J. League first-division debutants Machida Zelvia continued their excellent start to the season, beating Kashima Antlers 1-0 for their first home J1 win Saturday.
Attacker Yu Hirakawa's 13th-minute winner gave the western Tokyo side all three points at Machida Gion Stadium as they moved up to joint second on seven points, behind Sanfrecce Hiroshima on goal difference after three rounds.
"We anticipated pressure and momentum from Kashima of course, and were intent on applying even more of that ourselves," said Machida manager Go Kuroda, who guided them to top-flight promotion in his first season in charge last year following a 28-year career coaching high school soccer.
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