round alongside Japanese trio Nagoya Grampus, Kawasaki Frontale and Cerezo Osaka.

Defending champions Ulsan Hyundai and Thailand's BG Pathum United have also qualified and will face off on Sunday to determine which of the two clubs wins Group F.

Three-time champions Pohang Steelers have also secured one of the runners-up slots after their second place finish in Group G behind Nagoya.

One berth remains to be filled in the last 16 and South Korea's Daegu FC take on United City FC from the Philippines on Sunday knowing they need to win to qualify ahead of Group J runners-up Kitchee from Hong Kong.

Matches in the eastern half of the Asian Champions League have been played in centralised biosecure hubs in Thailand and Uzbekistan after group games in the west of the continent were completed in April.

The round of 16 will be played from Sept. 14-16 while the quarter-finals and semi-finals will be held in mid-October. The final is slated to be played on Nov. 23.

(Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Toby Davis)