Australian Harry Kewell's managing debut with Yokohama F Marinos ended in a 2-2 draw with Bangkok United in the first leg of their Asian Champions League round-of-16 clash Wednesday.
Trailing 2-1 since the first half, Bangkok United equalized through an epic effort from Mahmoud Eid in added time at Thammasat Stadium. Eid muscled his way to the edge of the area, lost the ball and was knocked to the turf before regaining his feet and heading in a cross.
The visitors took a 2-0 lead on goals by Elber and Kota Watanabe before Bangkok pulled one back through dangerous right back Nitipong Selanon just after the half-hour mark.
Elber opened the scoring from a corner that neither side managed to control. With his back to the goal, the Brazilian forward side-footed the loose bouncing ball into the goal.
A few minutes later, a long ball caught out the Bangkok defense as Ren Kato broke down the left and crossed into the box. Unmarked, Watanabe scored from point-blank range when Anderson Lopes, the cross' target, missed the ball as he collided with a defender.
"It was a tough environment because of the climate and the condition of the pitch, but we just have to pull together and get the win in the return leg at home," Watanabe said.
Selanon got the hosts on the scoreboard by making one defender miss before scoring between keeper William Popp's legs.
The free-flowing game ended in pushing and shoving, with Marinos defender Ken Matsubara getting sent off in the final seconds. Having just been flattened by a tackle by Bangkok's Vander Luis, Matsubara returned the favor by knocking the Brazilian off his feet and saw red for his effort.
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