Masato Kudo scored on the stroke of halftime as Kashiwa Reysol scalped J. League leaders Kashima Antlers 1-0 on Saturday to pick up their third straight win.
Both teams went into the match at Hitachi Stadium having claimed back-to-back victories over the busy Golden Week schedule, but Kudo pounced at the end of a lively opening 45 minutes to ensure that it was Reysol who ended the day in a holiday mood.
Kudo retains an outside chance of being named in Japan's World Cup squad when manager Alberto Zaccheroni unveils his selection on May 12, but the striker's immediate concern was with helping his club move closer to the leaders with his third goal of the season.
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.