AFC Champions League Elite
Five different players netted within 30 minutes of the match, converting all their shots on target, to propel Ricardo Suarez’s side to their first win at the continental showpiece and consign the Thailand club to a second defeat.
Currently leading the J1 League and playing at home, Kashiwa were primed for the challenge, and took the lead in the third minute when Tojiro Kubo slammed home from the right after picking up Kenshin Yuba’s pass across the face of goal.
The Japanese outfit were kept on edge as the goal was only awarded after a VAR review, but collected themselves well and promptly scored their second seven minutes later.
Yuki Kakita was fastest to pick up a rebound from Kubo that struck keeper Michael Falkesgaard on the arm, and the striker swooped in from close range with a thunderous strike into the top right corner.
There was more misery for Port three minutes later when Chaiyaphon Otton brought down Hinata Yamauchi, and while Falkesgaard judged correctly and dived to his left, Riki Harakawa’s powerful spot-kick earned Kashiwa their third goal within 15 minutes.
Kashiwa just refused to sit back, and netted again in the 26th minute when Koya Yuruki’s effort from inside the box deflected off Noburu Shimura’s outstretched leg and looped over the rooted Port keeper.
Yamauchi nabbed himself a piece of the goal-scoring action two minutes later after being laid up by Nobuteru Nakagawa’s superb through ball, the midfielder weaving past Shimura and crashing his shot into the top centre of the net.
MD2: Kashiwa Reysol (JPN) v Port FC (THA)
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Kengo Nagai was finally called into action 12 minutes into the restart, the Kashiwa custodian making an easy save from Teerasak Poeiphimai’s off-balance effort as the Thailand side looked to reduce the deficit.
They did so in the 64th minute through Manuel Bihr, who used the back of his head in a packed goalmouth to place the ball beyond Nagai’s reach following a corner - with the goal awarded after a VAR review.
Nagai made another save from Ruan Ribeiro in the 70th minute as their opponents pulled back, but their fightback was almost an hour late in coming as Kashiwa walked off with a morale-boosting victory.
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