Nabisco Cup: Urawa Reds 2 Montedio Yamagata 0

Urawa Reds took the upper hand in the Nabisco Cup tie with Montedio Yamagata after a 2-0 win in the first leg on Sunday.

The competiton was scheduled to begin in March, however it was postponed until June in the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

Urawa were the stronger side from the start, but despite spending most of the time in Montedio’s half, they did not manage to find the net in the first half.

However, they came back after the break with renewed vigour and after just five minutes Genki Haraguchi put Urawa ahead.

The match was then settled when Montedio’s Takuya Sonoda brought down Hiroyuki Takasaki with the striker clean through on goal.

Sonoda narrowly escaped a red card for the tackle as Urawa were awarded a penalty, with Brazilian striker Edmilson tucking it away.

Urawa will take that lead into the second leg, which takes place on the 27th July.