The 2025 J.LEAGUE YBC Levain CUP Play-off Round 1st leg took place on Wednesday night, with Kashiwa Reysol, Shonan Bellmare, Cerezo Osaka, and Avispa Fukuoka all picking up victories to seize the advantage in their respective ties.
Kashiwa were the only side to win away from home, as they defeated Tokyo Verdy 3-0 at Ajinomoto Stadium.
Nobuteru Nakagawa headed Kashiwa in front from a Hiromu Mitsumaru cross in the 23rd minute, before Tojiro Kubo doubled his side’s advantage 17 minutes into the second half. Yuki Kakita added the gloss in the fourth minute of stoppage time, converting Diego’s cross from the left-hand side.
Shonan put themselves in the driving seat in the first instalment of their clash against Jubilo Iwata, thanks to goals from Ryo Nemoto and Hiroaki Okuno.
Nemoto opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 16 minutes - dusting himself off and converting from 12 yards after being fouled by Iwata goalkeeper Koto Abe - and Okuno made the win safe 16 minutes later when he tucked in Kohei Okuno’s cross at the back post.
Elsewhere, there were goals aplenty as C-Osaka beat Yokohama FC 4-1.
Shinji Kagawa set the hosts on their way 10 minutes after half-time as he stroked home with the outside of his right boot after the ball broke to him inside the penalty area, and Vitor Bueno made it 2-0 in the 68th minute with a fierce free-kick from the edge of the area.
The final three goals incredibly all came in injury time, as Rafael Ratao added a third for C-Osaka in the 91st minute, Hinata Ogura pulled one back for Yokohama FC after a corner was cleared into his path five minutes later, and then Motohiko Nakajima re-established C-Osaka’s three-goal advantage in the 98th minute when he headed home Lucas Fernandes’s ball into the box .
Fukuoka head into Sunday’s 2nd legs with the narrowest advantage, meanwhile, after they edged their contest against Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-0.
Wellington struck the only goal of the game at BEST DENKI STADIUM in the 55th minute, registering from the edge of the six-yard box after Shintaro Nago’s pass.
