After earning their first Asian Champions League point more than 8,000 kilometers away, Ventforet Kofu captured three more much closer to home on Wednesday night.
A late Motoki Hasegawa goal drove the J. League second-division side, making its continental debut as the winner of the 2022 Emperor’s Cup, to a 1-0 win over Thailand’s Buriram United at a rain-soaked National Stadium in Tokyo.
The 24-year-old midfielder leapt up to meet Cristiano’s cross from the far corner, heading it past Buriram goalkeeper Siwarak to send Kofu fans into a frenzy.