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Soccer-Ulsan equal Asian Champions League run in rain-affected win

By Michael Church

(Reuters) - Torrential rain could not stop title holders Ulsan Hyundai from equalling their record run of consecutive wins in the Asian Champions League when Hong Myung-bo's side defeated Thailand's BG Pathum United 2-0 in Bangkok on Wednesday.

Play was halted for 30 minutes in the second half of the Group F clash due to a tropical rainstorm after Kim Min-jun and Lukas Hinterseer had given the South Koreans a two-goal lead by the interval.

Hong's side held on to take all three points to record their 11th win in a row in a sequence that includes the nine straight victories last year that took them to their second title.

Ulsan sit top with six points from their first two games and are three points clear of BG Pathum United and Vietnam's Viettel, who handed Kaya-Iloilo of the Philippines a 5-0 defeat.

The winners in each of the five groups being played in east Asia's biosecure hubs in Thailand and Uzbekistan will advance to the knockout rounds of the competition alongside the three runners-up with the best records.

In Group I in Tashkent, J-League champions Kawasaki Frontale thumped China's Beijing Guoan 7-0 which moves Toru Oniki's team three points clear at the top after two matches.

Goals from Tatsuya Hasegawa and Kento Tachibanada inside the first eight minutes put Kawasaki in control and Daiya Tono scored his side's third four minutes before the interval.

Kei Chinen added two in the second half, including one from the penalty spot, while Kazuya Yamamura and Yasuto Wakizaka were also on target against an inexperienced Beijing side.

Earlier, tournament debutants United City FC of the Philippines were thrashed 7-0 by South Korea's Daegu FC.

An Yong-woo scored twice while Cesinha, Edgar, Kim Jin-hyuk, Park Han-bin and Jung Chi-in were also on the scoresheet as Daegu picked up their first win of the 2021 campaign.

Teams in the west of the continent have already completed their group games and the last 16 will be played in September, with the final due to be played over two legs in late November.

(Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Ken Ferris)