Ryo Germain’s quad-trick proved instrumental as newly-promoted Jubilo Iwata won 5-4 away at Kawasaki Frontale on Friday’s J.League 1 action for their first win of the 2024 season.
Moments after Kawasaki had come back from an early three-goal deficit, Germain had a goal called back at the Todoroki Athletics Stadium by VAR for a handball by a defender.
Given a second chance from the penalty spot, the striker, who scored nine times last season in the J.League 2, struck the 97th-minute winner.
With Jubilo leading 1-0 after Hiroto Uemura’s sixth-minute goal, Germain bagged a brace to make it 3-0, only for Frontale to come back thanks to two goals from Erison. The Brazilian twice had solid shots at a hat-trick blocked, with his compatriot Marcinho knocking in one of those to equalize in the 59th minute.
Germain made it 4-3 to Jubilo from the spot in the 80th minute, before Shin Yamada did the same for Frontale five minutes later.
The Jubilo striker appeared to seal the win when he kicked the ball away from a defender early in added time and fired past keeper Jung Sung-ryong, only for the VAR to intervene and call the ball dead upon contact with the defender’s arm and give Germain another penalty kick, which the former Vegalta Sendai man capitalized perfectly.