Goals from Zou Jie and Zhang Yaokun gave Dalian Shide a 2-0 home victory over Gamba Osaka in Matchday 4 of the AFC Champions league.
Dalian avenged their Matchday 3 defeat at the hands of the Japanese outfit with goals in either half and share top Group E spot with Chonbuk Motors, who beat Da Nang.
Zou Jie gave the CSL champions an 18th-minute lead with a close-range shot from Hu Zhaojun's free kick, with Zhang Yaokun heading home a Zoran Jankovic free kick three minutes after the restart.
Dalian face lowly Da Nang in Matchday 5 on May 3. Victory against the Vietnamese side will leave Tumbakovic's men needing a draw from their final group match against Chonbuk to be sure of a place in the first knockout round.
Dalian Shide: Chen Dong; Liu Yu, Ji Mingyi, Zhang Yaokun, Wang Sheng; Quan Lei, Zhao Xuri, Hu Zhaojun, Yan Song (Liu Cheng 85'); Zoran Jankovic (Zhang Peng 80'), Zou Jie
Gamba Osaka: Yosuke Fujigaya; Sidiclei, Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, Satoshi Yamaguchi; Akira Kaji, Yasuhito Endo, Akihiro Lenaga, Hideo Hashimoto, Fernandinho (Satoshi Nakayama 64'); Masafumi Maeda (Ryuji Bando 60'), Magno Alves
Group E results & fixtures:
Matchday 1:
8 March: Da Nang 0-2 Dalian
8 March: Chonbuk 3-2 Gamba
Matchday 2:
22 March: Dalian 1-0 Chonbuk
22 March: Gamba 15-0 Da Nang
Matchday 3:
12 April: Gamba 3-0 Dalian
12 April: Chonbuk 3-0 Da Nang
Matchday 4:
26 April: Da Nang 0-1 Chonbuk
26 April: Dalian 2-0 Gamba
Matchday 5:
3 May: Gamba v Chonbuk
3 May: Dalian v Da Nang
Matchday 6:
17 May: Da Nang v Gamba
17 May: Chonbuk v Dalian
Standings after Matchday 3:
Dalian 9
Chonbuk 9
Gamba 6
Da Nang 0
(Sinosoc.com April 27, 2006)