Adelaide United held to 2-2 draw by Bunyodkor

Published Sep. 19, 2012 2:13 p.m. ET

foxsports

Uzbek club Bunyodkor rallied from two goals down to draw 2-2 with 10-man Adelaide United on Wednesday in the first leg of the Asian Champions League quarterfinals.

Adelaide, with goals from Iain Ramsay and Evan Kostopoulos, dominated early but the match shifted when defender Nigel Boogard was sent off just before halftime.

Bunyodkor scored from the resulting free kick and equalized in the 75th minute on substitute Shavkat Salomov's goal.

Boogard fell behind in a foot-race with forward Murzoev Kamoliddin as they chased a dangerous Bunyodkor long ball which neared Adelaide's defensive box. The Reds defender pulled at Kamoliddin's right arm, causing the Bunyodkor attacker to fall.

From the free kick, defender Anvar Gafurov curled a 25-meter left-footer into the top right corner of the net.

Adelaide assistant coach Michael Valkanis said Boogard's sending off ''changed the complexion of the game.''

''We had played extremely good, attacking football and possibly could have had four or five goals,'' Valkanis said. ''It changed our whole game plan.''

Bunyodkor coach Mirdjalal Kasimov agreed that Boogard's red card was a game-changer.

''The red card was a help for us,'' Kasimov said. ''Of course it is a plus that we scored two goals but it doesn't mean we can relax in Tashkent.''

The return match in Uzbekistan will be on Oct. 3.