Kawasaki Frontale fans arrived at Todoroki Stadium on Saturday hoping not only to see their team rebound after their first loss of the season, but also to welcome back a club legend after a long recovery from injury.
They were happy to do both, applauding equally loudly for Reo Hatate’s brace and Kengo Nakamura’s return to the pitch from ACL surgery during the team’s 5-0 win over Shimizu S-Pulse.
Frontale came into the game stinging after its 10-game winning streak was snapped by Nagoya Grampus last Sunday, with manager Toru Oniki making several changes to his squad.