Review: Gainare Tottori vs Cerezo Osaka (Levain Cup 1st Round 3rd Match)

Cerezo Osaka advance to the Levain Cup fourth match after Lucas Fernandes scores the winner late on, even after being pegged back twice.

Three days after their most recent competitive match, a 0-0 draw with Yokohama F. Marinos in Matchweek 9 of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League, Cerezo Osaka traveled to face Gainare Tottori in the third match of the J.League Yamazaki Biscuits Levain Cup 1st Round. There were eight changes to the starting lineup from the Yokohama FM match. Rikito Inoue, in a match against his former club, started on the bench.



Cerezo Osaka played in the opposition half from the opening stages. They transitioned quickly from attack to defense and increased their spells of possession before creating their first chance in the fifth minute. After some excellent passing to play through Tottori’s press, Takumi Nakamura played a diagonal ball into the path of Satoki Uejo, who turned and shot. It went just over the crossbar, but it was Cerezo’s first effort of the match. Uejo had another chance in the eighth minute. Yota Komi got in behind after receiving a pass from Shinji Kagawa and sent in a cross. Uejo then shot after receiving Pablo Sabbag’s layoff. It was a good move, but he could not make proper contact. Still, in the 11th minute, Uejo made the most of his third chance. Reiya Sakata cut inside from the flank, and Uejo ran onto a through ball from Javi Hernandez, who had pushed high up the pitch, before finishing into the near corner. “I kept playing mind games with the defender until the end, and I think the way I shook him off with that split-second movement was good,” Uejo said, satisfied with the finish. Cerezo created another chance in the 13th minute. Sabbag laid off Takumi Nakamura’s kick, allowing Komi to get in behind. He dribbled past his opponent and shot, but the goalkeeper saved it. His speed and strength in carrying the ball forward on his own stood out. Cerezo continued to control the ball and the match, but conceded in the 31st minute. A vertical pass from Kosei Okazawa into the middle was intercepted by Tottori’s Shaun Vaneerden, who carried the ball forward before playing a through ball to forward Konishi, who finished one-on-one with the goalkeeper. There were still issues to address both in the way Cerezo gave the ball away and in how they reacted after the ball was played in behind. After Tottori took advantage of one of their few chances to draw level, Cerezo regained the lead in the 37th minute. The move again started on the left. Sakata broke through sharply to beat his opponent, and Hernandez followed up with a floated cross that Sabbag met with a header at the far post to find the net. Cerezo then created consecutive chances from crosses, with Sabbag going close in the 44th minute and Uejo having another chance in first-half stoppage time, but they could not add another goal. Cerezo went into halftime with a one-goal lead.





Cerezo had been the better side for much of the first half, but they conceded again in the 47th minute when Tottori scored from a corner at the near post. With the match level again, Tottori gained momentum and Cerezo spent a prolonged spell on the defensive. Tottori threatened again from a quick counterattack in the 53rd minute, but goalkeeper Koto Abe made the save. Cerezo still could not stop Tottori’s momentum, and in the 64th minute, Tottori won the second ball from a long throw and Takumi Kawamura hit the post. Four minutes later, another cross from the flank was met in the middle, but Kawamura’s header went narrowly wide of the post. Looking to change the flow of the match, Cerezo made three substitutions in the 69th minute, bringing on Shunta Tanaka, Yumeki Yokoyama, and Solomon Sakuragawa. In the 79th minute, Cerezo created a clear chance. After Sakuragawa held the ball up, Uejo broke down the right and crossed. Yokoyama met it at the far post, but his shot was saved by the goalkeeper. Cerezo had another clear chance in the 84th minute. Tanaka picked up the second ball and carried it forward, with Yokoyama and Uejo shooting in succession. Their efforts were blocked by a defender and saved by the goalkeeper. In the 87th minute, Kagawa received the ball centrally and struck a well-placed shot that hit the crossbar. Cerezo continued to attack relentlessly late on but could not find the breakthrough. Then, in the 89th minute, Lucas Fernandes, who had just come on as a substitute, produced the decisive moment. After working the ball through midfield to beat Tottori’s pressure, Lucas ran onto Yokoyama’s pass, carried the ball forward, and fired into the far side of the net. “I think it really showed his strength: his ability and technique to produce the finish when it matters,” manager Pablo Machin said in praise. Cerezo regained the lead through the No. 77’s strike and this time closed out the match without allowing Tottori to equalize. Despite being made to work by a Tottori side that had already pulled off two upsets in this tournament, Cerezo secured the win and advanced to the fourth match.





“We had a lot of chances, and if we had taken them, it would have been a much easier game. I had two or three chances myself, so there are still things I need to work on. That’s something I need to improve, but being able to see out a win against a difficult opponent like this is a positive. I hope we can carry that into the league as well,” Uejo said after the match. Cerezo Osaka defeated an in-form opponent on the road and took another step toward their pursuit of the Levain Cup title. Back at home, they will face Kawasaki Frontale in their next league match just two days later, with the team aiming to take on the challenge together.