Olunga’s goal-scoring streak halted as Kashiwa Reysol drew with Sanfrecce Hiroshima

BetOdds African All Stars Kashiwa Reysol v Sanfrecce Hiroshima Sanfrecce Hiroshima Kashiwa Reysol Michael Olunga J1 League

The Harambee Star will remain the clear leader in the top scorer’s race with 16 goals even without finding the back of the net on Saturday

Kenya international Michael Olunga failed to add more goals to his tally despite playing all minutes in Kashiwa Reysol's 1-1 draw against Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Olunga is the leader in the J1 League top scorers’ chart with 16 goals after featuring in the same number of matches.

Douglas Vieira had scored the opener for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the ninth minute but Olunga and his teammates fought and equalised in the first minute of added time of the first half via Kengo Kitazume’s strike.

Ataru Esaka, who has been equally in a good form, provided the assist as Kashiwa Reysol drew at home.

Olunga scored against Sagan Tosun in the last encounter even though his side went down 2-1. The goal helped the Harambee Star to go clear in the Golden Boot race in Japan's top league.The Kenyan has had a good start in Japan’s top-tier since he helped Kashiwa Reysol earn promotion last year after winning the J2 League title.

In the 3-0 win against Gamba Osaka, Olunga was on target once when he scored in the second minute as he continues to prove his worth for the Japanese side. The Kenyan star was not part of the team that faced and defeated Shimizu S-Pulse 2-1 on September 5.

The former Girona star was named the J1 League Most Valuable Player of the month of August after stellar performances that have seen him lead his rivals for the Golden Boot award for the better part of the current season.

The former Tusker centre-forward had started the August campaign well as he scored against Nagoya Grampus to help Kashiwa Reysol win 1-0. On August 5, he was not part of the team that played and won against Shonan Bellmare with a 1-0 scoreline.

He was named by his Brazilian coach Nelson 'Nelsinho' Baptista Junior in the team that featured against Yokohama F. Marinos and scored even though the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

When Cerezo Osaka defeated Kashiwa Reysol 3-1 in mid-August, Olunga did open the gap even further away from his Golden boot rivals who include Urawa Reds’ Leonardo Nascimento.Olunga finished second to the Brazilian in the J2 Golden Boot race last year while the former was playing for Albirex Niigata.

The Harambee Star found the back of the net once when Kashiwa Reysol defeated Vissel Kobe in a 3-2 encounter on August 19.

He played against Oita Trinita on August 23 but he could not help his team register a win when the sides drew 0-0. He crowned a spectacular month of August with a brace against Kashima Antlers but Kashiwa Reysol were defeated 3-2 despite Olunga's brilliant afternoon then.

After 17 matches Kashiwa Reysol are sixth with 27 points and will face Consadole Sapporo on September 23.

2020-09-19 18:00:03

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