Kashima Antlers Stay Perfect With Late 3-0 Blitz Against Pohang Steelers

Kashima Antlers waited, waited and then broke FC Pohang Steelers completely. On Wednesday, 28 October 2026, the J.League side turned a tense, goalless evening at Mercari Stadium into a statement 3-0 victory in Matchday 3 of the AFC Champions League Elite, scoring three times in the final 21 minutes to preserve a perfect start to the league phase.

The scoreline was not a reflection of a comfortable night. Pohang held firm through the first half and well beyond it, and the deadlock survived until Ryuta Koike finally found a way through in the 69th minute. From there, Kashima did not merely take the lead; they accelerated away, adding two more goals before full time and leaving the visitors with no route back into a match they had contained for so long.

A goalless hour, then a flood

Koike's breakthrough was improvised and decisive. Matheus Bueno delivered the cross, and Koike redirected it past Pohang goalkeeper Hwang In-jae with a finish off his chest, ending more than an hour of resistance in a single, inventive moment. It was the kind of goal that changes the psychology of a match as much as the score: suddenly, the team that had been defending had to chase, and the team that had been probing had space to attack.

Six minutes later, the lead was two. Aleksandar Cavric saw his initial shot hit the post, but stayed alive to the rebound and scored at the second attempt, turning pressure into breathing room. Matheus Bueno, who had created the opener, then completed the scoring from close range two minutes from time, putting a deserved gloss on a second-half performance that had grown more dominant with every goal.

The underlying numbers told the same story as the late scoreline. Kashima finished with 71 percent of possession to Pohang's 29 percent, attempted 15 shots to the visitors' four and put six on target while Pohang managed none. Kashima also won the corner count 4-3. Those figures do not capture the patience required before the breakthrough, but they explain why the final 21 minutes felt less like a sudden accident and more like sustained pressure finally finding its reward.

Koike, whose goal started the rush, framed the result as a deliberate target rather than a happy accident. 'Our most important goal as a team was to make it three consecutive wins in the Asian Champions League,' he said. He also acknowledged the wider context, adding: 'Recently, we haven't been able to win matches at home, and things haven't been going well in the league.' On this evidence, the continental stage is offering Kashima a different kind of momentum.

What nine points mean in the East

The victory takes Kashima to nine points from three matches, and that perfect record matters in a league-phase format where consistency, rather than one spectacular night, decides who survives. Kashima now sit alongside fellow J.League side Vissel Kobe as the only teams in the East with three wins from three, a position that gives Toru Oniki's side control over their own path while others are already chasing.

The wider Matchday 3 picture in Japan underlined how difficult perfect records are to protect. Gamba Osaka were held to a 1-1 draw by Thailand's Buriram United, despite Takashi Usami equalising in the 66th minute after Eduardo Mancha had given the visitors the lead just before half-time. Buriram captain Kenny Dougall said he was proud of his team's performance in Japan, while conceding that letting a lead slip was disappointing with another match to come next week.

That contrast is why Kashima's late efficiency should not be dismissed as routine. In this competition, the top eight finishers in each 16-team league advance to the last 16 in March, before the quarter-finals, semi-final and final are played on a centralised basis in Saudi Arabia in April and May. Every point banked early reduces the pressure of the later rounds, and a three-goal win can also matter if separation between contenders eventually comes down to finer margins.

Why Pohang could not hold on

Pohang's resistance deserves recognition, even in defeat. To keep Kashima scoreless for 69 minutes on the road, in a stadium where the hosts were chasing a third straight continental win, required organisation and discipline. But the visitors' attacking numbers show the other side of that bargain: four shots in total, none on target, left them with almost no way to punish Kashima when the home side finally broke through.

Once the first goal arrived, the match changed in a way that suited Kashima perfectly. Pohang had to open up, and that created the second-phase chances Cavric exploited after his shot came back off the post. By the time Bueno scored from close range, the contest had moved from a tactical arm-wrestle to a demonstration of depth, sharpness and belief in the final third.

Kashima will not pretend that three late goals solve every domestic problem, and Koike's own words make that clear. But in the AFC Champions League Elite, the only currency that counts at this stage is points, and Kashima have collected all nine available. If they can carry even part of this second-half ruthlessness into the remaining league-phase fixtures, their perfect start will look less like a fast start and more like a foundation.