JAKARTA (Kyodo) Kashima Antlers all but guaranteed themselves a place in the knockout stage of the Asian Champions League with a 3-1 win away to Indonesia's Persipura Jayapura on Tuesday.
In-form Yasushi Endo put the visitors on the road to victory early on and Shinzo Koroki and Atsuto Uchida were also on target as Kashima made it a perfect four wins out of four in Group F.
The J. League leaders, who thrashed bottom club Persipura 5-0 at home last week, will advance to the next round with two games to spare if China's Changchun Yatai fail to beat Jeonbuk Motors of South Korea away in a later match.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima, meanwhile, completed a triumphant night for Japanese clubs and resurrected their fading hopes of advancing from Group H with a 1-0 win over Adelaide United, Hisato Sato scoring the clincher at Big Arch.