There was almost an hour on the clock when Silva’s fine individual effort broke the deadlock before Serginho added a second 12 minutes later to put Kashima in a strong position ahead of the second leg on November 10.
“In the early stages our opponents were applying a lot of pressure to stop us from building up,” Silva told the-AFC.com. “If we had conceded then, the game could have finished with a different result, but we dealt with it well and made it to half time at 0-0.
“Then in the second half, we just played calmly which enabled us to play in more of an attacking style, which in turn led to us creating chances and winning 2-0."
“It’s a good result but we all have to be aware that nothing is finished yet and there are still 90 minutes left to play. We all worked together and did everything we needed to today, but now we have to make sure we keep our concentration and make sure that in the end we take the title.”
Silva was modest in his description of the excellent goal that gave his side the lead in the 59th minute of the match.
“I got the ball from (Daigo) Nishi, and saw (Shoma) Doi, but the ball fell nicely and I managed to get it out of my feet with one touch and then without any hesitation, I thought I just had to hit with my left,” he said.
2018 Final - 1st Leg: Kashima Antlers v Persepolis
Having come through the East Asian side of the draw, Silva admitted that he and his teammates took time to adapt to the way that their West Asian opponents set up. But he is confident that they have learned from the experience and will be well prepared for the second leg as a result.
“It took us a little bit of time to get used to it but after that we dealt with it well,” he said. “In the away leg, I think we will have to play even more aggressively, but they will be taking counter measures against us, as we will be against them so we just have to play calmly.”
