ICHIHARA, Chiba Pref. -- Jubilo Iwata advanced to the semifinals of the J. League Nabisco Cup after beating JEF United Ichihara 4-2 on aggregate on Wednesday night.
Jubilo substitutes Nobuo Kawaguchi and Ryoichi Maeda struck late in the second half in the visitor's 2-0 second-leg win. Jubilo and JEF United had drawn 2-2 in the first leg in Kagoshima.
Jubilo will play either the Kashima Antlers or the Urawa Reds in the semifinals on Sept. 26 and Oct. 10. The remaining quarterfinal matches will be played on Wednesday with Kashima hosting Urawa and the Yokohama F. Marinos visiting Kawasaki Frontale.
Jubilo, which played without injured midfielders Hiroshi Nanami and Toshiya Fujita, had a few scoring chances early in the game but couldn't find the back of the net.
Iwata manager Masakazu Suzuki then sent speedy midfielder Kawaguchi to the right wing in the 76th minute in an attempt to play wide and draw the Ichihara defense. The move paid immediate dividends.
Maeda, who came off the bench in the 61st minute, stole the ball from an Ichihara defender to send a pass to speedy midfielder Kawaguchi. Kawaguchi dribbled up and struck a 81st-minute shot past JEF goalkeeper Ryo Kushino into the right corner of the net.
Five minutes later, Maeda, getting a pass from Japan striker Masashi Nakayama on the left side of the box, fired an angled blast from close range, which hit the left post and then the back of Kushino's head before going in for his first career goal and Jubilo's second on the night.
"I'm really happy with our win," Iwata manager Masakazu Suzuki said.
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