Guangzhou Evergrande's march to knockout phase put on hold in AFC Champions League
Kashima Antlers grab goal in time added on to seal 2-1 victory
Guangzhou Evergrande will have to wait at least another two weeks before confirming their place in the knockout phase of the AFC Champions League after an injury-time header from Hiroyuki Takasaki condemned the former champions to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Kashima Antlers.
After defending champions Western Sydney Wanderers were held to a 1-1 draw by FC Seoul in Tuesday's other group H fixture, victory in Japan would have secured Evergrande a place in the round of 16 for the fourth season in a row.
We had to come from behind after we gave away the lead to our opponents on a penalty in the first half, and that made the game difficult
But Takasaki's header four minutes into stoppage time secured Kashima's first win of the 2015 campaign, pulling Toninho Cerezo's team back into contention for a place in the next round while denying Evergrande.
Guangzhou remain on nine points from four games after suffering their first loss of the campaign and are four points clear of both FC Seoul and Western Sydney.
"Today we had to come from behind after we gave away the lead to our opponents on a penalty in the first half, and that made the game difficult," said Evergrande coach Fabio Cannavaro.
"But I still believe in our players and hope they can keep calm and get better. We can improve the situation by making more effort, and our team is developing every day. We lost today but I am hoping that we can still get a good result in the end."
The game looked destined for a draw, however, until Takasaki nodded Gaku Shibasaki's free kick beyond Li Shuai in the Evergrande goal.
"It was a lack of concentration," said Cannavaro of Kashima's set-piece winner. "A team who gets used to winning tends to loosen up their defence sometimes, and it's important to prepare well going into the game. By doing so, we can fix our problems in defence, too."
The result means R&F are now in third place in group F, three points behind second-placed Buriram United, who were replaced at the summit by Seongnam after losing to Japanese champions Gamba Osaka as the battle for the two berths in the next phase intensified.
"Mathematically, we are still very much in with a chance," said R&F coach Cosmin Contra. "I trust my players to do what needs to be done and they don't need to be told as to how important the remaining two games are.
"If we play like we did tonight then, although we didn't win, we have a good chance."
China's remaining AFC Champions League participants are in action on Wednesday night, with Beijing Guoan aiming to maintain their perfect start to the campaign when they travel to Japan to take on Urawa Reds while Shandong host Kashiwa Reysol in group E.
