CAHN Stun Shanghai Port as Newcastle Jets Fall to Kyoto in ACL Elite

Defensive lapses define two contrasting results

Two contrasting AFC Champions League Elite results showed how quickly a match can turn when defensive errors meet sustained pressure. CAHN ended Shanghai Port’s unbeaten run with a 3-2 win, while Kyoto Sanga erased Newcastle Jets’ 2-0 lead and finished with a 5-2 victory.

There’s a shared lesson here: a promising start can count for little if a team can’t protect its shape and respond when the momentum shifts. The matches unfolded differently, but both left the losing side with questions about how it managed key moments.

CAHN hand Shanghai Port a first defeat in 12 games

Shanghai Port twice came back from behind against Vietnamese champions CAHN, but Brayan Perea’s 69th-minute goal settled a 3-2 match in Shanghai on Tuesday. Stefan Mauk, the former Adelaide United captain, started for the visitors, who turned an end-to-end contest into their first win of the campaign.

The defeat ended Port’s 12-game unbeaten stretch across all competitions. The three-time reigning Chinese Super League champions have four points after three ACL Elite matchdays, while CAHN claimed their first points after opening with two defeats. Those records make the result more than a single upset: it changes the early shape of both clubs’ campaigns.

Coach Kevin Muscat took responsibility for rotating his lineup, saying he thought the team needed “some freshness.” That explanation points to a familiar coaching trade-off. Rotation can keep players fresh across a crowded schedule, but changes can also disrupt the combinations and habits a team relies on when a match becomes difficult.

Muscat described the contest as “more reflective of boxing than football,” while praising his players for staying disciplined and trying to play. Port created chances and scored twice, he said, but made uncharacteristic errors that led to goals. The numbers of goals scored show the team remained dangerous; the decisive issue was that it couldn’t control the damage at the other end. That’s a costly distinction.

Tulio turns Kyoto’s match against Newcastle

Newcastle Jets led 2-0 in Japan, yet Kyoto Sanga scored five unanswered goals to complete a comeback. The pivotal spell came from Marco Tulio, the former Central Coast Mariners forward who joined Kyoto during the club’s treble-winning 2023-24 campaign. Kyoto’s response was emphatic, but the scale of the turnaround also reflects how much the Jets lost control after a strong start.

Patrick Wood converted penalties in the 13th minute and second-minute stoppage time to put Newcastle in command. Hisashi Tawiah cut the deficit just before half-time, turning in a Takaaki Shichi corner. That goal gave Kyoto a foothold before the break and changed the task facing both teams: the hosts had a reason to press, while Newcastle needed to hold its composure.

Tulio then swung the match in five second-half minutes. In the 56th, he curled a low free kick around two kneeling teammates and into the far corner, possibly with a touch from Alex Negueba. Four minutes later, Tulio volleyed in Negueba’s cross to put Kyoto ahead. The sequence was decisive, and it exposed a defensive response that couldn’t recover once the lead disappeared.

And yet, the Jets had chances to keep the scoreline closer. James Delianov made several saves as Newcastle struggled to contain the hosts, while Rafael Elias extended Kyoto’s advantage in the 67th minute and Negueba added a fifth in the 84th. Shichi had conceded both Newcastle penalties, awarded after VAR reviews. The match swung from set-piece vulnerability at one end to attacking fluency at the other.

Newcastle’s group campaign under pressure

Newcastle have lost their first three matches in the East region by a combined 15-4 and sit bottom of the standings. They return to A-League Men action against Wellington on Saturday. A poor start leaves little room for error in a competition where the top eight East region clubs advance to meet the top eight from the West region in the last 16.

Coach Mark Milligan called the match “a game of two halves,” pointing to a strong opening period before describing the goals conceded as naïve. He said the team had set out to win against a strong opponent, but “it wasn’t our night tonight.” His assessment captures both sides of the performance: the opening showed the Jets could threaten Kyoto, while the collapse showed that intent alone won’t carry a team through a full match.

For players and staff, the next challenge is practical: turn a promising half into a repeatable performance, with better control when opponents build pressure. If you’re following Newcastle, the first two goals offer some encouragement, but the 15 goals conceded across three matches are harder to dismiss. A response in domestic competition won’t erase the continental results, though it can show whether the team has learned from them.

The East region has 16 clubs, and its top eight advance to the last 16 against the West region’s top eight. Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim and Japan’s Vissel Kobe also won on Tuesday. For Newcastle, carrying the intent of that first half into a full match is now the immediate test (and this is the part most people overlook).

Kyoto’s win offers a sharper reminder of how quickly attacking pressure can punish a team that loses its defensive footing. A comeback can look like a story of individual brilliance, and Tulio’s contribution deserves attention. But the broader point is simpler: early control only matters if a side can keep its decisions sound when the match changes. Then the work begins.