Mitsuo Ogasawara curled in a second-half free kick that David Beckham would have been proud of to seal a 2-0 win for the Kashima Antlers over JEF United Ichihara, their first of the season.

A crowd of 15,000 at National Stadium were subjected to a dull encounter Saturday with few chances created by either side.

The first half started slowly with Koji Nakata marshaling the Antlers midfield with authority and both defenses giving little away.