The second round of the 2018 Emperor’s Cup took place on Wednesday night, with J1 and J2 League clubs facing prefectural champions from across Japan.
Most top clubs had easy nights, with the likes of Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Consadole Sapporo, Kashima Antlers, Kashiwa Reysol and Sagan Tosu all advancing to the third round.
Other teams met with surprising resistance: Kawasaki Frontale fought from a two-goal deficit to win 3-2 over Sony Sendai FC, while FC Tokyo needed a pair of late Diego Oliveira goals to defeat university side RKU Dragons.
The biggest results of the night came courtesy of JFL side Nara Club, who defeated Nagoya Grampus 5-4 in penalty kicks after concluding extra time deadlocked at 1-1.
Kwansei Gakuin University also recorded a 2-1 stunner over Gamba Osaka with all three goals coming in the final five minutes of play.
The third round of the tournament will take place on Wednesday, July 11.