Kawasaki Frontale, which has ensured promotion to the J. League top flight, crushed regional qualifier Ehime FC 4-0 on Sunday as all 12 J. League second-division sides advanced to the fourth round of the Emperor's Cup tournament.
Elsewhere, Kyoto Purple Sanga, the champion of the cup competition two seasons ago, hammered Japan Soccer College 11-2 thanks to four goals from striker Yutaka Tahara.
Shonan Bellmare beat Hachinohe University 1-0 while Consadole Sapporo and Montedio Yamagata needed extra time to eliminate Honda Lock 2-1 and FC Ryukyu 3-2, respectively.
Yokohama FC, Sagan Tosu, Ventforet Kofu, Vegalta Sendai, Omiya Ardija, Avispa Fukuoka and Mito Hollyhock all won to join the first-division clubs in the fourth round. All 16 J-1 clubs kick off their campaigns in the fourth round following early-round byes.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.