HIROSHIMA, Japan (Interstat) — S’frecce Hiroshima opened its J1 League campaign with a commanding 3-0 victory over rival Urawa Reds on Saturday at Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima, delivering a performance that far exceeded pregame projections and underscored their strong early-season form.

The home side, entering the match with momentum from a midweek victory in continental competition, controlled the match from the outset, ultimately overwhelming a Urawa Reds squad that failed to build on its own positive result from the previous weekend.

The match’s turning point arrived just before halftime. After sustained pressure, Hiroshima broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute through forward Kosuke Kinoshita. The goal, a justified reward for the home side’s dominance in the first half, sent the teams into the break with Hiroshima holding a firm advantage.

Any hopes of a Urawa comeback were effectively extinguished in a decisive seven-minute span late in the second half. Hiroshima doubled its lead in the 75th minute when Katō Mutsuki found the net, further cementing their control. The victory was then put beyond all doubt just seven minutes later, as substitute Yōichi Naganuma came off the bench to score the team’s third goal in the 82nd minute, completing a comprehensive team performance.

The final score was a stark contrast to the pregame simulation from Interstat, which had projected a 1-1 draw. The analytics firm’s ELO rating system had given Hiroshima a 67 percent probability to win, a figure the team convincingly surpassed with its three-goal margin.

The result provides an immediate boost to Hiroshima’s domestic aspirations, giving them a perfect start to the J1 League season with one win and no losses. For Urawa Reds, the defeat marks a disappointing beginning to their league campaign, leaving them with a record of no wins and one loss.

The match also highlighted the contrasting form of the two clubs across all competitions this season. Hiroshima’s record now stands at an impressive four wins, one loss, and one draw, a run of form that includes success in the AFC Champions League. Their most recent result was a 1-0 home victory over South Korea’s Gangwon on Tuesday.

Urawa, meanwhile, sees its overall record level at one win and one loss. They had opened their season with a 2-0 home win over Cerezo Osaka on Nov. 2, but were unable to replicate that performance on the road against a formidable Hiroshima side.

Looking ahead, S’frecce Hiroshima’s schedule remains heavily focused on continental duties. The team’s next 10 fixtures are exclusively in the AFC Champions League, beginning with an away match against China’s Cheng Rongcheng on Nov. 25. They will then host Shanghai Shenhua FC on Dec. 10 before resuming their continental campaign in February with home-and-away fixtures against Johor Darul Ta’zim FC of Malaysia and FC Seoul of South Korea.

The convincing nature of the victory, defying statistical expectations, signals that Hiroshima is a force to be reckoned with both domestically and in Asia as the season progresses. For Urawa Reds, the performance serves as an early-season reminder of the challenges ahead in the J1 League.