Substitute Yuma Suzuki scored an 83rd-minute winner as J. League champions Kashima Antlers maintained their dominance over Urawa Reds with a 3-2 victory in the Fuji Xerox Super Cup on Saturday.
Antlers beat Reds on away goals in last season's championship final to win the title despite finishing 15 points behind first-place Urawa in the overall league table, and a quick-fire Yasushi Endo double late in the first half at Nissan Stadium looked set to continue that trend in the 2017 season curtain-raising match.
Reds pulled level in the second half with two goals within the space of a minute from Shinzo Koroki and Yuki Muto, but Suzuki tipped the balance back in Kashima's favor when he picked dawdling defender Wataru Endo's pocket to slot home the winner seven minutes from time.
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