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Reds get the blues again in Japanese opener

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TOKYO: Japanese champions Kashima Antlers rubbed salt into the wounds of old foes Urawa Reds with a 3-2 victory in the J-League’s curtain-raising Xerox Super Cup on Saturday. A first-half brace from midfielder Yasushi Endo in Yokohama helped Kashima lift the first piece of silverware on offer this season and left Reds coach Mihailo Petrovic with egg on his face after indulging in some ill-advised mind games in the build-up. Still smarting from a late meltdown in 2016 that saw Kashima pip them to the J-League title and qualify for the Club World Cup, the Serbian raised eye brows when he claimed his Reds side would have beaten Spanish giants Real Madrid in the final of that competition.


“It’s always a tough ask to beat Urawa but we got the job done and it feels good to lift the trophy,” said Antlers manager Masatada Ishii, whose side gave Zinedine Zidane’s Real a fright in December before a Cristiano Ronaldo treble helped seal a 4-2 victory. “We blooded a few new players today and this win will give our confidence a boost for the J-League season.” Two-nil up at the break, Kashima were pegged back by goals from Shinzo Koroki and Yuki Muto before substitute Yuma Suzuki snatched a late winner for last year’s double winners. Earlier this week, Petrovic insisted Urawa were Japan’s “moral champions” after finishing 15 points clear of third-place Kashima over the two-stage season in 2016 only to flop during the championship playoffs. He left with a bitter taste once again after watching his side battle back from two goals down. “We should never have conceded that third goal after coming back into it,” he growled. “The way we were playing we should have gone on to win the game. In that respect at least I have to be positive.” — AFP


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