Kashiwa Reysol continued their terrific recent form on Saturday, defeating Fagiano Okayama 2-0 to win for the third game in a row and extend their unbeaten run in the 2025 MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE to 10 games.
Substitutes Mao Hosoya and Diego struck the decisive goals late on to wrap up the win for Kashiwa, which consolidated them in second place on 30 points, just one behind leaders Kashima Antlers.
Ricardo Rodriguez’s side first threatened in the 26th minute when Hayato Nakama saw an acrobatic overhead kick tipped behind by Okayama goalkeeper Svend Brodersen, and they went close again a minute before half-time as Tojiro Kubo sent a curled effort against the post with his left foot.
Kubo was denied again four minutes after the break when Brodersen reacted superbly after first saving Yoshio Koizumi’s effort from the edge of the area, but in the 76th minute Hosoya broke the deadlock.
Tomoya Koyamatsu did well to feed Hosoya inside the Okayama penalty area, and the 23-year-old made no mistake to steer home his third goal of the season.
Okayama very nearly pulled level four minutes before full-time, but Kashiwa goalkeeper Ryosuke Kojima was equal to Kazunari Ichimi’s low drive and in the last minute Diego broke in behind and maintained his composure to slam into the net and make it 2-0 to Kashiwa.
Meanwhile, Yokohama FC claimed their first win in six games as they beat Avispa Fukuoka 1-0 thanks to Keisuke Muroi’s instinctive 59th-minute finish.
The first half was a cautious affair with neither side giving an inch, and the closest either came to opening the scoring was when Muroi headed against the post in the 38th minute.
The 25-year-old then went one better a minute before the hour mark, gleefully converting his first MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE goal from the edge of the six-yard box with his left foot.
Fukuoka went close to rescuing a point twice late on when Sonosuke Sato hit the post and Daiki Matsuoka saw a fierce effort from distance saved by Akinori Ichikawa, but they couldn’t find a way through and are now without a win in six games.
The only goal in the day’s other game sensationally arrived in the 13th minute of second half stoppage time, as Marcelo Ryan converted a dramatic late penalty for FC TOKYO to secure a 1-0 win over Vissel Kobe.
Taisei Miyashiro had Kobe’s best chance in the first half but saw his effort saved by Go Hatano in the 25th minute, while Kosuke Shirai was similarly denied by Daiya Maekawa two minutes later.
Maekawa was also equal to Kein Sato’s effort in the 63rd minute, but Marcelo Ryan finally beat Kobe’s goalkeeper with his cool injury time spot-kick to secure all three points for FC TOKYO.
Kashiwa Reysol vs. Fagiano Okayama - Game Highlights | 2025 J1 LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS | MW 16
Yokohama FC vs. Avispa Fukuoka - Game Highlights | 2025 J1 LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS | MW 16
FC TOKYO vs. Vissel Kobe - Game Highlights | 2025 J1 LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS | MW 16
