YOKOHAMA -- J2 newcomer Yokohama FC held Division One side Tokyo Verdy 1969 to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Nabisco Cup's first round Wednesday night at Yokohama's Mitsuzawa Stadium.
Yokohama rookie left-back Shingo Morita struck in the 40th minute after playing a neat one-two with forward Shingi Ono, formerly of Verdy. But Verdy, playing without injured midfielder Tsuyoshi Kitazawa, replied through substitute forward Kazunori Iio, who came on for Masakiyo Maezono in the 44th minute. Maezono found himself in the starting lineup with a J1 team for the first time since Sept. 23, 1998. But the 27-year-old midfielder failed to impress the 2,935 fans and manager Yasutaro Matsuki.
"We should have scored another goal when we had our chances ... we deserved to win," said Yokohama manager Yoshikazu Nagai.
Elsewhere, J2 team Montedio Yamagata upset the Urawa Reds, who have just returned to the top division, 2-0 at home on goals from Yusuke Sato and Gakuya Horii. Yamagata extended its unbeaten run to five games.
Former Japan striker Wagner Lopes scored a hat trick and set up another goal to highlight FC Tokyo's 5-0 thrashing of J2's Ventforet Kofu. The second legs will be played April 18.
Meanwhile, J. League club Shimizu S-Pulse beat Thailand's BEC Tero Sasana 3-1 in the second leg of the Asian Cup Winners' Cup quarterfinals at Nihondaira Stadium. Shimizu advances on a 5-3 aggregate score.