HIRATSUKA, Kanagawa (Kyodo) — Kashima Antlers were forced to settle for a 1-1 away draw against relegation-threatened Shonan Bellmare in the J-League first division on Sunday.
The draw moved Antlers into third place, one point ahead of two-time defending champions Kawasaki Frontale, who have three games in hand.
Everaldo did the heavy lifting to set up Antlers’ opener just before the hour mark at Bellmare’s Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka.
Drawing a crowd of defenders as he dribbled down the right, Everaldo nudged the ball ahead of him, sprinted to the middle of the area. Yuta Higuchi ran onto the ball, cut back to the Brazilian, who had beaten his marker and fired home.
The hosts equalized in the 74th minute from an Akimi Barada corner kick to the far post. Kazunari Ono headed it back across the face of the goal for Yusuke Segawa to deftly head in.
In the closing minutes, Everaldo wasted a golden opportunity on a one-two when he launched his cross from the right to the keeper instead of his teammate.
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