Soccer-Injury-time heroics earn win for 10-man Antlers
The Japanese side trailed by two goals with 19 minutes remaining after Tomoya Inukai headed into his own goal and Jordan Mutch's side-foot volley doubled Gyeongnam's advantage. An own goal from Korean defender Woo Ju-sung halved the deficit with 15 minutes remaining, only for Inukai to cap an eventful evening when he was sent off six minutes from time for a second bookable offence.
Antlers looked destined to slip to their first defeat since winning the title last year, but Takeshi Kanamori levelled a minute into injury time from close range and Serginho smashed his shot into the top corner two minutes later to give Go Oiwa's side all three points. "I think we can be proud that we fought to win here with 10 men," said Oiwa.
"But we need to turn our sights to the next game, not bask in this win for long. We managed to keep our composure when we were under pressure, and that led to the goals in the end." Kashima move on to seven points from their first three games and lead group E by two points from Shandong Luneng, with the Chinese Super League side securing a 2-1 win - their first of the campaign - against Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta’zim.
Marouane Fellaini scored with a close range header to claim his debut Asian Champions League goal for Shandong Luneng, and Graziano Pelle doubled the side's lead from the penalty spot seven minutes before the break. Safawi Rasid's spectacular curling effort just before the hour mark gave JDT hope of salvaging a point, and Gonzalo Cabrera hit the cross bar late in the game as the Malaysian side narrowly missed out on a draw.
Cedric Bakambu, meanwhile, scored a hat trick for Beijing Guoan, who claimed their first win in group G with a 3-1 victory over Thailand's Buriram United that pulls Roger Schmidt's side into contention for a place in the next phase of the competition. The Chinese side move on to four points and trail leaders Jeonbuk Motors by two points after Adriano scored the only goal of the game, as the South Korea champions saw off fellow two-time champions Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan.
In the western half of the draw, Iranian side Esteghlal hauled themselves back into the running for a place in the next phase as they beat group C leaders Al Hilal from Saudi Arabia 2-1 to secure their first win. The Tehran-based club move on to four points from three games with Al Hilal still leading the standings with six points, while Qatar's Al Duhail sit in second after their 2-2 draw with former champions Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates.
Zob Ahan maintained their unbeaten start to group A when they defeated UAE side Al Wasl 3-1 to move on to seven points, and the Iranian side are three points clear at the summit after Al Nassr from Saudi Arabia handed second-placed Al Zawraa from Iraq a 4-1 thrashing. (Reporting by Michael Church; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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