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A poor start to its continental debut saw Persipura Jayapura get off on the wrong foot in the AFC Champions League.

Persipura, the Indonesian Super League champion, lost 4-1 to Jeonbuk Motors at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on Tuesday. Kim Seung-yong scored the opener for the 2009 K-League winner before Croatian striker Kruno Lovrek notched a hat-trick.

Ian Louis Kabes scored Persipura’s consolation goal as it sank to the bottom of Group F. The group’s other match saw J-League champion Kashima Antlers beat China’s Changchun Yatai 1-0 on a Koji Nakata header.

“What you saw in the first half was not Persipura,” coach Jacksen Tiago said after the match. “Players were nervous as it was their debut and played so bad. No aggresion, mobility — so disappointing.”

Despite playing in its second home away from home this season, Persipura was on the back foot from kickoff and did not manage a shot on goal in the first half. Sim Woo-yeon had the game’s first chance after just two minutes, sending his header straight at goalkeeper Jendri Pitoy, and the striker had a header hit the post three minutes later.

Persipura was playing at Gelora Bung Karno as its home ground, Mandala Stadium in Jayapura, Papua, is still undergoing renovations. It started the Super League season playing matches at Andi Mattalatta Stadium in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

Jeonbuk, which won the tournament in 2006, went in front from the penalty spot in the 16th minute. Singaporean referee Abdul Malik pointed to the spot after Luiz Henrique was brought down by Kabes inside the box. Kim Seung-yong converted the chance, beating Jendri twice after the referee ordered his first attempt retaken.

Lovrek doubled the lead 10 minutes later, finding the back of the net just one minute after replacing an injured Seo Jung-jin.

Persipura suffered another blow when star striker Boaz Solossa, whose club has been spotty this season after multiple injuries and national team call-ups, went off injured in the 43rd minute and was replaced by Stevie Bonsapia.

Jacksen said after the match that Boaz’s name was not on the team sheet until two hours prior to the match because of a hamstring injury.

“We needed him and the doctor gave the green light, but it turned out he didn’t play effectively and was still in pain so I had to replace him,” the Brazilian said.

The Black Pearls lifted their game in the second half, creating three scoring chances in the first 15 minutes after the break. Alberto Goncalves hit the post and Stevie shot straight at Jeonbuk goalkeeper Kwon Sun-tae, who also had to be alert to tip aside a long-range drive from captain Eduard Ivakdalam.

It was the Koreans who scored next, though, when Jendri failed to stop Lovrek’s shot from 15 meters in the 66th minute. Kabes gave the home side a bit of hope when he scored a minute later, but Lovrek completed his hat-trick in the 81st to leave Jeonbuk atop the group after the first matchday.

“You saw the real Persipura in the second half, but still we were not good enough,” Jacksen said. “We made too many mistakes, which may mean nothing in the Indonesian Super League but make a difference against the region’s best.

“We learned good lessons from this debut. We’ll pull ourselves up and play better in the next games.”

Jeonbuk coach Choi Kang-hee reserved praise for Lovrek, who only recently joined the squad.

“Actually, he has yet to adapt with our style of play so I decided not to play him from start,” Choi said. “He played well in his debut.”
In Kashima, Japan, national team midfielder Nakata marked the start of his second spell with Antlers following moves to Marseille and Basel with the eventual winner after 43 minutes.

South Korea’s Seongnam Ilhwa won 2-0 at home over Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale in their Group E match. Last season’s K-League runner-up went ahead in the 34th minute when powerful Montenegro striker Dzenan Radoncic played a through ball for Mauricio Molina and the Colombian midfielder slid home the opener.

Their roles were reversed for the second goal in the 78th minute as Molina teed up Radoncic’s powerful finish.

In the other Group E contest, Australian international forward Joel Griffiths haunted his countrymen as he scored the deciding goal in Beijing Guoan’s 1-0 home win over A-League side Melbourne Victory. Beijing made its Champions League debut after winning its first Chinese Super League title last season.

Group B saw Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Bunyodkor open with a 3-0 rout of Saudi side Al Ittihad. Brazilian stars Rivaldo and Denilson found the net for the Uzbek champion, scoring on either side of Jasur Hasanov’s 21st-minute strike.

In the second-tier AFC Cup, Copa Indonesia champion Sriwijaya FC drew 0-0 against Victory SC at National Stadium in Male, Maldives. The other Group F match between Binh Duong of Vietnam and Malaysia’s Selangor also finished 0-0.