SAITAMA — Urawa Reds finally snapped their seven-game losing streak on Sunday with a 4-1 win over Montedio Yamagata that was not quite as convincing as the final score might suggest.
Sergio Escudero gave Urawa the chance to wipe out the pain of the past two-and-a-half months with a fifth-minute opener, and a penalty converted by Robson Ponte 17 minutes later suggested Volker Finke's side was ready to set the record straight with a deluge of goals at Saitama Stadium.
But Tatsuya Furuhashi replied immediately to pull one back for lowly Yamagata, leaving Reds toiling for most of the second half until a 76th-minute Hajime Hosogai strike and a Takuya Miyamoto own-goal gave the scoreline a more emphatic slant.