Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Hiratsuka: Kashiwa Reysol crashed to their second defeat in the second stage of the J.League on Wednesday, as the AFC Champions League 2015 quarter-finalists crashed to a 3-0 defeat to Shonan Bellmare.
Kashiwa found themselves on the back foot through Shuhei Otsuki’s 26th minute opener before the continental hopefuls fell further behind nine minutes into the second half when defender Daisuke Suzuki put the ball into his own net.
Things went from bad to worse for the Chiba side with Wataru Endo celebrating his call up to Japan’s 2015 EAFF (East Asian Football Federation) Cup squad with Shonan’s third in the 71st minute
The defeat saw Kashiwa slip from second to sixth in the J.League second-stage standings with nine points, a total they share with fellow ACL quarter-finalists and defending J.League cham[pins Gamba Osaka who dropped from third to fifth following their 1-1 draw with Albirex Niigata on Wednesday.
Kashiwa will host 2013 continental champions Guangzhou Evergrande in the first leg of their AFC Champions League quarter-final clash on August 25, before travelling to China for the return fixture on September 15.
Photo: WSG