Shuto Machino had a breakout 2022 season, establishing himself as one of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League’s top forwards, and the 23-year-old has shown no signs of slowing down this year.

The Shonan Bellmare man was absolutely electric on Saturday, scoring four goals in a 21-minute span to become the first player in the history of the league to score four first half goals.

Machino scored on pure opportunism, taking advantage of a bad Gamba Osaka mistake, then calm finishing from the front, clever skill with a little lob and smart running to the back post. It was a total performance for the star.

Machino’s four-goal outing took him to five goals on the season, joint-top of the league with Yokohama FC’s Koki Ogawa. It also lifted Bellmare to the top half of the table, where they now sit eighth.