Kashiwa Reysol ran riot against Newcastle Jets, winning 7:1 in the first League Phase match of the AFC Champions League at Kashiwa Soccer Stadium on Monday. The hosts dominated from the opening whistle, piling on goals before half-time and never looking back. By then, Newcastle had already conceded from their own defence.
Aleksandar Cavric struck twice inside eleven minutes, opening the scoring in the 11th minute before doubling his tally just five minutes later. The visitors were further humiliated by an own goal from James Delianov in the 19th minute. Hitoshi Tokuda added another before the break, slotting home in the 40th minute, and Cavric completed his hat-trick in the 42nd.
Newcastle made four substitutions at the interval, bringing on Yuki Matsumura, Will Dobson, Kento Misao and Cavric — though the latter appears to have been a data error, as he was already on the pitch. The home side continued to press. Tokuda found the net again in the 56th minute, and Kazuma Tagawa added a seventh in the 73rd. Patrick Wood then scored in the 79th minute before being substituted himself.
The statistics tell a story of complete control. Kashiwa registered ten shots on target against just one for the visitors, while their expected goals figure of 1.92 dwarfed Newcastle's 0.3. The Jets managed four goalkeeper saves, but could do little to contain the relentless home attacks. Kashiwa passed their ball around with authority, completing 550 of 611 passes.
The result leaves Kashiwa top of the table with three points from one game, while Newcastle sit 16th on zero. The hosts had lost three of their previous four matches, including defeats to Vissel Kobe and Urawa, so this performance marks a significant shift. To be fair, the Jets did not travel to make up the numbers, but they were second to everything on the day.
