Iniesta makes 1st start as Kobe beats Kashiwa in J-League

Andres Iniesta made his first start as Vissel Kobe beat Kashiwa Reysol 1-0 in the J-League on Saturday.

Iniesta, who came off the bench in Kobe's 3-0 loss to Shonan Bellmare a week ago, had a scoring opportunity in the 15th minute when his right-footed shot from the edge of the area went wide.

He created another chance seven minutes later but it was his teammate, Asahi Masuyama, who scored the winner in the 66th as Kobe moved into fourth place on 28 points.

In other matches, forward Shinzo Koroki scored twice as visiting Urawa Reds thrashed league leaders Sanfrecce Hiroshima 4-1.

Hiroshima remains in first place with 41 points, seven ahead of FC Tokyo.

Yusuke Maruhashi scored twice, including an equalizer in the fifth minute of injury time, as Cerezo Osaka earned a 2-2 draw with Vegalta Sendai.

Elsewhere, Sagan Tosu and Jubilo Iwata finished 0-0, while Gamba Osaka and Kashima Antlers ended 1-1.

Nagoya Grampus vs. Consadole Sapporo, Yokohama F. Marinos vs. Shimizu S Pulse, and Shonan Bellmare vs. Kawasaki Frontale were postponed due to an approaching typhoon.