Juninho came to the rescue with an injury time equalizer and spared goalkeeper Takashi Aizawa's blushes as Kawasaki Frontale drew 2-2 with holder JEF United Chiba in their Nabisco Cup semifinal first-leg tie on Sunday.
Kawasaki Frontale defender Hideki Sahara (far left) clashes with JEF United Chiba players minutes
before the whistle during a Nabisco Cup semifinal first-leg tie on Sunday in Kawasaki.
KYODO PHOTOChiba looked to be on course for victory at Todoroki Stadium but Juninho bundled home his second of the night in a frantic finale that saw Kawasaki defender Hideki Sahara spark a mass brawl and get sent off after clashing with Ilian Stoyanov.
Chiba will feel it has the slight edge for the return leg at Fukuda Denshi Arena on Sept. 20 thanks to two away goals that came courtesy of a dreadful blunder by Aizawa and a well-taken strike by Koki Mizuno.