Mitsuo Ogasawara curled in a second-half free kick that David Beckham would have been proud of to seal a 2-0 win for the Kashima Antlers over JEF United Ichihara, their first of the season.
A crowd of 15,000 at National Stadium were subjected to a dull encounter Saturday with few chances created by either side.
The first half started slowly with Koji Nakata marshaling the Antlers midfield with authority and both defenses giving little away.
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