KASHIWA, Chiba Pref. – Striker Bare scored six goals Saturday as Ventforet Kofu hammered Kashiwa Reysol 6-2 away in the second leg of its playoff to earn promotion to the J. League first division.
Ventforet Kofu forward Bare celebrates after scoring in the J .League promotion/relegation playoff game against Kashiwa Reysol on Saturday. Ventforet was promoted to the first division after winning 8-3 on aggregate.
Kofu, which won the first leg 2-1 on Wednesday, took control of the match with a first-half double from Bare and went on to win 8-3 on aggregate after the Brazilian scored four more after the break against a hapless Kashiwa side at Kashiwa Stadium.
Kofu will play in the top flight next year for the first time since joining the J. League in 1999. Kashiwa, which gained J. League status in 1995 when the league had one division, was relegated to the second division for the first time.
“I told the players to play our own style of soccer and they did,” Kofu manager Takeshi Oki said after the game.
“We were a bit disorganized during the game, but were able to play attacking football without being overly defensive. I’m sure we’re going to face a tough battle in the first division but we’ll try our best to stay afloat,” he added.
Cerezo crushes JEF
TOTTORI, Chiba Pref. (Kyodo) Cerezo Osaka, which missed out on the J. League title last weekend, kept alive its hopes of lifting the Emperor’s Cup after crushing Nabisco Cup holder JEF United Chiba 5-2 in the fifth round Saturday.
Urawa Reds, Kashima Antlers, Jubilo Iwata, Kawasaki Frontale, Omiya Ardija and Shimizu S-Pulse also ran out winners against fellow first-division sides and advanced to the Dec. 24 quarterfinals.
At Tottori Bird Stadium, former Japan international Hiroaki Morishima gave Cerezo a 14th-minute lead before Bruno Quadros added the second from the penalty spot.
Teruaki Kurobe, Tatsuya Furuashi and Kazuya Maeda added second-half strikes to increase the lead to 5-0 through 67 minutes as Cerezo cruised to book its quarterfinal date with the winner of a fifth-round match between J. League champion Gamba Osaka and Kashiwa Reysol to be played Dec. 17.
Elsewhere, Tomislav Maric and Nobuhisa Yamada were on target in each half in Urawa’s 2-0 victory over FC Tokyo at Ehime Stadium.
Kashima claimed a comfortable 3-0 win over Oita Trinita on goals from Fernando, Alex Mineiro and Masashi Motoyama at Kashima Stadium.
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