Kenyan international Ayub Timbe had to settle for time on the bench as his team, Vissel Kobe edged out Shonan Bellmare 3-1 in a Japanese J1 League match to move into the AFC Champions League qualification slot.The former Reading FC winger was an unused substitute, making his way back to the matchday squad in the last two matches after missing out altogether against Avispa Fukuoka.Kobe trailed in the 12th minute but took only five minutes to level the scores, and from that, there was no looking back for the team that has been on a fine form the past four matches.However, they suffered what would have appeared to be a setback with four minutes left to play in the first half as former Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta was taken out with an injury, and replaced with Yuya Nakasaka.[FULLTIME] リーグ戦3連勝！VISSEL KOBE 3-1 SHONAN BELLMAREハイライトは @DAZN_JPN📺登録は▶https://t.co/GGnyM69O6n#visselkobe #ヴィッセル神戸 pic.twitter.com/BWPUqRXfsH— ヴィッセル神戸 (@visselkobe) July 3, 2021 They were forced to another injury substitution in the second half as Hiroki Ilkura replaced Daiya Naekawa just after the hour mark.Kobe scored in the first minute of the stoppage time in the first half to lead into the break, perhaps changing Atsuhiro Miura’s pep talk at halftime.On resumption, it took Kobe 18 minutes to score the third and seal the victory, all as Timbe watched from the bench. In the last match against Yokohama FC, he came off the bench and featured for 27 minutes as they drubbed 5-0 over Yokohama.Kobe have been stringed four wins in a row for the first time since October last year, the first of the four wins in that run being a 4-0 win Suzuka point in the Emperor’s Cup in mid-June.The win sees Vissel Kobe move to third on the log with 37 points, same as Nagoya who have an inferior goal difference.
