‘0 effective shots’ Pohang loses 0-3 away at Kashima... ACLE 3 consecutive wins

Professional soccer K-League 1 Pohang Steelers suffered their third consecutive loss in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE).

Pohang, led by coach Tae-ha Park, gave up three goals in the second half and lost 0-3 in the third away game of the 2026-2027 ACLE League stage against Kashima Antlers (Japan) at Kashima Stadium in Japan on the 28th.

Pohang was so helpless that they only recorded 4 shots, and even then, none of them were effective shots.

Pohang, who had previously lost 1-3 to Beijing FC (China) and 0-2 to Johor Darul Takzim (Malaysia), suffered three consecutive losses and fell to 14th place out of 16 teams in the East Asian region.

In this tournament, each team will play 8 games, and teams must be ranked in the top 8 in each East and Asia region to continue competing for the championship.

Pohang continued its poor performance in K-League 1 in October with 2 draws and 1 loss, plus 2 ACLE losses.

On the other hand, Kashima, who defeated Newcastle United Jets (Australia) 7-1 and also won 1-0 in the away game against Cong Anh Hanoi (Vietnam), had an exciting third consecutive win in the tournament.

Kim Tae-hyun, a central defender for the Korean national team who plays for Kashima, was omitted from the list of players that day.

Pohang sent out central defenders Jin Si-woo, Cho Sung-wook, and Park Chan-yong as starters, as well as left and right wingbacks Wandelsson and Kang Min-jun, and cautiously faced Kashima in a formation close to 5-3-2 on defense.

Giorgi and Transisca were placed at the forefront, and Kim Dong-jin, Kim Seung-ho, and Nishiya Kento were placed in the second line. The goal was guarded by Hwang In-jae.

Kashima faced an unexpected situation in which right-back Rikuto Hirose was replaced by Ryuta Koike in the 9th minute of the first half due to a muscle injury on the back of his right thigh, but he continued to dominate the game by increasing his possession of the ball.

However, Euber's right-footed shot from the left side of the penalty area in the 13th minute of the first half bounced around the side net, and Aleksandar Chabric's right-footed shot from the center of the penalty box in the 26th minute of the first half missed the goal, giving no results.

In the 45th minute of the first half, Hwang In-jae saved Homare Tokuda's header following Ryoya Ogawa's cross. It was the only effective shot among Kashima's six shots in the first half.

Pohang's only shot in the first half was Wandelsson's left-foot mid-range shot that headed out of the goal two minutes after the kickoff whistle sounded.

Pohang started the second half without a replacement, and in the 14th minute, Kang Min-jun's cross from the right was connected to Transisca's threatening header in front of the goal, but it missed the goal slightly and was disappointed. Transisca was then replaced by Juninho.

Pohang did well to block Kashima's offensive, but ended up scoring the first goal in the 24th minute of the second half.

Mateus Buenu kicked the ball from the left side of midfield toward the goal, and Koike slipped behind the defense and rushed in, pushing it into his chest.

Pohang even allowed an additional goal in the 30th minute of the second half.

Chabrich took over Haruki Hayashi's through ball in front of the goal and shot with his right foot. As the ball passed the goalkeeper and hit the goalpost, Chabrich kicked it again with his left foot.

Pohang later tried to make amends by replacing Jo Seong-wook and Kento Nishiya with winger Kim Yong-hak and striker Cho Sang-hyuk, but instead gave up a goal to Bueno during a melee during a corner kick in the 42nd minute of the second half and bowed out.