Football: Marinos overcome plucky Ventforet in Super Cup

Takuma Nishimura struck midway through the second half to give J-League first-division champions Yokohama F Marinos a 2-1 win over the Emperor’s Cup holders, second-division club Ventforet Kofu, in the Fujifilm Super Cup on Saturday.

Heavy favorites to win the 2023 season curtain raiser, Kevin Muscat’s Marinos dominated possession but had to battle until the final whistle to claim their first Super Cup against giant killers Kofu.

Marinos took the lead at Tokyo’s National Stadium through Elber before Peter Utaka hit back for last year’s 18th-place J2 side, who eliminated a succession of top-fli...