Western Sydney Wanderers' Asian Champions League title
defence has suffered a massive blow, with a 2-1 home loss to Japan's Kashima
Antlers in heavy rain at Parramatta on Tuesday.
After taking a first-half lead through Nikita Rukavytsya,
Wanderers conceded two second-half goals, the second coming in stoppage time.
The result pushed Kashima above the Wanderers, who are now
last in their four-team group with just one round remaining.
Western Sydney must now win their final match in China
against group leader Guangzhou Evergrande and hope for a favourable result in
the other final-round fixture.
While the Wanderers had their chances, Kashima deserved a
good result for an enterprising performance after falling a goal behind.
The hardy crowd of just over five thousand who braved
Sydney's `storm of the decade' watched the Wanderers hit the front when
Rukavytsya slotted the ball home after defender Naomichi Ueda made a hash of
dealing with a through ball from Wanderers Japanese midfielder Takahagi Yojiro.
Wanderers goalkeeper Ante Covic was the busier of the two
custodians and he made three first-half saves to preserve his team's lead.
Home striker Kerem Bulut had a shot pushed over the bar, but
it was a rare opportunity for the Wanderers.
Kashima continued to push forward after the break and
equalised half way through the second half when Shoma Doi cut inside and
drilled the ball home with his left foot.
Gabu Shibsaki went close with a free kick for the visitors
before Kanazaki Mu made a perfectly-timed run in the first minute of stoppage
time to drill home a left wing cross for the winning goal.
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