Dunga, Timbe missing in action in Japan

Kenyan winger Ayub Timbe missed the matchday squad for Vissel Kobe as they fell 2-1 to Kashiwa Reysol while Ismael Dunga was an unused substitute in Sagan Tosu’s 1-0 win over FC Tokyo in the Japanese J1 League.

Ayub Timbe

Timbe has been missing in the last two matchday squads since coming on as a second-half substitute in the 1-1 draw against Cerezo Osaka back in mid-July.

The club is yet to provide an update on Timbe but confirmed that an unnamed player tested positive for Covid-19 back on Wednesday 4 August.

After a goalless first half Brazilian midfielder, Cristiano opened the scoring for Reysol in the 65th minute with Yutaro Oda pulling one back for Kobe 20 minutes from time after being introduced just two minutes before.

With both teams looked to have settled for a draw Reysol scored a 95th-minute winner through Mao Hosoya with the three points coming in handy for their bid to survive relegation.

Ismael Dunga

Former Tusker FC forward Ismael Dunga watched the 1-0 win over FC Tokyo despite coming on as a substitute in the 3-3 draw against Cerezo Osaka last time out.

The win came in handy for Tosu as they leapfrogged Vissel Kobe on the log to third which guarantees them a place in the AFC Champions League qualifiers should they maintain the slot to the end of the season.

The tie was settled by a seventh-minute goal from Keiya Sento with head coach Koichiro Katafuchi exhausting his substitutions in the second half on defensive players to preserve their lead.