The 2025 J.LEAGUE YBC Levain CUP 1st Round kicked off on Thursday, and while the majority of the MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE participants came out on top of their ties none had easy rides against their MEIJI YASUDA J3 LEAGUE opponents and one, Fagiano Okayama, was eliminated at the first hurdle.
Okayama’s defeat came at the hands of Giravanz Kitakyushu, who emerged as 1-0 victors thanks to Ryuki Hirahara’s goal in the 19th minute.
Elsewhere, Albirex Niigata and Tokyo Verdy needed penalty shoot-outs to overcome Vanraure Hachinohe and AC Nagano Parceiro, respectively. Niigata won 4-2 after a 1-1 draw, while Tokyo-V triumphed 5-4 on spot kicks after their game finished goalless.
Nagoya Grampus were also made to work for their progression and required extra time to get the better of Tegevajaro Miyazaki - ultimately winning 3-0 after a scoreless 90 minutes.
The biggest winners of the day were Cerezo Osaka, who struck a handful of times to beat Kamatamare Sanuki 5-1. Things weren’t quite as straightforward as the scoreline may suggest for C-Osaka though, and they needed three goals between the 74th and 84th minutes to make sure of their win.
Several other games were decided by just a single goal, as MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE clubs were pushed to their limit by highly motivated opposition.
Kashima Antlers edged TOCHIGI CITY 1-0 thanks to Kimito Nono’s 69th minute strike, an early Hayato Nakama goal was enough to seal a 1-0 win for Kashiwa Reysol over Azul Claro Numazu, FC TOKYO needed an effort from Soma Anzai in the fifth minute of injury time to get past Nara Club, while all that separated Zweigen Kanazawa and Shonan Bellmare was an own goal with 15 minutes to play that secured a 1-0 win for Shonan.
Meanwhile, goals from Takashi Usami and Shoji Toyama earned Gamba Osaka a two-goal lead in the first half against Kochi United SC, but G-Osaka had to keep their wits about them until the final whistle after Kokoro Kobayashi pulled one back for Kochi in the 77th minute to make it 2-1
The final three games of the day all finished as 2-0 wins for MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE clubs. Yokohama FC beat FC Gifu, Kyoto Sanga F.C. overcame Gainare Tottori, and Avispa Fukuoka got the better of FC RYUKYU.
