A double from second half substitute Kim Hyeung-bum earned Chonbuk Hyundai Motors all three points as the South Korean FA Cup holders twice came from behind to beat Gamba Osaka of Japan 3-2 in their Group E AFC Champions League clash at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium on Wednesday.

Kim came off the bench in the 62nd minute with the home side trailing 2-1 and it turned out to be a tactical masterstroke from Chonbuk head coach Choi Kang-hee as the 22-year-old added to a 30th minute Milton Rodriguez penalty after a goal either side of half-time from former Motor Magno Alves and Yasuhito Endo.

The first chance of a pedestrian first half fell to Chonbuk's Ze Carlo but the legs of Gamba skipper Satoshi Yamaguchi took the sting out of the Brazilian's fifth minute shot and the ball was comfortably gathered by Yosuke Fujigaya.

Ten minutes after a tame shot from Takahiro Futagawa was easily held by Chonbuk keeper Lee Kwang-suk, the visitors took the lead and it was the Gamba midfielder who played the final pass for an unmarked Endo to open the scoring.

National team defender Akira Kaji fed the ball to lively Brazilian playmaker Fernandinho who weaved his way across the Chonbuk penalty box before passing to Futagawa, who in turn picked out Endo with a perfectly weighted angled pass.

With the Chonbuk right back AWOL, the 26-year-old had ample time and space to sweep the ball first time past the flailing left hand of Lee.

Gamba were in control and the home side seemed bereft of attacking ideas but they managed to level the tie on the half hour mark from the penalty spot, awarded when Milton Rodriguez was bundled over in the box by Tomokazu Myojin following Botti's intelligently taken quick free-kick.

Rodriguez, who had been an injury doubt before the game, dispatched the spot-kick confidently and although Fujigaya guessed the right way, the Colombian's low drive had enough pace to beat the Gamba keeper low at his right hand post.

Six minutes after the interval Fujigaya's left post came Gamba's rescue after it kept out Rodriguez's curling 25-yard free-kick with the 25-year-old custodian was beaten by the power and accuracy of the South American's swerving set-piece.

The Korean FA Cup champions were made to pay for the miss seven minutes later when Magno Alves, playing against his former employers, made it 2-1 to Gamba although much of the credit must go to Endo, whose exquisite pass through the legs of midfielder Kim Jung-kyum sprung the offside trap superbly.

Chonbuk coach Choi Kang-hee replaced skipper Kim Hyun-sun with Kim Hyeung-bum in the 62nd minute and his counterpart Akira Nishino responded 50 seconds later when Kaji made way for Tsuneyasu Miyamoto and Fernandinho with Masafumi Maeda.

Choi's substitution turned out to be a tactical masterstroke as Kim fired Chonbuk level in the 71st minute after the 22-year-old midfielder was picked out on the right side of the Gamba penalty box by Ze Carlo.

The two players had a hand in Chonbuk's winning goal when Ze Carlo was fouled on the edge of the Gamba box in the 84th minute allowing Kim to curl home the resulting free-kick superbly.

Chonbuk look to maintain winning ways when they travel to China to take on Dalian Shide on March 22 while Gamba and Da Nang wil be chasing their first win when they square off in Osaka on the same day.

Source: Xinhua