Wanderers dealt ACL blow after late Kashima winner

Western Sydney Wanderers is on the verge of bowing out of the AFC Champions League after a stoppage-time winner from Mu Kanazaki secured Kashima Antlers a 2-1 comeback win at Parramatta Stadium on Tuesday.

Kashima's Mu Kanazaki (R) celebrates scoring the winner in front of Western Sydney's goal scorer Nikita Rukavytsya. (Getty) Source: Getty Images

Nikita Rukavytsya gave the Wanderers a first-half lead, but a strong second half from Kashima turned the result on its head and earned the J-League side a vital win that takes it above the Australians in Group H.

The A-League side sits bottom on five points with Antlers and FC Seoul one point ahead of it on six, while leader Guangzhou Evergrande is already assured a spot in the last 16 with 10 points.

Tony Popovic's side visits China in a must-win game in the group's final matchday.

In wet and windy conditions at Parramatta Stadium, Western Sydney could have taken take a giant step towards the knockout stage of the AFC Champions League by defeating Kashima.

But the Japanese side needed the three points itself to stay in contention and made a strong start to the contest, causing consternation in the Wanderers backline early on.

In an open beginning, the host was equally willing to get forward and took command of possession 15 minutes in.

On 24 minutes Western Sydney made its dominance count. Yojiro Takahagi received the ball on the edge of the area and slipped it through for Nikita Rukavytsya.

The Socceroos winger pounced on a mistake at the back and fired a shot into the near bottom corner to make it 1-0 for the Wanderers and notch up his first ACL goal.

The visitor almost hit back immediately as a deep cross found Shuto Yamamoto free on the far post. His header was weak and Ante Covic eventually managed to punch clear.

Antlers continued to push forward and again Covic was forced into before the interval as he spilled a Yasushi Endo shot before the host's defence cleared away.

The Wanderers were still looking dangerous when they went forward and should have added to the lead before half-time, when Romeo Castelen found himself with only the goalkeeper to beat from close range, but he blasted over.

Kashima was still causing problems for Western Sydney after the interval and hit the side netting on a couple of occasions early in the second half.

The away side's pressure told just past the hour. A ball over the top had Doi in the clear inside the box.

From a tight angle, the Kashima striker steadied himself and shot past Covic to pull the visitor level.

There were chances at both ends in the final stages, but it was the Antlers who took their chance in stoppage time when the ball was crossed in for Kanazaki who side-footed home from close range to make it 2-1.