Tuesday 13 March saw the fourth Sec. of the group stage in the AFC Champions League 2018 (ACL). Kashima Antlers in Group H drew with Sydney FC (Australia) 1-1 at home, putting their berth into the round of 16 on hold, at least until the next Sec. Kawasaki Frontale in Group F lost an away game to Melbourne Victory (Australia) 1-0, keeping themselves at the bottom of the group with one point.

Kashima settles with a tie after late equaliser

A win over Sydney along with a loss from the third place Shanghai Shenhua (China PR) would have secured Kashima a spot into the next round with two matches remaining, but a late equaliser prevented them from doing their part of the equation.

Kashima rotated eight players from the latest J. League match against Hiroshima, utilising mainly the same players from the previous away game against Sydney. Forward KANAZAKI Mu played up front, while at left back, the 19-year-old defender ODA Itsuki made his first ever professional start.

The match saw Kashima initiating attacks from both sides. Kanazaki came close to scoring in the 13th minute, followed by another opportunity by forward SUZUKI Yuma in the 19th minute. Then in the 27th minute, Kashima struck the opener. Following a corner kick, Oda delivered a cross, which was mishandled by the opposing defender. Kanazaki was able to get to the end of the ball and headed the ball into the net.

Sydney, who had been sitting at the bottom of the group with only one point, were in need to earn points to keep their hopes alive to get through the group stage. Forward Matt Simon and midfielder Anthony Kalik led the team to initiate attacks from the left side. In the 43rd minute, Kalik received a pass from Adrian Mierzejewski to take a shot, but his shot was off target.

Although Kashima continued to take control of the match in the second half, with many players not used to playing with each other the team struggled to get in sync to effectively create threats.

Then, in the 78th minute, Sydney’s defender Luke Wilkshire ran up the left flank and sent a cross after receiving a pass from Mierzejewski. Simon connected with the delivery with a header and levelled the match.

In efforts to regain their lead, Kashima sent out midfielder DOI Shoma on to the pitch. Although the substitute forward YAMAGUCHI Kazuma, midfielder Leo Silva, and Kanazaki all came close to scoring, the team failed to retake the lead and the match ended with a final score of 1-1.

As a result, with eight points from two wins and two draws Kashima kept their spot at the top of their group. Suwon Samsung Bluewings (Korea Republic) added three points after beating Shanghai Shenhua 2-0 in an away match, now trailing Kashima by just one point. Shanghai Shenhua is in third place with three points, while Sydney stayed at the bottom with two points from two losses and two draws.

Last minute goal hands Kawasaki F another loss

Melbourne’s goal in additional time of the second half hands a devastating loss to Kawasaki F, who were in search for a win to keep their hopes alive to advance to the round of 16.

In a match where Kawasaki F were in a must win situation, they left out midfielders NAKAMURA Kengo and Eduardo Neto out of the travel squad, considering the game schedule and the long-distance travel they had to endure. Forward KOBAYASHI Yu and defender Elsinho started on bench, while midfielder HASEGAWA Tatsuya, forwards CHINEN Kei and OKUBO Yoshito were given the start.

Okubo, who played the entire match, came close to scoring, as his shot struck the crossbar after the shot was deflected by the goalkeeper. Kobayashi came off the bench in the second half to create chances, and midfielder NOBORIZATO Kyohei also made efforts to score, but the team struggled to find the back of the net.

In search for their first win in this championship, Melbourne broke through the flank during additional time of the second half, which led to forward Kosta Barbarouses’s goal, increasing their tally to five points in the group stage.

As a result, Kawasaki F was left with one point after four matches, with three losses and a draw. Group leader Shanghai SIPG (China PR) won the away game against Ulsan Hyundai (Korean Republic) 1-0, further extending their lead with 10 points. Ulsan sits in second place with five points, while Melbourne remained third place. Kawasaki F will play an away game against Shanghai SIPG next week, with the possibility of being eliminated depending on the results.

Cerezo Osaka will meet Buriram United (Thailand) at home, while Kashiwa Reysol will play an away game against Kitchee (Hong Kong) on Wednesday 14 March.

Coaches' and Players' Comments

OIWA Go, Coach (Kashima Antlers)
It was disappointing that we ended up with a tie. Players like Oda, who doesn’t get the playing time in a regular basis, seemed to struggle a bit to get into the game early on, but as time went by, they were able to fit in alright. As a result, we were able to get the opening goal, which was ideal for us. I don’t really want to blame the tight schedule, but the players are playing well under the giving circumstance, and I think that’s something that should be recognised. I told my players to reset ourselves ahead of the remaining two matches. We’ll analyse our opponents and prepare ourselves well before those matches.

DF SHOJI Gen (Kashima Antlers)
I was hoping to clinch our way into the next stage after today’s game. In the situation where we conceded the goal, we had to be more organised. We gave up too much freedom to get them in a good rhythm. We’ll play our next match away from home, but we’ll do our best to get through the group stage without the need to sweat it in the final Sec.

MF NAGAKI Ryota (Kashima Antlers)
Despite the fact we created so many chances from the flanks, we ended with a disappointing tie, due to our lack of accuracy at the final third. Our opponent played the same way they did in the away game, but their enthusiasm was a little different today. I think we managed to win more fifty-fifty balls last time we faced them, so that could have been the difference today. We’ll just have to reset our mind to win our next match, hopefully we can clinch our spot to the next round sooner than later.

FW KANAZAKI Mu (Kashima Antlers)
We had to win today, so this result is disappointing. The goal I scored was just out of luck. There were other scenes where I had to score, but couldn’t, so I have to do better. We’ll have to move on and do our best to win our next match.

Graham Arnold, Coach (Sydney FC)
I am happy with our performance. However, counting from our previous encounter with them, we lost a total of three goals off set plays, so that is regretful. I think we played better and should have won the match. The youngsters played well while the veterans showed great support. I’m sure the crowd enjoyed the match.

Tournament Period：30 January 2018 (Tue.) ～ 10 November 2018 (Sat.)

Tournament Information