Sydney FC were held to a 1-1 at home draw by Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua in the Asian Champions League on Wednesday night. Matchday 3 of the group stage saw the Sky Blues fall behind in the sixth minute when Duvier Riascos struck for the visitors but Nick Carle soon restored parity when he finished a good move that involved stand-in captain Stuart Musialik and Bruno Cazarine.

Shanghai then reverted to defensive tactics as they tried to save the game whilst Sydney toiled hard for a winner that never came.

Sky Blues coach Vitezslav Lavicka said he was fairly happy with the performance of his side who have now picked up two draws from two matches to sit third on the Group H table but with a game in hand on leaders Suwon Bluewings with whom they drew 0-0 in early March.

"Firstly we didn't start the game well but we fought back quickly. We kept possession for most of the game but could not finish off in attack," Vitezslav Lavicka said.

"I think we did plenty of good crossing in the game but we weren't good enough to penetrate. They blocked many attempts. They were dangerous when we attacked as they had two players drop back to get us on the counter attack.

"We created chances but we expected more than one point from this game."

Sydney next meet Japan's Kashima Antlers in their re-scheduled match next Wednesday night at the Sydney Football Stadium.