Match report: Albion cruise to friendly win over Kashima Antlers

Main Club Sponsor

TICKETS

SHOP

Albion impressed in Fabian Hurzeler's first game in charge.

2024-07-24T12:50+01:00

Kaoru Mitoma was making his first Albion appearance since February.

Amario Cozier-Duberry netted a brace as Albion beat Kashima Antlers 5-1 in their opening match of their pre-season trip to Japan.

The winger was one of a number of new signings who made their first appearances in Albion shirt, as Ibrahim Osman, Yankuba Minteh and Malick Yalcouye also got on the pitch.

Albion made an impressive start at the National Stadium in Tokyo, but it was Kashima, who are 24 games into the domestic J1 League season, that went inches away from taking the lead. Hidehiro Sugai’s cross was cleared by Jan Paul van Hecke into James Milner and the ball deflected just wide of the top right corner with seven minutes gone.

Yankuba Minteh put Albion in front after 16 minutes.

Kaoru Mitoma’s first appearance in an Albion shirt since picking up a back injury in February was nearly marked by a goal when his strike from the edge of the box took a deflection off the leg of Ikuma Sekigawa, sending it onto the crossbar, but it bounced out of play.

Minteh though gave Albion fans a real taste of what he has to offer with the opening goal of the game. Getting on the end of Milner’s pass down the right, The Gambia international cut past two defenders before slotting in from ten yards.

The former Newcastle United man nearly had a second with ten minutes of the first half to play when he was slipped in by Mitoma, but his effort was well closed down by goalkeeper Tomoki Hayakawa.

Shu Morooka thumped narrowly wide for Kashima from the edge of the box, but Jeremy Sarmiento marked his return to action with a fine finish five minutes into the second half. The Ecuadorian got onto Jensen Weir’s knockdown from Valentin Barco’s corner, flicking it up for himself and finding the back of the net on the volley.

Yasin Ayari and Jeremy Sarmiento scored impressive goals early on in the second half.

Yasin Ayari made it 3-0 after 53 minutes as he rifled in from close after being found by Simon Adingra, before Cozier-Duberry should have made it 4-0 from close but dragged his drive wide.

The summer signing from Arsenal would make his mark though as he calmly found the bottom left corner from the right of the box.

The 19-year-old would add a second to his tally for the day as he capitalised on a slip from Morooka before bursting into the box and slotting home with just over 15 minutes to play.

Kashima found a consolation goal in the 84th minute as 17-year-old Homare Takuda - who looked marginally offside - was played in on goal and squeezed his effort past Jason Steele.

Hurzeler's team round off their pre-season tour of Japan on Sunday when they face Tokyo Verdy, kick-off 10.30am UK time.