Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kashiwa: Kashiwa Reysol’s quest for a third J.League Cup took a turn for the worse on Wednesday as the 2015 AFC Champions League quarter-finalists went down 2-0 at home to Vissel Kobe in the first-leg of their last-eight encounter.
The first instalment of the 2015 J.League Cup quarter-final remained goalless up until the 65th minute when Daisuke Ishizu, who is on loan at Vissel Kobe from Avispa Fukuoka, broke the deadlock at the Kashiwa Hitachi Stadium.
Having already brought on Brazilian forward Critiano on the hour-mark and Kosuke Taketomi ten minutes later, Kashiwa coach Tatsuma Yoshida brought on Masato Kudo, scorer of Kashiwa’s consolation goal in the 3-1 ACL 2015 quarter-final first-leg loss to Guangzhou Evergrande and MVP of the tournament when Kashiwa last won the J.League Cup in 2013, with 12 minutes remaining.
However, it was the visitors that would get the next goal as Kazuma Watanabe, the 2009 J.League Young Player of the Year while at Yokohama F Marinos, scored Vissel’s second seven minutes after the talismanic Kudo had come on for Kashiwa.
Kashiwa will look to overturn their two-goal deficit when the J.League Cup quarter-final resumes in Kobe on Sunday in the first of two matches Yoshida’s side will play prior to the second leg of the 2015 AFC Champions League last-eight meeting with Chinese champions Guangzhou on September 15, when they have another two-goal deficit to address following their 3-1 defeat in the first-leg.
Photo: AFP