Kashiwa battle Monterrey for s'final spot

Kashiwa Reysols Brazilian coach warned that his side must play better in the next stage of the Club World Cup after the Japanese champions set up a quarter-final clash with Monterrey of Mexico.Kashiwa, who claimed the J-League title last weekend to secure the final berth at the intercontinental championships, defeated New Zealand part-timers Auckland City 2-0 on Thursday to progress on home soil.Goals in the 37th and 40th minutes were enough to see Kashiwa safely through, but they were disappointing in the second half, allowing the Kiwis to dominate play and carve out several clear chances."We made our debut in an international match and actually we were not able to play as usual in terms of strategy and in terms of tactics," said Nelsinho, who has overseen a dramatic reversal in Kashiwas fortunes."We can play much better, but because this was our debut in an international tournament we were slightly affected by that."Should Kashiwa beat CONCACAF champions Monterrey on Sunday, they will find themselves facing Brazilian giants Santos -- a dramatic change in fortunes for a team which was in Japans second division only a year ago.But the coach, whose uncanny knack with line-ups and substitutions has been dubbed "Nelsinho magic" by the Japanese media, insisted he was not looking too ahead to a showdown with his compatriots."
Click here to read full news..