Kashiwa see off Kiwis in football's Club World Cup

Kashiwa Reysol will play Monterrey of Mexico in the next round of the Club World Cup after the Japanese champions outclassed part-timers Auckland City 2-0 Thursday in front of a sparse crowd. The New Zealanders were under pressure from the off against the side representing the host nation, but managed to hold firm until late in the first-half, when a quick-fire double ended the game as a contest. Kashiwa, who only claimed the J-League title at the weekend, will take on the Mexicans, the CONCACAF champions, on Sunday, again at the impressive 36,000 Toyota Stadium, which had rows of empty seats for this play-off. "We won the championship at the weekend so had some parties and celebrations, and only had one day to prepare," said Kashiwa's silver-haired Brazilian coach Nelsinho. "It was our international debut and we were not able to play our usual game. We can play much better than this, but because it was our time we were greatly affected by that." His side will certainly expect a far sterner test than that offered by amateurs Auckland City, who were representing Oceania at the annual tournament of continental champions. The plucky Kiwi side provided the shock of the Club World Cup of 2009, unexpectedly winning two games. But there was to be no fairytale this time. "When we look back at where we are coming from, we had a good experience here," said Auckland's Spanish coach Ramon Tribulietx. "It was a good experience for our players. We play in an amateur league so to be here was a good learning experience." Kashiwa, who made history by winning the J-League after only being promoted the season before, continued their hot streak and might have been ahead within just five minutes, but Tatsuya Masushima's snap shot was blocked on the line. Englishman Adam Dickinson offered a muscular outlet in attack for an Auckland side made up of office workers, students and even a former backpacker, but his team were encamped in their own half for much of the first period. And just when it looked like they might hang on for half-time, Junya Tanaka turned neatly in the box and fired the ball past an exposed Jacob Spoonley in the Auckland goal. That was on 37 minutes, and just three minutes later the J-League winners made it 2-0 when Masato Kudo fired in from close range after the ball had rebounded off the post. The visitors made more of a game of it in the second-half, forcing Takanori Sugeno into a flying one-handed save late on.