SAITAMA -- The Urawa Reds held off ten-man Kashima Antlers 3-2 in the Nabisco Cup thanks to defender Masami Ihara's last-minute header Tuesday night at Komaba Stadium, giving them the lead in Group D.
After a quiet, scoreless first half, the game burst into life with the sending-off of Kashima defender Yutaka Akita. The former Japan player was red-carded after pulling Harison down outside the box. Harison curled the resultant free-kick past the Kashima defensive wall into the net for the opener.
Taking advantage of their one-man advantage and the quality service provided by substitute Tadaaki Hirakawa, the Reds launched a spree of attacks. Urawa midfielder Keita Suzuki gave the home team a 2-0 lead in the 75th minute when his 28-meter blast found the net after getting a deflection off a Kashima player.