The 2025 J.LEAGUE YBC Levain CUP Prime Round Quarter-final Second Legs took place on Sunday night, with Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Kawasaki Frontale, Yokohama FC, and Kashiwa Reysol all booking their places in next month’s semi-finals.
Hiroshima had lost the first leg of their tie against Shonan Bellmare 3-2, but completed a thrilling comeback in the return leg at EDION PEACE WING HIROSHIMA, securing a 4-1 victory thanks to some dramatic late goals.
Mutsuki Kato set Hiroshima on the road to recovery with a close-range finish in the 23rd minute, and although Akito Suzuki replied for Shonan 14 minutes later Ryo Germain levelled the tie on aggregate again with a penalty in the 61st minute.
It looked as though extra-time would be needed to separate the sides, but Valere Germain made himself the hero for Hiroshima when he headed home in the fourth minute of injury time, before Shuto Nakano made absolutely sure of the result with a deflected drive from distance four minutes later.
An extra 30 minutes was required to decide the victor at Uvance Todoroki Stadium by Fujitsu, where Kawasaki-F eventually triumphed 3-2 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate against Urawa Reds.
The first leg had finished 1-1, and Erison made it advantage Kawasaki-F after 18 minutes, keeping his cool to convert from the penalty spot.
The next goal didn’t arrive until 16 minutes before the end of normal time, when Isaac Kiese Thelin stretched to convert and bring Urawa back into the contest.
Tatsuya Ito then thought he had decided things in Kawasaki-F’s favour in the 88th minute when he curled in from the edge of the area, only for Shoya Nakajima to sensationally equalise again for Urawa two minutes later with a fizzing free-kick.
That meant the game went to extra-time, and the decisive goal arrived for Kawasaki-F just six minutes into the first period when Ten Miyagi converted his side’s second penalty of the night.
Meanwhile, Yokohama FC also progressed to the next round despite falling to a 1-0 defeat away to Vissel Kobe.
Yuya Osako headed the only goal of the game in the 84th minute at NOEVIR Stadium Kobe, but that wasn’t enough to reverse the result from the first leg, which Yokohama FC had won 2-0.
Elsewhere, Yokohama F･Marinos needed a miraculous turnaround to recover from a 4-1 home loss in the first leg of their tie against Kashiwa, but it wasn’t to be as they went down 1-0 to Sachiro Toshima’s 91st-minute strike.
The two-legged semi-finals will be played on Wednesday October 8 and Sunday October 12, with Kashiwa facing Kawasaki-F and Hiroshima taking on Yokohama FC.
