Jubilo Iwata came back from the dead to claim their first trophy in seven years with a breathless 5-3 extra-time win over Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the Nabisco Cup final on Wednesday.
Sanfrecce looked to be on the verge of their first-ever piece of silverware when goals from Tadanari Lee and Satoru Yamagishi either side of halftime canceled out Keisuke Funatani's 36th-minute opener at National Stadium, but Jubilo striker Ryoichi Maeda scrambled home a loose ball with two minutes remaining to send the match into extra time.
Minoru Suganuma and Ryohei Yamazaki then put Jubilo two goals ahead in a breakneck first period that ended with Tomoaki Makino pulling one back for Sanfrecce with a brilliant free kick, before man-of-the-match Maeda restored Jubilo's advantage and set the seal on one of the most remarkable finals in the competition's history.
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