Tokyo Verdy continued their perfect start to the season, Cerezo Osaka picked up their first win, and Kawasaki Frontale and Nagoya Grampus both emerged victorious from penalty shoot-outs as REGIONAL ROUND Match Week 2 in the MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE concluded on Sunday.
Tokyo-V now have maximum points from their first two games, after coming from behind to win 2-1 away to Kashiwa Reysol.
Kashiwa took the lead in the 33rd minute at SANKYO FRONTIER Kashiwa Stadium, when Yoshio Koizumi seized upon an error by Daiki Fukazawa before rounding goalkeeper Matheus and tucking into the net.
Itsuki Someno levelled for Tokyo-V in the 63rd minute though, glancing a header home at the near post after an in-swinging free-kick from the left by Hiroto Yamami.
Yuya Fukuda then decided the contest with a thunderbolt in the second minute of stoppage time, firing home after the ball broke to him 25 yards out.
Meanwhile, a pair of first-half goals were enough to secure C-Osaka a 2-0 victory over Avispa Fukuoka.
Solomon Sakuragawa opened the scoring with a powerful header after a cross from deep by Reiya Sakata in the 19th minute, and Sakata was again the provider one minute before half-time, cutting the ball back for Thiago Andrade to fire in at the near post.
The day’s two other games both finished goalless, and required penalty shoot-outs to determine the victors.
First up, neither JEF United Chiba nor Kawasaki-F could find a way through inside 90 minutes at Fukuda Denshi Arena, but both were deadly from 12 yards as they each converted their first eight penalties.
Three consecutive misses then set the stage for Akihiro Ienaga to settle things though, and the 39-year-old made no mistake with Kawasaki-F’s 10th attempt to seal a 9-8 victory for the visitors - although in the process Chiba did also earn their first point of the season.
Elsewhere, despite Marcus Vinicius posing a constant threat for Nagoya and Ryotaro Meshino always looking to get shots off for Gamba Osaka, the deadlock couldn’t be broken at Panasonic Stadium Suita either.
Nagoya moved into a 3-2 lead in the resultant penalty shoot-out though, and when Shoji Toyama missed G-Osaka’s final attempt the visitors were able to celebrate two hard-earned points and maintain their unbeaten start to the season.
Kashiwa Reysol vs Tokyo Verdy - Game Highlights | MW2
Avispa Fukuoka vs Cerezo Osaka - Game Highlights | MW2
JEF United Chiba vs Kawasaki Frontale - Game Highlights | MW2
Gamba Osaka vs Nagoya Grampus - Game Highlights | MW2
