Veteran attacker Yuya Osako took a physical beating after coming off the bench against Kashiwa Reysol, but got his revenge by scoring the late equalizer in Vissel Kobe's 1-1 home draw in the J. League first division Saturday.
The result dropped Vissel into second place on 48 points, two back of defending champions Yokohama F. Marinos after Kota Watanabe's 91st-minute goal sealed a 2-1 home win over FC Tokyo.
At Kobe's Noevir Stadium, Osako came off the bench just after the hour mark and was twice sent to the turf with blows to the head, the first offense creating a scoring opportunity from the resulting free kick.