United City stuns Beijing for first AFC Champions League win by Pinoy club

MANILA, Philippines – United City FC made history on Thursday after mounting a stunning comeback over Chinese champs Beijing Guoan in the AFC Champions League Group Stage, 3-2, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The win, which they claimed after going down 0-2 in the opening half of the fixture, marked the first victory by a Philippine club in the elite regional competition.

United City looked poised for another beating when Jiang Wenhao and Leng Jixuan put the Chinese side up 2-0 in just the first four minutes of the game.

But the Philippines Football League champions were not deterred as they kept their foot on the gas pedal.

Mark Hartmann was the first to find the back of the net in the 59th minute to put United City on the board.

Newly naturalized Filipino Bienvenido Maranon equalized just 10 minutes later for his first goal as a Filipino citizen.

Hartmann then completed the comeback with a goal in the 80th minute.

The win by the Filipinos avenged a draw against the Beijing side in their first meeting in the Champions League.

United City remains in third place in Group I, though, with their four points after suffering two losses against Kawasaki Frontale and another against Daegu FC of Korea.

UCFC close their first-ever AFC Champions League campaign against Daegu FC on Sunday.

Fellow Filipino club Kaya FC Iloilo has yet to tally a win of their own and also play their final game of the Champions League on Sunday against Viettel FC.