Defending Nabisco Cup champion Reds suffer early setback

[Hachiko]

Urawa Reds' hopes of successfully defending their Nabisco Cup title suffered an early setback after a surprise 3-2 defeat at home to Oita Trinita in the first round of group-stage matches on Saturday.

Daisuke Sakata (left) of the Yokohama F. Marinos and Sanfrecce Hiroshima's Kota Hattori chase the ball during their Nabisco Cup first-round game on Saturday at Hiroshima Stadium. The match ended in a scoreless draw.

Japan Times