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| Mark Hartmann won it for United Clark. AFC |
MANILA--In his first match since getting his Filipino citizenship, Bienve Maranon was on the verge of seeing his "welcome party" getting spoiled early on.
But with and Mark Hartmann around, United Clark came back and broke through.
The now Angeles-based team became the Filipino football club to take all three points in an AFC Champions League group stage match as it turned back Beijing, 3-2, in Group I play at the Lokomotiv Stadium in Tashkent on Wednesday night.
In the match pitting the two remaining winless clubs in the said group, Beijing struck first at the blink of an eye when Jiang Wenhao quickly stepped on the gas off a steal and scored just seconds in.
In the fourth minute, Leng Jixuan played through United Clark keeper Anthony Pinthus and a defender before making it 2-0 for Beijing.
United Clark got one back when Hartmann scored on a free kick in the 60th minute.
Maranon, the AFC Cup all-time leading scorer, then got his first Champions League goal off a loose ball scramble to tie it up at two apiece in the 69th minute.
Leng tried to give Beijing the lead back, but his shot hit the post, setting up Hartmann's counter attack that put United Clark ahead in the 80th minute.
United Clark moved up to third place in Group I with four points to show even as it wraps up its campaign against playoff-bound Daegu on Sunday night.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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