There were goals and drama galore as REGIONAL ROUND Match Week 4 in the MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE continued on Saturday.
Reigning champions Kashima Antlers came from two goals down to win 3-2 away at Urawa Reds, Yokohama F･Marinos and Kashiwa Reysol both claimed their first wins of the season, while Gamba Osaka and V-Varen Nagasaki also came out on top in their contests.
Urawa burst out of the traps at Saitama Stadium 2002, surging into a 2-0 lead after Renji Hidano tucked in at the back post after 14 minutes and Ryoma Watanabe added a second five minutes later.
Leo Ceara pulled one back for the visitors with a penalty in the last minute of the first period though, before Yuma Suzuki levelled the scores when he headed in from a corner 10 minutes after the restart.
Cavric then made himself the hero for Kashima, nodding home at another corner in the 90th minute to make sure of all three points.
Meanwhile, Yokohama F･M picked up their first victory as they ended Tokyo Verdy’s unbeaten start to the campaign with a 3-2 win at Nissan Stadium.
Kaina Tanimura got the scoring started in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time, and Daiya Tono and Riku Yamane then both found the net with terrific strikes within five minutes of the restart to make it 3-0.
An Itsuki Someno header reduced the deficit in the 69th minute, and although Taiju Yoshida also got on the scoresheet with a beautiful free-kick in the first minute of injury time, it wasn’t enough to salvage anything for Tokyo-V.
Kashiwa were also celebrating their first points of the season, as they inflicted a 2-0 defeat on previously unbeaten FC TOKYO.
Yuki Kakita headed Kashiwa into the lead in the 54th minute, before Yusuke Segawa slotted in with eight minutes remaining to wrap up the win.
Elsewhere, G-Osaka needed a penalty shootout to get the better of Shimizu S-Pulse, after surrendering a two-goal lead to draw 2-2.
First half goals from Ryotaro Meshino and Deniz Hummet had put G-Osaka in the driving seat at Panasonic Stadium Suita, but two late goals in the space of three minutes from Koya Kitagawa and Capixaba saw Shimizu level things up at 2-2 and sent the game to penalties.
Once there, Shimizu’s Kai Matsuzaki was the only player to miss from 12 yards, enabling G-Osaka to seal a 5-4 win and another two points.
In the day’s other game, Matheus Jesus’ bullet from distance in the 38th minute was enough to secure Nagasaki a 1-0 triumph over Cerezo Osaka - their second win in a row.
Yokohama F•Marinos vs Tokyo Verdy - Game Highlights | MW4
Urawa Reds vs Kashima Antlers - Game Highlights | MW4
Gamba Osaka vs Shimizu S-Pulse - Game Highlights | MW4
FC TOKYO vs Kashiwa Reysol - Game Highlights | MW4
V-Varen Nagasaki vs Cerezo Osaka - Game Highlights | MW4
