There were goals galore as REGIONAL ROUND Match Week 1 in the MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE wrapped up on Sunday, with Kawasaki Frontale defeating Kashiwa Reysol 5-3, Tokyo Verdy beating top flight debutants Mito Hollyhock 3-1, Avispa Fukuoka and Fagiano Okayama drawing 1-1 before a dramatic penalty shoot-out, and Nagoya Grampus edging Shimizu S-Pulse 1-0.
Erison was the catalyst for a big three points for Kawasaki-F, claiming a sensational hat-trick in the opening 25 minutes to put his side in control against Kashiwa.
Mao Hosoya pulled one back for the visitors with a cheeky flick seven minutes before half-time, then in the 61st minute former Kawasaki-F forward Yusuke Segawa broke in behind and clipped home to make it 3-2.
Yuto Matsunagane re-established Kawasaki-F’s two-goal lead when he glanced in a header seven minutes later, and although Hinata Yamauchi - another ex-Kawasaki-F player - struck back again for Kashiwa in the 81st minute, Yasuto Wakizaka was on hand to make it 5-3 to the hosts in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Mito got off to an unlucky start at Ajinomoto Stadium, when the unfortunate Hayata Yamamoto turned the ball into his own net in the eighth minute, and Kosuke Saito doubled their misery when he cut inside to make it 2-0 to Tokyo-V 13 minutes later.
Yuan Matsuhashi then added a third four minutes into the second half, and although Chihiro Kato pulled one back for Mito in the 59th minute, it wasn’t enough to claim any points for his side.
Elsewhere, things went the full distance at BEST DENKI STADIUM, as Fukuoka and Okayama drew 1-1 to force a decider on penalties.
Masaya Matsumoto broke the deadlock for visitors Okayama one minute before half-time when he headed in from a corner, but J.LEAGUE debutant Kokoro Maeda was on hand to level things up in the 78th minute, volleying home terrifically from outside the area to send the game into a shoot-out.
Both sides missed their first kicks, but then 11 were netted in a row until Kota Kudo slammed Okayama’s seventh attempt off the crossbar, enabling Fukuoka to celebrate a 6-5 victory.
The day’s other game was also closely contested, as Mihailo Petrovic got off to a winning start in charge of Nagoya with a narrow triumph over Takayuki Yoshida’s Shimizu.
Yudai Kimura scored the only goal of that game in the 59th minute, slotting in from close range after Katsuhiro Nakayama’s low ball in from the right.
Kawasaki Frontale vs Kashiwa Reysol - Game Highlights | MW1
Tokyo Verdy vs Mito Hollyhock - Game Highlights | MW1
Avispa Fukuoka vs Fagiano Okayama - Game Highlights | MW1
Nagoya Grampus vs Shimizu S-Pulse - Game Highlights | MW1
