Mito Hollyhock claimed a historic win in the first-ever J.League Ibaraki Derby on Saturday, beating Kashima Antlers 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, as REGIONAL ROUND Match Week 9 in the MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE got underway in style.
Mito took the lead in the 34th minute at K's Denki Stadium Mito, when Arata Watanabe drove into the bottom corner from just inside the penalty area after Matheus Leiria had cut the ball back to him.
Reigning champions Kashima aren’t easily beaten though, and they levelled things up deep into injury time when last year’s top scorer Leo Ceara converted a penalty in the 96th minute.
That sent the game to a shoot-out, but despite the late setback Mito held their nerve from 12 yards to emerge as 4-2 victors, scoring all four of their kicks as Kei Chinen and Naomichi Ueda both missed for Kashima.
In the East’s other game, JEF United Chiba surrendered a two-goal lead but then struck late on to secure a 3-2 win over Tokyo Verdy.
A first-half brace from Hiroto Goya saw hosts Chiba assume control of proceedings at Fukuda Denshi Arena, but Yuya Fukuda seized upon a moment of hesitation in the Chiba defence and swept past Tomoya Wakahara in the first minute of the second half, before Taiju Yoshida then bent a delicious free kick around the wall and in off the far post in the 62nd minute to make it 2-2.
Masaru Hidaka made himself the hero for Chiba with five minutes remaining though, slotting home on the volley after Issei Takahashi’s cross.
Meanwhile in the West, Gamba Osaka climbed into second place courtesy of a 2-0 victory against Kyoto Sanga F.C., while Nagoya Grampus now sit third after a comprehensive 3-0 triumph over Cerezo Osaka.
Deniz Hummet broke the deadlock for G-Osaka by finding the net for the third game in a row in the 13th minute after Shinnosuke Fukuda under-hit a back-pass, and Ryotaro Meshino made sure of the three points with a fierce strike after cutting into the penalty area from the left flank in the 75th minute.
Elsewhere, goals from Yuya Yamagishi in the 46th and 53rd minutes saw Nagoya take charge of their contest against C-Osaka at Toyota Stadium, with Ryuji Izumi adding the gloss in the 61st minute after running onto Yudai Kimura’s pass and dinking beyond goalkeeper Kosuke Nakamura.
Mito Hollyhock vs Kashima Antlers - Game Highlights | MW9
JEF United Chiba vs Tokyo Verdy - Game Highlights | MW9
Gamba Osaka vs Kyoto Sanga F.C. - Game Highlights | MW9
Nagoya Grampus vs Cerezo Osaka - Game Highlights | MW9
