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Kashima Antlers vs Newcastle Jets |
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|---|---|---|
2019 Asian Champions League, Play-off round |
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| Venue: Kashima Soccer Stadium, Kashima, Japan | ||
| Match time: Fulltime | ||
| Kashima Antlers | Newcastle Jets | |
| 4 | SCORE | 1 |
| Antlers | Time | Jets |
|---|---|---|
| S.Ito | 18' | |
| 23' | R.Vargas | |
| S.Yamamoto | 32' | |
| Serginho | 67' | |
| Serginho | 90+1' |
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A spot in the Asian Champions League group stage goes on the line when defending champions the Kashima Antlers host a likely to be fatigued Newcastle Jets in Japan. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 9pm (AEDT).
It’s a story of contrasting form and preparations coming into this game, and for the Jets, they are looking straight up a brick wall to try and win this match.
This will be their third match in seven days, with this one the toughest of the lot against a strong Japanese side, away from home and on the back of a long-haul flight.
Needing extra time to win the second round play-off match against Persija Jakarta wasn’t part of the plan either, but they played well during that extra half hour, then carried that form across to a Friday night victory in the A-League against Melbourne City.
That 3-1 performance came as a shock and kept a glimmer of hope alive for the seventh-placed Jets in their pursuit of the finals, but the ACL may be their best chance to do anything this season.
On the other side of the coin, the Antlers have finished their domestic season in Japan, with their last competitive game being played on December 22 – almost two months ago – at the Club World Cup, where they lost comprehensively to River Plate.
They did play a friendly last week against a second-tier team in Japan, but that won’t be adequate preparation for a game of this stature.
Kashima won the Asian Champions League in 2018, but could only scrape into the qualifying rounds for 2019 after finishing third in the Japanese League.
They struggled defensively at times, but were far from poor, and at home, it’s little surprise to see them come in as favourites against the battling Jets.
The biggest problem they face here is a lack of match fitness. They could be slow to start and if that’s the case, the Jets will have to start fast, because the chance of them being at the top of their game for the 90 (or 120) minutes seems slim.
Whereas the Jets were able to run and be the fitter side against Jakarta, that won’t happen here, so their best shot could be to get a lead and defend it.
The Jets must defend well and hope the front combination of Roy O’Donovan and Riley McGree are better than they have been in recent weeks at putting away opportunities.
The Antlers, on the other hand, will look to Yuma Suzuki to do the damage. The striker was player of the tournament last year, and with their pace out of midfield, they could look to press and burn Newcastle on the counter-attack.
Prediction
It’s tough to see the Jets winning here, meaning their ACL campaign will come to an end in Japan. Kashima to advance.
Kashima 2 – Newcastle 1.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this playoff match from 9pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
Kick-off: 9pm (AEDT)
Venue: Kashima Soccer Stadium, Japan
TV: Live, Fox Sports 505
Online: Live, Foxtel app, Foxtel now, Kayo Sports
Betting: Antlers $1.36, Jets $6
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