Urawa Reds beat Kashiwa Reysol to widen J-League lead
Tokyo (AFP) - Urawa Reds stretched their winning streak to three matches and stayed top of the J-League standings with a six-point cushion on Saturday as they beat nine-man Kashiwa Reysol 3-1 at home.
Urawa, the 2007 Asian champions, improved to 50 points after 24 matches with Kawasaki Frontale and Sagan Tosu behind on 44 and Kashima Antlers on 43.
Kawasaki were held to a scoreless draw at home by FC Tokyo, while Sagan beat Vegalta Sendai 2-1 at home.
Defender Daisuke Nasu opened the scoring for Urawa after 21 minutes, with Yosuke Kashiwagi netting a second goal seven minutes later.
Kaoru Takayama pulled one back for Kashiwa in the 44th minute.
Kashiwa goalkeeper Takanori Sugeno was sent off in the 51st minute with his second yellow card. Sugeno clipped down Shinzo Koroki in the area, allowing him to score a penalty on 55 minutes.
The visitors were reduced to nine men when Brazilian defender Eduardo was booked for the second time with seven minutes to play.
It was a second straight defeat for Kashiwa.
"We take each and every match seriously now," said 26-year-old Urawa midfielder Kashiwagi, recalling that the Reds gave up their lead in the final phase of the last J-League season and finished sixth with three straight losses.
"We are entering a difficult stage. It is important to pick at least one point from each game," he added, with 10 rounds to go in the March-December season.
Fourth-placed Kashima Antlers beat Yokohama F-Marinos 1-0 with Yasushi Endo scoring in the 38th minute.
