Daisuke Suzuki grabbed a last-ditch equalizer to rescue a point for Kashiwa Reysol in a 1-1 draw at home to 10-man Vegalta Sendai in the J. League first division on Friday night.
Defender Hirofumi Watanabe looked to have sealed victory for the visitors on his return to Hitachi Stadium following his move to Sendai from Reysol in January, sweeping home after Ramon Lopes had headed on a corner from North Korean midfielder Ryang Yong Gi in the 31st minute.
But Lopes was sent off for a second bookable offense with 14 minutes left and Kashiwa hit back in the 89th to grab a share of the spoils, with Suzuki pouncing on a loose ball to score after Sendai goalkeeper Kentaro Seki had fumbled a cross from Kim Chang-soo.
The result leaves both teams with four points from two games in the new season.
Sendai kicked off the campaign with a 2-0 home win over newly promoted Montedio Yamagata last weekend. Kashiwa put one over on former coach Nelsinho with a 1-0 victory away to Vissel Kobe.