Kashiwa beats Auckland City to open Club World Cup
TOYOTA, Aichi Pref. — J. League kings Kashiwa Reysol marked their international debut with a controlling win on Thursday, beating Auckland City 2-0 in the opening match of the Club World Cup
First-half goals from Junya Tanaka and Masato Kudo sent Nelsinho's side into the last eight on Sunday, when Reysol will face Monterrey of Mexico for a shot against South American champion Santos in the semifinals.
Kashiwa picked up right where it left off five days ago, when Reysol triumphed in the domestic campaign with victory at Urawa Reds on the final day of the season.
The visitors from New Zealand, who won twice at the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi two years ago, looked nervous and never threatened in the first half, failing to produce a single shot on target.Reysol's dominance translated into a goal in the 37th minute when left-back Wataru Hashimoto set up a brilliant strike by Tanaka, who wheeled into the box past Alex Feneridis before blasting into the net at the near post.Three minutes later, Kashiwa found the net for a second time with Hashimoto again supplying the final pass, this time for Kudo.
From a Leandro Domingues cross, Hiroki Sakai rose above the Auckland defense to glance a header off the right post. Hashimoto was in the right place at the right time to collect the rebound and pick out Kudo, who scored with ease past keeper Jacob Spoonley.
Kudo's goal all but sewed up Kashiwa's progress to Sunday's quarterfinal against the North, Central American and Caribbean champions even before halftime.- http://www.japantimes.co.jp
0 comments:
Post a Comment