J2 - round 28 results

Shonan Bellmare Roasso Kumamoto 4-1
S: Ishihara 41’, Kato 64’,Kikuchi 77’, Mitsuhira 89'
R: Komorida 14’

Shonan had few problems beating a poor Roasso side at home this round, and took a comfortable 4-1 win. It could have been more, as Shonan dominated from start to finish almost. However, it was the visitors that took a some what surprising lead, when in-form midfielder Komorida scored his 3rd goal in the last 4 matches after only 14 minutes. Komorida were beautifully flicked through, and although the GK saved his first effort he were quick to head in the rebound. But although Roasso put all their men in defence after the early goal, Shonan didn’t had too much trouble getting to chances, and finally equalized 4 minutes before half-time, through FW Ishihara on a well-placed header. That was Ishihara’s 12th goal this season, which means he’s 3rd in the goalscoring rank. The 2nd half looked pretty much the same as the first, with Shonan putting Roasso under an enormous amount of pressure. Kato made it 2-1 in the 64th minute from the penalty-spot, before Kikuchi added another with a well-taken shot from distace in the 77th minute. Youngster Mitsuhira, who only made his 4th ever appearance as a sub sealed the win for Shonan with his last-minute goal, a spectacular back-heel kick that looped over the goalkeeper. Shonan had 23 shots to Roasso’s 7, and it was fully deserved. Shonan are in decent form now, and not too many points behind the other promotion candidates. Roasso however, only have Tokushima below them in the table
Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Rb82uh0cog

Yokohama FC Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-2
Y: Ikemoto 65’
S: Aoyama 63’, Kubo 79’
Sanfrecce took their 4th win in a row when they beat struggling Yokohama 2-1 away this round, and it was fully deserved as well. Yokohama have taken only 2 points in their last 5 matches, and are just a few points above the bottom-placed teams. They played well on occasions here though, but all in all Yokohama were deserved winners. The first half were quite slow, with Sanfrece lying low, and Yokohama struglging to get past the sturdy defence. They got off to a few shots from distance though, but it never really troubled the goalkeeper. Sanfrecce opted for counter-attacks and the long-ball pass, and it proved a bit more effective than Yokohama’s tactic. In the 63rd minute Aoyama took advantage of an error from Yokohama’s Yamada, and put the visitors in the lead. But just 2 minutes later Ikemoto equalized with a powerful shot, and the teams were deadlocked again. As the match wore out, both teams decided to threw on their veteran striker, with Yokohama fielding Miura and Sanfrecce Kubo. Kubo probably have alot more gas left in the tank compared to Miura, and the former NT-striker scored the winning goal with a nice header 11 minutes from full time. Yokohama had 11 shots to Sanfrecce’s 17.

Mito Hollyhock Avispa Fukuoka 2-3
M: Arata 47’, Suzuki 53’
A: Okubo 15’, 75’, Jogo 40’

Mito and Avispa battled it out this round in a very closely contested battle that could have gone either way. It was the in-form visitors that ended up as winners though, and took their 4th win in a row which means they are only 9 points behind 2nd placed Montedio. A remarkable recovery in other words, and Avispa’s season doesn’ look doomed after-all...
Avispa got off to a great start this match, as FW Okubo hammered in the opening goal in the 15th minute. Just before the break, Jogo doubled the lead, and things looked hard for Mito regarding the 2nd half.But their coach must have said something good in the break, as Mito came out looking much better suddenly, and within 8 minutes they had scored twice to equalize Avispa’s lead. In-form Arata scored the first, before Suxuki added another minutes later.
After this, the match opened up, with both teams coming to chances. With a bit more luck, it could have been Mito that scored the winning goal, but instead Okubo became the man of the match with his 2nd goal for Avispa that sealed the win for the visitors. With Mito having 11 shots to Avispa’s 10, it could have gone both ways.

Sagan Tosu Ventforet Kofu 2-1
S: Fujita 48’, 75’
V: Maranhao 69’

Sagan beat in-form Kofu 2-1 at home in a very close and entertaining encounter, that just as easily could have ended up with a win for Kofu. The visitors had most of the chances actually, and even blew a penalty-kick that probably would have changed the outcome of the match. The first half were not too entertaining, but with Sagan looking slighty the better team, few were surprised when they took the lead just 3 minutes into the 2nd half. Fujita were fouled just outside the box, and converted the free-kick himself to make it 1-0. Kofu tried to respond immediately though, and got to several chances. Before they finally equalized in the 69th minute through new FW Maranhao, they had among other things missed a PK. Now, suddenly Kofu looked the most likely winner, but Sagan bounced back and Fujita added his 2nd just minutes after the equalizer. With Sagan having 10 shots to Kofu’s 15, perhaps the visitors deserved atleast a draw. With the win, Sagan are as high as 3rd now, and things are looking good with regards to promotion.

Vegalta Sendai FC Gifu 1-1
V: Hirase 63’
G: Katagiri 5’

Gifu are drawing alot of matches at the moment, as 6 of their last 11 matches have ended a draw. They’ve beeb playing some good football though, with the problem being to kill matches off when they are in the lead, or on a more general aspect convert their chances. Either way, 1-1 away against one of the favorites for promotion is absolutely a good result. Vegalta have the similar problem as Gifu have, and are in fact the team with the most draws so far. They’ve only lst 5 though, so they’re still up there among the frontrunners for promotion. Gifu got off to a great start, as FW Katagiri had the honour of finishing off a beautiful attack by Gifu, where they displayed brilliant 1-2 passing and nice overlapping to set up Katagiri for the shot. A shock start for Vegalta, who then faced a difficult task equalizing against a defensively oriented Gifu side. They came to alot of chances though, but most of them were shots from poor positions, and never really looked threatening for Gifu. Gifu on their hand went for quick counters, and had some chances on their own.
Veteran-striker and Vegalta’s topscorer this season Hirase came to the rescue once again for Vegalta, as he scored a good goal after being set up nicely by Tamura. 1-1, and now both teams were chasing the lead. As it happened, Vegalta came closest the winning goal, but in the end the teams shared the spoils, and Vegalta drew their 3rd match in a row. Vegalta had 19 shots to Gifu’s 10.

Montedio Yamagata Thespa Kusatsu 1-0
M: Hasegawa 53’

Thespa’s good run seems to be over, as they’ve only taken 2 points in their last 4 matches now. That means they’ve fallen a few points behind the other teams in the run for promotion, and their chances of getting back into it seems small. Montedio on the other hand, managed to win on what wasn’t a particular good day for them, and that’s a strong sign. They currenty lie in a comfortable 2nd, although with a game in hand on the others.
It was a tough match, with alot of rough play and also chances at both ends. Montedio’s striker Rychelly received 2 yellow cards within 7 minutes midway through the 2nd half, which meant the home team had to play with only 10 players for over an hour. Thespa got Beum Son-Jeon sent off too, but not before in the dying minutes of the 2nd half. Thespa got off to the best start, and created several chances in the opening minutes. They opted for the long ball towards the striker, and for a while it seemed like a good tactic. Montedio made a few adjustments later on though, which limited Thespa’s chances. The only goal of the game came 8 minutes into the 2nd half, when Hasegawa exploited a big errror from Thespa’s GK Honda, and easily scored the 1-0 goal. Despite heavure pressure from Thespa later on, Montedio managed to keep a clean sheet and took a very important 1-0 win. Montedio had 13 shots to Thespa’s 18.

Ehime FC Tokushima Vortis 1-0
E: Oki 64’
The Shikoku-derby are usually very intense, with alot of atmosphere and tough play, and this time it was no difference. It was a highly entertaining match, where both teams came up with chances, and looked eager to beat their rival. Tokushima got off to the best start, and had several big chances in the early stages of the match. They’ve bought 2 new brazilians, which both were highly involved in Tokushima’s offensive play this match. Especially the new striker Sosa, who blew 5 big chances for his team. He managed to find the net once though, only to see it correctly disallowed. Ehime didn’t really produce much in the first half, but were by far the best in the 2nd. Susume Oki became the match-winner with a nice goal in the 64th minute, after MF Akai beautifully set him up with a through-ball. Ehime controlled the rest of the match, and in the end it was a deserved win. Tokushima might feel they deserved a draw though, but they can only blame themselves for not being able to find the net. Ehime had 12 shots to Tokushima’s 8.
Highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EligokNBO20

J1 - round 19 results

Kashima Antlers Urawa Red Diamonds 1-1
K: Ogasawara 40’

U: Tatsuya Tanaka 82’

Omiya Ardija Shimizu S-Pulse 0-0

Albirex Niigata Consadole Sapporo 2-1
A: Richardes 1’, Alessandro 74’

C: Davi 71’

FC Tokyo Yokohama F Marinos 1-1
T: Emerson 9’

Y: Oshima 4’

Gamba Osaka Oita Trinita 0-1
O: Edmilson 69’

Jubilo Iwata Tokyo Verdy 1-1
J: Maeda 5’

T: Wada 68’

Kashiwa Reysol Kyoto Purple Sanga 2-2
KR: Suganuma 9’, Kitajima 51’

KS: Ando 3’, Yanagisawa 10’

Kawasaki Frontale Nagoya Grampus Eight 1-1
K: Juninho 52’
N: Magnum 12’

Vissel Kobe JEF Utd Ichihara 0-1
J: Maki 75’

Full reports to follow..

Hulk to Porto

So now it's finalized, Tokyo Verdy's ace striker Hulk has completed a move to Porto. Givanildo de Souza, which is his full name, were sold for an approximately 4 million Euros, and is the 2nd big-money transfer from Japan in a week, after Bare's 6 million move to The Emirates. Hope is we'll see Hulk in the Champions League the next season, and it will be interesting to see how he will fare on a bigger arena than J.League.

Mike Tuckerman have covered the story pretty well here:

http://www.oleole.com/blogs/miketuckerman/posts/fc-porto-sign-the-incredible-hulk

J1 - round 18 results

Kyoto Purple Sanga FC Tokyo 1-1
K: Mizumoto 50’

T: Akamine 90’

Kyoto and Tokyo battled it out in a very entertaining match in which the home team should have taken all 3 points. Kyoto had most of the chances, and once again played a very good match. They are now undefeated for 4 matches, and that against good competition. Kyoto got off to a good start with several big chances in the opening minutes. But the finishing weren’t too good, and especially Fernandinho and Yanagisawa squandered many shots each. Tokyo got to some chances as well, including a header than went via the bar and over, but overall Kyoto looked strongest. Kyoto’s new rock in central defence Hiroki Mizumoto have had a great start to his Kyoto-career, and this match he scored his first ever goal for the club. Just minutes after the half-time break, Mizumoto jumped high to beat everyone in the air on a corner from Fernandinho. A beautiful goal, and Mizumoto looks to be in really good form ahead of the Olympics. After the goal, the match looked pretty much the same, with chances at both ends. But the only difference were that now Tokyo looked most dangerous, with Akamine in particular causing trouble. But it took an error from Kyoto’s goalkeeper for Tokyo and Akamine to score the equalizer, in the very last minute of the match. That meant Kyoto dropped 2 very unnecessary and annoying 2 points in injury-time, but atleast they can be happy to have maintained their good form playing-wise. For Tokyo however, this was the 5th game in a row without a win. Kyoto had 15 shots to Tokyo’s 16.

Nagoya Grampus Eight Omiya Ardija 4-0
N: Yoshimura 16’, Magnum 28’, Johnsen 48’, Sugimoto 89’

Nagoya went rampant when they met a flailing Omiya side at home this round, and didn’t stop until they had scored 4 goals. A very impressive win, and Nagoya showed once again that they are to be looked upon as a serious candidate for a top 3 finish this season.
Although the match itself were pretty evenly contested, with both teams getting to chances, the biggest difference layed in attack, with Nagoya’s FW’s looking alot more deadlier than Omiya’s. Yoshimura gave Nagoya the lead after 16 minutes, after some nice attacking down the right-flank. Not too long after, Magnum took a shot from distance that Ezumi in Omiya’s goal fumbled across the goal-line, and suddenly Nagoya were 2-0 up. By then, they looked to be in total control of the match, and Omiya’s players almost seemed to had given up already. Nagoya’s prolific striker and topscorer, the norwegian Frode Johnsen were on target just after the break to make it 3-0, and with that killed any hopes Omiya had of getting back into the game. The rest of the match went on without too much action, but right before the end Sugimoto added a 4th. Actually Omiya had more shots on goal than Nagoya, with 13 against 10.

Urawa Red Diamonds Kawasaki Frontale 1-3
U: Takahara 7’

K: Ito 27’, Chong Tese 66’, Vitor Junior 68’

Urawa haven’t been much consistent lately, and once again they came up with a lacklustre performance which saw a visiting Frontale side beat them 3-1 in front over approximately 52 000 at Saitama. It was a very important win for Frontale, who climbed to 6th with the win here, just 3 points being 2nd placed Urawa. Urawa got off to the best start though, with in-form Tulio hitting the bar with a powerful middle-shot in the opening minutes. Straight after that, Takahara scored the opening goal to make it 1-0 for Urawa after rounding off a Frontale defender. But Kawasaki were soon to get back into the match, and Ito equalized in the 27th minute. After the break, Frontale took more and more over, and in the 66th minute Chong Tese got away on a quick-counter to make it 2-1 for the visitors.Just minutes later new signing and arguably man of the match Vitor Junior added a 3rd for Frontale. Even though Urawa made a few substitutions and adjustment to their squad, they didn’t managed to get back into the match, and Frontale could take a well-deserved win in the end. Frontale had 16 shots to Urawa’s 15.

JEF Utd Ichihara Gamba Osaka 0-1
G: Yamazaki 90’

JEF’s misery doesn’t seem to have and end to it, and once again they ended up as losers when they met a strong Gamba Osaka side at home. However, Gamba had to wait until injury-time in the 2nd half for the winning goal, and JEF played a good match defensively this time. But there was no doubt Gamba deserved the win though, as they controlled most of the match, looking especially strong in midfield. In the absence of playmaker Yasuhito Endo who’s out with hepatitis C, Takahiro Futagawa have stood up as the ”new” natural leader on the pitch for Gamba, and he put in a very impressive performance here, in which he were crowned MVP of the round. Gamba got to alot of chances, and in total they had 20 shots on goal to JEF’s 8. Late-substitute Masato Yamazaki became the hero for Gamba with his last-minute goal, which means Gamba now are in a joint 2nd position, just 2 points behind frontrunners Antlers. This was FW Bare’s last match for Gamba actually, as the star striker has left for Al Ahly in the Emirates in a transfer worth 6 million Euros. Gamba looks weakended up front without him, especially with Bando out with injury as well, so I guess we’ll see another one brought in pretty soon.

Shimizu S-Pulse Albirex Niigata 3-0
S: Nishizawa 18’,50’, Takagi 43’

Shimizu played one of their better matches this season when they beat an in-form Albirex,unbeaten for 7 matches, 3-0 at home in a entertaining encounter. It was no doubt to whom the points would go to, as Shimizu looked the sharpest for pretty much the entire match. Former Cerezo-striker Nishizawa bagged a double this match, and perhaps the veteran is the answer to Shimizu’s goalscoring problems. The first goal came on a header after a looping cross from Ichikawa down the right-flank side. Albirex’s keeper should have saved it though, but a goal is a goal. Just before the break, Takagi picked up the loose ball from a corner-kick and hammered it in from tight angle. Nishizawa scored his 2nd of the day a few minutes into the 2nd half, this one also from a corner. Although Shimizu for once looked strong in attack, it was their defensive play that were the most impressing thing. They denied the Albirex players any room to play, and kept a clean sheet for the first time in 10 matches. So all in all a very deserved win for Shimizu, who moved 4 points clear of the relegation zone with this result.

Yokohama F Marinos Kashima Antlers 0-2
K: Marquinhos 12’, Koroki 29’

Marinos once again ended up on the losing side this round, as they fell to a strong Antlers side at home. The visitors won 2-0, after 2 early goals from Marquinhos and Koroki. The youngster Koroki were given a rare chance from the start instead of the in-effective Yuzo Tashiro, and Koroki impressed with alot of nice movements and finishing skills. Although Koroki have only started 4 matches this season, he’s bagged 4 goals already, which is the double of what the more regular starter Tashiro has.
Antlers got off to a great start and took the lead through Marquinhos after only 12 minutes, when he fired home a shot from distance. The Marinos defence gave him alot of room to aim and shoot, and it wasn’t the only time they seemed lost. They gave away alot of space several times by standing high in the pitch, and against the fast and offensive Kashima players that doesn’t seem a smart move. Koroki doubled Antlers’s lead in the 29th minute, when he beautifully tricked his marker, before turning and shooting past the flailing Marinos keeper. Although Antlers overall looked the best team, it was the home team that had the most of the chances, but their finishing were really off-target this match. That’s been a problem for them earlier this season as well, and they are currently 4 points clear of safe place. Marinos had 12 shots to Antlers’s 7. The Brazil international Marcinho got his debut for Antlers here, and seemed to be a good addition to the team.

Oita Trinita Jubilo Iwata 2-1
O: Ueslei 69’,90’

J: Naruoka 34’

Oita have become the best home-team in J1 lately, and once again they managed to take all 3 points thanks to a last minute goal from Ueslei. This was Oita’s 6th home win in a row, which takes them as high as 7th. Jubilo however, continues to struggle and might be in danger of facing the drop it this continues.
The match itself were a pretty slow contest, with few chances at both ends. Oita aren’t known for their sparkling offensive play, and are more a team that focuses on their defensive strength. Jubilo managed tu put them under alot of pressure early on though, and in the 34th minute Sho Naruoka gave the visitors the lead. Last round, Naruoka found the net with a cracking shot from distance, and he copied that feat this match as well.
Oita tried to get back into the match though, and in the 2nd half they looked the dominant team. Veteran-striker Ueslei scored a lucky equalizer than Kawaguchi in Jubilo’s goal should have saved in the 69th minute, and with just seconds left to play he scored the winning goal, after being allowed alot of space between the 2 central defenders. FW Yaushito Morishima who’s on loan from Cerezo got his debut here for Oita here, and the striker did a good job although he didn’t take any shots. Oita had 6 shots to Jubilo’s 7.

Tokyo Verdy Kashiwa Reysol 2-1
V: Fukunishi 12’, Diego 79’

R: Otani 84’

Reysol lost for the 2nd time in the last 3 matches, and seems a bit out of form now. They played a decent match though, and with a bit more luck they would have ended up on the winning-side. Verdy got off to a good start though, as Fukunishi gave them the lead after only 12 minutes with a shot from just a few metres out. Verdy looked pretty solid for most of the first half actually, and came up with several nice offensive combinations. Reysol looked the sharpest for the 2nd half though, and were unlucky not to equalizer. Both Lee and Alex hit the post, and instead Diego doubled Verdy’s lead from the penalty-spot. Few minutes later Otani reduced for Reysol from close range, but it as too little too late. Verdy had 11 shots to Reysol’s 10, who got centreback Koga sent off in the situation that led to Diego’s PK goal. Verdy managed quite well without Hulk, and new singing Oguro are starting to get in match-form, and seems a good signing for Verdy.

Consadole Sapporo Vissel Kobe 1-1
C: Davi 45’

K: Leandro 22’

After 1-1 at home vs Vissel this round, Consadole have now played 4 matches in a row without defeat, which is quite strong considering their low position in the table. For Vissel, it was a bit of a letdown with only a draw, as they entered this match with 3 straight wins under their belt.
Vissel took the lead after 22 minutes when Leandro’s shot were deflected which left the Consadole goalkeeper standing wrong-footed. A somewhat lucky goal, which came in a good Consadole period. The home team didn’t give up though, and looked particularly dangerosu from set-pieces. Right before the break, they received a PK after what looked like a handballl, and the brazilian star Davi converted it with ease.
There were alot of action in the 2nd half as well, with the highlight being Consadole’s GK Takagi being shown the red card for handballing outside the box. It looked kinda clumsy, and suddenly Conadole were reduced to 10 men. Naturally Vissel took more over cause of that, but despite heavy pressure and alot of chances they failed to find the net. Not even when a 2nd Consadole player, Haga, were sent off with 10 minutes left to play, did the manage to find a way past Consadole’s defence. All in all a result Consadole have to be happiest with in the end. Consadole had 8 shots to Vissel’s 12.

Bare loaded off to Al-Ahly for 6 million Euros

Alot of Gamba ans are unhappy with the loss of Bare.

Gamba's star-striker Jader "Bare" Spindler has reportedly been sold to Al-Ahly from the Emirates for a sum worth up to 6 Million Euros for Gamba. With Bare's contract running out next year, Gamba opted to go for the money, and 6 million Euros is quite much by asian standards. Bare himself have done quite well too, and will earn approximately 2 million Euros a season.

Thanks to vast income from the oil-industy, the arabic teams have become the economic powerhouses in Asia, and more and more big-name players decides to try their luck there. It sonds a bit like J.League 10 years ago, but certainly the arabic teams are to be taken seriously, as they have always formed a big threat to east-asian clubs. The general thought lately have been that East got the edge over West in Asia, but that might change over the next couple of seasons, with more and more money being pumped into the arabic clubs.

Bare will certainly be a big loss for Gamba, and the powerful striker scored 30 goals in 49 J.League matches for his clubs. Before that, he hammered in goals for both Omiya Ardija and
Ventforet Kofu. Bare is probably best known internationally for his 4 goals against MLS powerhouse Houston Dynamo in the final of the inaugural Pan Pacific Tournament earlier this year. Bare has gone riot before though, and few in Japan ( especially not Reysol's fans) will forget his stunning 6 goals against Kashiwa in the crucial qualifier for J1 a few seasons ago.

Gamba's fans are upset by the club, who releases their best striker when they're aiming for wins in both the Asian Champions League as well as the J.League. With Bare's preferred partner Ryuji Bando injured as well Gamba suddenly doesn't look too strong up front. Alot of responsibility will now fall on Lucas's shoulders, as well as the youngster Yamazaki. However, most likely Gamba will find a replacement for Bare, and I wouldn't bet against us seeing another brazilian top-scorer joining the Osaka-based team.

More info in japanese here:
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/news/2008/07/23/15.html

R27 - J.League 2 results and reports

Cerezo Osaka Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-2
C: Komatsu 52’

S: Sato 55’, Kashiwagi 63’

Poor Cerezo lost again, and were totally outplayed when they met Sanfrecce at home. Sanfrecce’s win should have been by a bigger margin, but Yamamoto in the Cerezo goal had a good day, and denied Sato and the others over and over again. However, with a bit more luck Cerezo would have ended up as winners actually, as they blew a penalty early in the 2nd half. Although Sanfrecce had the most of the chances, that goal could have stirredup the match, leaving Cerezo in charge.
Eve without a lead by half-time, Cerezo looked quite strong when they entered the 2nd half though, and took the lead just 7 minutes after the break. RB Yanagisawa and Komatsu had a nice one-two combination that ended with Komatsu giving Cerezo the lead. But it didn’t last long, and 3 minutes later Sato equalized wit a dynamic and powerful shot from distance. Now it was all Sanfrecce ,and with minutes they were 2-1 up, thanks to a goal the in-form midfielder Kashiwagi. Certainly a deserved lead, but the way it came seemed a bit lucky.
Cerezo threw on some extra firepower near the end, but it didn’t help, and Sanfrecce took all 3 points. With Cerezo’s 7 shots against Sanfrecce’s 20, it was fully deserved as well.

Avispa Fukuoka Yokohama FC 3-2
A: Kudo 57’, Tanaka 88’, Okubo 90’

M: Ikemoto 20’, 58’

Almost 15 000 met up to see Avispa beat Yokohama 3-2 at home, in a thrilling and highly entertaining match.Most of the action took place after the break, but there were a few chances in the first half as well. Avispa were by far the best team, and should have won it by a big margin. The first goal came after 20 minutes, when Ikemoto went on an individual run where he rounded off a few men before slamming it home. Ikemoto was the stand-in for the suspended Anderson, and he took good care of his chance by scoring 2 nice goals.
Avispa wasted several good opportunities both before and after the break, but in the 57th minute they finally got the equalizer through Kudo. But within seconds of the goal, Yokohama were in the lead again, as Ikemoto scored his 2nd of the day. Avispa threw everything forward in an attempt to get back into the game, but Yokohama defended with all their players, looking ultra-defensive. But Just before the break, justice were prevailed, when Tanaka headed home a corner-kick to make it 2-2. The drama wasn’t over there, and Yokohama’s GK Koyama got sent off in injury-time, and seconds later Okubo snatched Avispa’s winning goal with another header. A very dramatic end to an exciting match, but it was fully deserved. Avispa had 20 shots to Yokohama’s 5. Since Yokohama had used all their 3 subs, one of the outfield-players had to step in.

Ventforet Kofu Mito Hollyhock 2-0
V: Hayashi 39’, Onishi 69’

Kofu took their 3rd win in 4 matches, and looks to be in great shape at the moment. They beat in-form Mito 2-0 at home, and it was fully deserved. Mito were looking for a record 4-straight wins, but never looked capable of getting any points here.
Kofu looked the best team pretty much throughout the match, but neither of the teams managed to get to that many chances.Kofu focused their attacks down the wings, but the 2 brazilians up front hada rough time winning those high-balls. Kofu took the lead from a corner-kick just before the break, through Hayashi. That were the only goal in the first half, with Kofu as deserved leaders. Among Kofu’s 2 new brazilians, Maranhao certainly looks the strongest, and he were also the man behind Kofu’s 2nd goal, who were scored by Onishi in the 69th minute. Mito weren’t totally lost though, and had some chances for themselves. The biggest came through rookie-striker Kobayashi, but Kofu’s GK came up with a marvellous save. All in all a deserved win for Kofu though, who outshot Mito 10-5.

FC Gifu Shonan Bellmare 0-0

Gifu and showed shared the spoils in a somehat slow and not too much entertaining match this round. A draw is a result Gifu should be most happy about, considering their poor home form and the fact they met one of the better teams in the league. Shonan looked deadliest in attack too, and especially FW Abe looked good. He had the biggest chance in the match, but his shot just went outside of the target. The draw means Shonan still lies in 6th, and are still lagging a few points behind the frontrunners. For Gifu, they are found near the middle of the table, but it’s just a few points up to the teams gunning for promotion, and likewise down to the bottom-placed teams. Both Gifu and Shonan had 9 shots this game.

Thespa Kusatsu Vegalta Sendai 0-0

The other top-match this round took place in Kusatsu, where Thespa met Vegalta at home. Neither of the teams managed to break the deadlock, but it was an entertaining match still. Neither of the teams are in great form, and have dropped several points lately. But since all the other teams around them keeps on missing points as well, both are still very much in it. As for the game, the first half were pretty slow, with neither of the teams looking too interested in attacking. And when they did, the finishing were hopeless at both ends. After the break it opened up a bit though, with Thespa as the team in charge. They came up with several big chances, but the nearest they came were a shot from Shimada which hit the post. Vegalta seemed stunned by Thespa’s positive football, and in the end they were lucky to escape with a draw.Thespa had 14 shots to Vegalta’s 11.

Tokushima Vortis Montedio Yamagata 1-2
T: Ishida 37’

M: Kitamura 3’, Leonardo 90’

After 3 straight defeats, it was about time Montedio won again, and they rightfully did so when they met Tokushima away. It took a last-minute goal for them to get all points though, and the match were overall closely contested. Kitamura gave the visitors an early lead after oly 3 minutes, but after that Tokushima took more and more over. Especially their right-side looked to be on fire this match, with Mugira coming to dangerous crosses over and over again. In fact, Tokushima’s equalizer came after a cross from the right-back, when Ishida headed it home just before the break.
Tokushima had the initiative for most of the match, but didn’t seem to be able to break throuh Montedio’s sturdy defence. They also had most of the chances, but in injury-time Montedio received a corner-kick, which Leonardo scored on with another header. Heart-breaking for the home team, who now are without a win for 7 matches.

Roasso Kumamoto Ehime FC 1-0
R: Ichimura 52’

Roasso and Ehime battled it out this round, and it was the home-team that ended up as winners. They won deservedly 1-0, after 2nd half goal brom Ichimura. With that Roasso are just 3 points behind Ehime actually, and according to the 2 teams form Roasso might leapfrog them within the next 2-3 rounds.
Ehime has 3 losses in a row, and are having their poorest run so far this season. They started the match pretty good though, and got to several chances in the first half. They attacked down both flanks, and put Roasso’s defence under alot of pressure. But they couldn’t manage to find the net, and the teams were deadlocked by half-time. Roasso took more over after the break, and within minutes after the restart, Ichimura had given them the lead, with a splendid shot with his left foot from distance. An absolutely cracker, and after the goal it was one-way traffic against Ehime’s goal. Roasso took completely over the game, and mass-produced chances. Tada in Ehime’s goal did a good job at keeping the score at 0-1 though. Overall a very deserved win, although Ehime looked best the first half. Roasso had 14 shots to Ehime’s 9.

J1 - round 17 results

Urawa Red Diamonds Tokyo Verdy 3-2
U: Tulio 23’,36’,58’

T: Hulk 6’, Diego 41’

In a cracker of football match, Urawa overcame a visiting Verdy side, but it was by a small margin. The visitors took the lead through Hulk after only 6 minutes who scored from the penalty-spot, but it didn’t take long before Urawa were levelled again. Tulio headed home an Abe corner in the 23rd minute, before he scored on PK himself in the 36th. Verdy’s Diego equalized straight after though after receiving a break-through pass from Hulk. With that the teams were deadlocked at half-time, in a very entertaining match. The 2nd half didn’t live up to what we saw in the first though, and things slowed down a bit. We still got to see some action though, and Tulio were on target once again with a header from a corner in the 58th minute to make Urawa go 3-2 up. The versatile player used to be a centreback earlier this season, but has been used mostly in midfield now. This match he held the attacking midfielder position. After Urawa’s goal Verdy’s Hulk were taken off by Verdy’s coach Hashiratani, and the brazilian clearly didn’t like that. As it happened, the brazilian has now gone back to Brazil and is set to leave Verdy to play or Paris SG instead, in a 4 million euro bid. All in all a deserved win for Urawa, who outshot Verdy 11-6.

Kashiwa Reysol Omiya Ardija 1-0
K: Franca 78’

In-form Reysol left it late against struggling Omiya, and the winning goal came 12 minutes before full-time, through brazilian Franca. That was infact the striker’s first goal this season, as he has sat out most of the matches due to an injury. It was a tight match, with many interesting situations at both ends. Both teams made some errors in defence that let the other team get a shot on goal, but both goalkeepers had a good day and came up with several saves. Omiya didn’t field their topscorer Denis Marques this match, as apparently he picked up a cold prior to the match. Therefore they didn’t look too intimidating up front, and even though they had a few big chances, they failed to find the net.
All in all a deserved win for Reysol, who continues to impress, and still looks a likely candidate for atleast a top 3 finish. Reysol had 13 shots to Omiya’s 14.

Kawasaki Frontale Shimizu S-Pulse 2-1
K: Taniguchi 75’,88’

S: Yajima 15’

Frontale and Shimizu battled it out in a slow-paced, and somehat dull affair in Kawasaki this round. After 2 late goals from Tanicguchi, Frontale ended up as winners, but it could have gone both ways. The first half didn’t produce too many chances, but Shimizu’s FW Yajima found the net with a nice finish, after sidestepping a defender in the situation ahead. But Kawasaki looked the team to be in control,although they didn’t got to that many chances.
The 2nd half opened up things a little more, but still we had to wait until the 75th minute for the next piece of action. Taniguchi took a powerful shot from his right-foot to score the equalizer, and a few minutes before the end he repeated to feat to send Frontale’s fans to heaven. Nishibe in the Shimizu goal got his hands on it, but it wasn’t enough. Frontale had 15 shots to Shimizu’s 7 ,and it was fully deserved.

Jubilo Iwata Nagoya Grampus Eight 2-1
J: Chano 48’, Naruoka 49’

N: Ogawa 4’

2 goals in 2 minutes early in the 2nd half turned the match around for Jubilo, who beat Nagoya 2-1 at home. It was a closely contested battle, but Jubilo looked the best team. Nagoya took the lead through winger Ogawa after only 4 minutes though, and managed to defend well in the first half to preserve their lead.
But in the 2nd half they fell apart, and Chano took a powerful diving header from a CK to make it 1-1 in the 48th minute. And just a minute later Sho Naruoka scored a cracker of goal from distance that went via the post and in. For the rest of the match, Jubilo looked to be in control and managed to defend their lead. A very important win for Jubilo, and a deserved one as well. Jubilo had 17 shots to Nagoya’s 11.

Albirex Niigata JEF Utd Ichihara 2-2
A: Alessandro 44’, Richardes 54’

J: Maki 29’, Aoki 55’

After a series of poor performances, JEF impressed with a 2-2 draw against Albirex away this round. Maki gave them the lead after 29 minutes, when Tanizawa found him with a cross. Maki took the ball down on his chest, and hammered in the opening goal. That was JEF’s 2nd big chance, as Tanizawa hit he post a few minutes earlier. But Albirex were to equalize not too long after, and in the 44th minute Alessandro scored from the penalty-spot to make it 1-1. It continued in the same pattern for the 2nd half, when Marcio Richardes made it 2-1 for Albirex with a nice individual effort. It might looked liked Albirex would run away with it now, but JEF equalized just a minute later from a well-taken Aoki free-kick. Both teams got to chances in the dying minutes, but in the end a draw seemed a fair result. JEF looked marginally stronger though. Albirex had 10 shots to JEF’s 11.

FC Tokyo Gamba Osaka 1-1
T: Lucas 6’

O: Tokunaga 19’

The 2 top teams Tokyo and Gamba battled it out in a tight and entertaining match last round. The match ended 1-1, after both teams scored early on. Lucas gave Gamba the lead after only 6 minutes, when he met a cross from Yasuda with his head. A nice opening for the visitors, but Tokyo were soon to equalize. Tokunaga hammered in a missile from distance to make it 1-1 in the 19th minute.
Gamba had the most of the chances, but Tokyo’s keeper had a good day and kept Tokyo in the match with several top-notch saves. Draw is a result neither of the teams will be too happy with, but just avoiding defeat and see the other team gain 3 points is important, and all in all a draw seemed a fair resut. Tokyo had 10 shots to Gamba’s 13.

Consadole Sapporo Oita Trinita 0-0

Consadole and Oita shared the spoils in a 0-0 draw this round, which is a result both teams can be fairly happy with it. For Consadole, avoiding defeat was most important. Oita looked the best team though,and put Oita under alot of pressure early on. But they didn’t get to that many chances, and Consadole looked dangeorus on quick counters on occasion. Oita’s biggest chances came in the 2nd half, first on a set-play that went just over the bar, and then some nice individual effort from Maeda. Oita might have deserved more, but a draw seems a fair result in the end. Consadole had 11 shots to Oita’s 9.

Kyoto Purple Sanga Kashima Antlers 2-1
KS: Yanagisawa 11’, Sato 84’

KA: Nozawa 21’

Kyoto surprised with a cracking 2-1 win over league-leaders Kashima this round, and played their best match for a long long time. It was fully deserved as well, and Kyoto looked red-hot early on. Yanagisawa gave them an early lead against his old team-mates with a beautiful header after only 11 minutes, but it didn’t take long before Kashima were levelled again after a Nozawa-shot.
Kyoto continued to put Kashima under pressure though, and among other chances hit the woodwork early in the 2nd half through Fernandinho. As the match continued, it looked like it were gonna end as a draw, but 6 minutes before full time Yuto Sato lined up from distance, and scored the 2-1 goal with a scorcher form 20 metres out. A marvellous finish to a very good match from Kyoto. Kyoto had 12 shots to Kashima’s 13, and a home win is a fair result.

Vissel Kobe Yokohama F Marinos 1-0
V: Kim 59’
Marinos lost their 5th game in a row when they fell 0-1 in Kobe this round. They are stuck in the relegation zone at the moment, and as a cause for that their coach were fired prior to this match.
Vissel were in good control of the match most of the time, and the win were fully deserved. They had to wait until around the hour-break before the winning goal came though, when Korean international Kim Nam-Il scored his first ever goal for the club on a well-taken set piece. Yokohama looked gutless up front, and had very few chances. Vissel outshot them 11-7, and were very deserved winners.

R26 - J2 post-match reports

Vegalta Sendai Cerezo Osaka 0-0

The two top teams Vegalta and Cerezo shared the spoils in 0-0 draw in Sendai this round, but despite the lack of goals, it was an entertaining mach. A draw is a result neither of the teams should be particularly happy with, as we’re in a phase of the season where winning is as important than ever. But with the teams fighting for the same places, atleast none of them fell behind.
Reports says Cerezo were the best team, but couldn’t quite capitalize on their chances. Once again Shinji Kagawa was a menace, and set up his team-mates on several occasions. However, it was Cerezo’s sturdy defensive play that was most impressive this match, and they managed to keep a clean sheet against a tough opponent. Likewise for Vegalta, who seems to have problems finding the net at home though. They haven’t scored for 3 matches in Sendai, which is quite rare. All in all a fair result, but Cerezo had the edge for the most of the match, and with a bit more spark in their attack, they would have won it. Vegalta had 12 shots to Cerezo’s 17.

Avispa Fukuoka Tokushima Vortis 2-1
A: Kudo 44’, Okubo 84’

T: Kuranuki 10’

Avispa climbed to 8th place with their 2nd win in a row as they beat Tokushima at home, and seems to be back on track. With 10 points up to 3rd place, promotion is not completely out of the picture, especially considering the other top teams varying form.
Tokushima’s new MF Kazuki Kuranuki, who recently transferred from J1 siden Kyoto Sanga, had a good day, where the highlight were his early 1-0 goal after only 10 minutes. Kuranuki was a captain for Kofu when they were in J1 2 seasons ago, and also looked good for Sanga last year. Surely a great addition to the Tokushima side, especially now that Doumbia has left. Kuranuki’s opening goal came after some nice movement and passing, and it was deserved as Tokushima looked the best team early on. After the goal they packed their defence, and tried to prevent Avispa from getting to any chances.
They did a fairly good job, but just before the break Kudo equalized for Avispa, and the teams went to half-time deadlocked. The match scenario looked similar in the 2nd half as in the first,with Tokushima defending with all their might, leaving Avispa with a tough task of breaking through. Avispa didn’t really had too many chances, and Tokushima actually outshot them. The visitors had now and then a counter-attack that looked dangerous, but a few minutes before the end they saw Avispa score their 2nd goal through substitute striker Okubo. A harsh way of losing, conceding a goal in the dying minutes of both halfs, but they can only blame theiw on defensive strategy. Avispa had 6 shots to Tokushima’s 8.

Shonan Bellmare Ehime FC 4-1
S: Abe 13’, Sakamoto 30’, Adiel 53’, Ishihara 80’

E: Uchimura 26’

After going through a rough period lately, it was good for Shonan to produce a get-away win here, as they comfortably beat Ehime 4-1 at home. The visitors never really stood a chance, and Shonan are now in 6th and are very much in it still.
Shonan took the lead after 13 minutes through Abe, after a quick counter that took Ehime by surprise. Ehime looked pretty out of it, but got a lucky equalizer through Fw Uchimura after nice play down the wing. But it didn’t last long, cause minutes later Sakamoto reacted to a through pass from Adiel to make it 2-1. Ehime fought hard to get back into it, but were over and over again forced back on their half, and were lucky to only be down with a single goal at half-time.
Shonan didn’t take long before that was changed though, and in the 53rd minute Adiel were on the receiving end of the pass, and the brazilian converted his shot with ease. The 2nd half were pretty much all about Shonan, and Ishihara added a 4th late in the match to complete the humiliation of Ehime. Shonan had 16 shots to Ehime’s 9.

Ventforet Kofu Roasso Kumamoto 3-1
V: Maranhao 19’, Akimoto 54’,Kuno 89’

R: Komorida 71’

Ventforet took a pretty comfortable 3-1 win over struggling Roasso this round, and with that they’ve taken 7 points in the last 3 matches. Perhaps their luck is turning, and now they’ve gotten 2 new brazilians up front as well, which might help their cause. Goalscoring has been their biggest problem this season, and their hope is the brazilians will make an end to that.
Maranhao, one of the new faces, got off to a good start as he gave Kofu the lead after only 19 minutes. He met Onishi’s CK with a well-placed header that went past Roasso’s keeper. The rest of the half were pretty slow, and neither of the teams looked too interested in risking things going forward.
That changed for the better in the 2nd half though, and it didn’t take long before Kofu were 2-0 up thanks to another header from corner, this time through Akimoto. Kofu came to several chances in the 2nd half, and should have been up by a bigger margin. Instead Roasso put a scare through the big home-crowd, when Komorida reduced in the 71st minute. Komorida, who just returned from injury, has scored in 2 matches in a row now, and proved he’s a vital member of this team.
But Roasso never really got close an equalizer, and instead late substitute Kuno killed the game off with his 3-1 goal in the 89th minute. Kofu had 15 shots to Roasso’s 6.

Sagan Tosu Yokohama FC 1-0
S: Iio 35’

Sagan took all 3 points when they met Yokohama at home this round, and it was a well-deserved win for the home team. Both teams took a defensive stance to the match, and we didn’t see too many chances from open play. But in the 35th minute, Sagan received a free-kick near the box, and DF Kazuya Iio headed home the following cross with ease, to make Sagan go 1-0 up. That was one of the few big chances we saw in the first half, but nonetheless a deserved lead for Sagan.
Yokohama tried to bring some life into the match in the 2nd half, and brought on Ota as well as placing Astuhito Miura in midfield. That opened up the match a little, as now atleast Yokohama looked interesting in attacking. That left out some place at the other end too though, and Sagan came to chances through counters. Yokohama’s Anderson were sent off in the 66th minute though, which forced Yokohama back down again. They lacked the firepower to score without him, and also couldn’t take too many chances in defence, being a man down. In the end, we didn’t see more goals, and Sagan deserved all 3 points. They are now in joint 2nd. Sagan had 10 shots to Yokohama’s 6.

Mito Hollyhock Montedio Yamagata 2-1
MH: Arata 24’, Shingiyoui 65’

MY: Kobara 73’

Mito took their 3rd straight win when they beat a strong Montedio side 2-1 at home this round. A marvellous result for such a small club, and it was fully deserved as well. Mito played very positive football throughout the match, and took an early lead through the on-fire striker Arata, who lured his way through after a nice pass from Ozawa. Montedio has been a little out of it lately, and this was infact their 3rd straight loss.
They fought hard this match though, but didn’t really look threathening before in the 2nd half.
However, it was Mito that scored the 2nd goal also, when the young substitute striker Shingiyoui scored with a powerful header in the 65th minute. The striker’s first ever goal, and it proved a very important goal as well, since Montedio reduced jsut a few minutes later through DF Shogo Kobara. Montedio put the U-23 Olympic striker Toyoda for the 2nd half, but he didn’t have too much of an impact really, and still looks to be lacking fitness. Mito had 8 shots to Montedio’s 12 in the end, but it was a deserved home win.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Gifu 4-0
S: Morita 42’, Kashiwagi 45’, Sato 48’, Morisaki 62’

Sanfrecce looks invincible at the moment, and this round they hammered a visiting Gifu side by four goals to nil. It seems it’s a huge difference in class between Sanfrecce and the other J2 teams, and Sanfrecce would probably atleast hang out for a mid-table position in J1. Promotion this season seems destined.

Against Gifu, they looked pretty good for most of the match, but Gifu weren’t totally hapless, and got to chances themselves. But unlike Sanfrecce, they failed to find the net, as Sanfrecce did in the 42nd minute through a Morita header from a corner. And just 2 minutes later, Kashiwagi scored his first goal of the season to make it 2-0. For Gifu, that was a very bad moment to concede goals, as they were just a few minutes away from half-time.
However, Sanfrecce continued where they left it in the first half, and scored immediately after the break through NT striker Hisato Sato. So it was probably only a matter of time before they would have scored anyway. In the 62nd minute Koji Morisaki made it 4-0 from the penalty spot, and completed the humiliation of Gifu. Sanfrecce had 16 shots to Gifu’s 9.

Japan U-23 Olympics squad announced

GK
Shusaku Nishikawa - Oita Trinita (J1)
Kaito Yamamoto - Shimizu S-Pulse (J1)

DF
Hiroki Mizumoto - Kyoto Sanga F.C. (J1)
Masato Morishige - Oita Trinita (J1)
Yuto Nagatomo - FC Tokyo (J1)
Michihiro Yasuda - Gamba Osaka (J1)
Atsuto Uchida - Kashima Antlers (J1)
Maya Yoshida - Nagoya Grampus (J1)

MF
Takuya Honda - Shimizu S-Pulse (J1)
Hiroyuki Taniguchi - Kawasaki Frontale (J1)
Yohei Kajiyama - FC Tokyo (J1)
Keisuke Honda - VVV Venlo (Netherlands)
Hajime Hosogai - Urawa Reds (J1)
Shinji Kagawa - Cerezo Osaka (J2)

FW
Yohei Toyoda - Montedio Yamagata (J2)
Tadanari Lee - Kashiwa Reysol (J1)
Takayuki Morimoto - Catania (Italy)
Shinji Okazaki - Shimizu S-Pulse (J1)

Japan has surprisingly enough opted not to bring any over-aged player to the tournament, and coach Sorimachi have instead showed big faith in his young-guns. However, Gamba’s Yasuhito Endo were included in the 20-man roster, but he’s out with because of a serious illness that kept him sidelined for almost half a season last year as well. Instead of Endo, Sorimachi took out Cerezo’s wonderkid Shinji Kagawa, who’s only 19 years old and probably one of the youngest players in the tournament. But Kagawa have already gotten several matches for the NT, and even started important WC-qualifying matches. Vissel Kobe’s star striker Yoshito Okubo were asked to join, but Vissel refused to let him go.

There’s a few changes since Toulon, where Japan impressed alot with wins over traditional big and strong teams. Most of them are in midfield, with Aoyama and Inoha in particular as surprising absents. But the core of the team are intact, and that might be a good thing as the teams have been playing together for years, and therefore knows eachother very well. If Japan has opted to go for 3 over-aged stars, those 3 would have to adapt to new team, which in the end might not would have turned out to be a positive thing.

Urawa’s Tsukasa Umesaki and Celtic’s Koki Mizuno were expected to make the team, but the 2 player’s clubs pledged Sorimachi and Japan to not choose them. As a result, Japan are almost without offensive midfielders, with only Shinji Kagawa as a real offensive contributor. Both Kajiyama and Keisuke Honda can work in offence though, but they’re not naturally players to adapt to that role.

Japan’s defence looks extremely strong, and are well-covered in all posititons. GK Nishikawa has been one of the best keepers in the J.League this season for Oita, and Uchida / Yasuda on the wingbacks are already established starters for 2 of the best teams in Japan, and also got a number of NT-matches under their belts. In central-defence, Nagatomo,Morishige and Mizumoto are all top-class, regular J1 starters.

As earlier mentioned, Japan lacks some offensive contributors in midfield, and it might look like Kagawa will be getting a key-role here. Kagawa have never played with this team before though, as he has usually been a member of the U-20 squad ( or lately the senior squad). But also in midfield are there players who are key-members at their clubs, and by no means does it look poor.

In attack, Sorimachi surprisingly went for J2 striker Yohei Toyoda instead of the likes of Jubilo’s Robert Cullen or Kashima’s Shinzo Koroki. Toyoda has been pretty good though for Montedio the last 2 seasons, but were injured for a long time before recently returning a few weeks back. Cullen would have been the natural choice, as the young striker has been a regular at Jubilo for years. Toyoda are not likely to start though, and Reysol’s star player Tadanari Lee and Catania’s Takayuki Morimoto looks set to be the starting strikers. Many people expect wonders from especially Lee, who is regarded as Japan’s biggest FW talent. Morimoto plays in Serie A, where he usually only gets chances as a substitute. But he’s scored a few goals there already, and are a talented player. But compared to many of the other big teams in the Olympics, Japan’s FW line might not look too intimidating.

Nadeshiko Japan squad announced for the Olympics

GK:
FUKUMOTO Miho 1983.10.02 165/66 (Height/weight)
KAIHORI Ayumi 1986.09.04 170/64

DF:
IKEDA Hiromi 1975.12.22 163/52
YANAGITA Miyuki 1981.04.11 158/54
ANDO Kozue 1982.07.09 164/57
KINGA Yukari 1984.05.02 161/53
YANO Kyoko 1984.06.03 164/55
IWASHIMIZU Azusa 1986.10.14 161/52

My favorite player are by no doubt Kozue Ando, and expect her to be a key contributor in the Olympics.

MF:
KATO Tomoe 1978.05.27 158/50
SAWA Homare 1978.09.06 164/55
HARA Ayumi 1979.02.21 166/59
MIYAMA Aya 1985.01.28 157/50
SAKAGUCHI Mizuho 1987.10.15 165/57
UTSUGI Rumi 1988.12.05 168/57

FW:
ARAKAWA Eriko 1979.10.30 166/55
MARUYAMA Karina 1983.03.26 163/55
OHNO Shinobu 1984.01.23 154/50
NAGASATO Yuki 1987.07.15 167/60

Compared to Japan’s squad in the last World Cup, there isn’t too many changes, and pretty much every single key player from back then are still in the squad. Japan’s weakest link were clearly the defence back then, and it doesn’t look too strengthened really. But in midfield and up front Japan are probably among the better in the Olympics, and could achieve success if they manage to score more than they concede. Japan are well-known for their offensive and effective play on the wings, with especially Kozue Ando and Ayumi Hara as key contributors. In centre midfield veteran playmaker and one of the most highly regarded players in the world Homare Sawa will pull the strings, together with the quick-stepped and technically gifted Aya Miyama. Up front bomberhead Eriko Arakawa and Yuki Nagasato forms a deadly duo, and are able to beat most defences.

Japan plays Australia and Argentina before the Olympics start, and I’ll come with a little more info after those matches are played, along with a small prediction.

J1 - round 16 results

Kashima Antlers FC Tokyo 4-1
K: Marquinhos 62’, Motoyama 77’, Koroki 86’, Danilo 90’

T: Cabore 58’

A great final 3rd of the match secured all 3 points for Kashima, who beat Tokyo 4-1 at home. A flattering result perhaps, but nonetheless another proof of Kashima’s potential.
Tokyo were on level with Kashima for long periods of the match though, and had some dangerous chances early on. The first half ended scorelss and neither of the teams managed to break the deadlock. Tokyo started the 2nd half pretty good, and took the lead through Cabore after 58 minutes, as a result of some sloppy defending down Kashima’s left-side. With Kashima’s marvellous unbeaten home-record being under threat, the home team up’d the gear a bit, and just 4 minutes later Marquinhos had givem them the equalizer after a nice team-effort. Suddenly Kashima looked the team in control, and they chased the 2nd goal, putting Tokyo under huge pressure. As it was, the visitors collaptes, and conceded 3 goals in the last 13 minutes. Substitutes Koroki and Danilo both got on the scoresheet, and put in a good application for a place in the starting roster next match. Danilo had been struggling with an injury lately, but passed his fitness test a few hours before the match. A flattering result in a very entertaining match, but no doubt Kashima deserved to win. Kashima had a whopping 26 shots to Tokyo’s 17.

JEF Utd Ichihara Consadole Sapporo 0-3
C: Nakayama 2’, Davi 13’,60’

JEF had a golden opportunity for a win against a fairly poor opponent, but instead they lost 0-3 at home. A big win for Consadole, but truth be said JEF had the most of the chances, but Consadole’s individuals bagged all points for the visitors. JEF look pretty hapless up front, and are struggling to find the net. They doesn’t have any real goalgetter, and since they’re conceding plenty nowadays relegation looks very likely.
Consadole got off to a great start, and Nakayama gave them the lead after Fujita found him with a free-kick. Just minutes later, Davi dribbled his way through JEF’s defence, and by then the match were pretty much over. JEF never managed to get back into the game, and only after Davi scored another after an hour did they manage to get to big chances. By then it was too late, and JEF even managed to squander those chances. JEF had 19 shots to Consadole’s 9.

Yokohama F Marinos Albirex Niigata 0-1
A: Chiyotanda 40’

Albirex took a surprise 1-0 away win against Yokohama this round, and they must find themselves very lucky to get all points. Yokohama bombarded Albirex’s goal with shots, and should have scored atleast 3-4 goals. Overall, they had 26 shots to Albirex’s only 6.
But it’s not shot that counts, and as it was Albirex was the only team to score. Chiyotanda exploited an error just before the break to send Albirex 1-0 up, and that remained the score for the rest of the match. In the 2nd half it was a one-way traffic against Albirex’s goal though, and perhaps the biggest chance came a few minutes before full-time, when Nakazawa were nicely setup from the wing only to blast his shot in the underside of the bar and out. Misfortune for the home team, who lost their 3rd match in a row.

Omiya Ardija Jubilo Iwata 1-2
O: Tomita 55’

J: Cullen 10’, Gilsinho 52’

Jubilo took their 2nd win in the last 3 matches when they beat Omiya 2-1 away this round. They totally deserved the win, and once again Omiya disappointed at home. Jubilo’s 2 FW’s Cullen and Maeda both played a good match, and the 2 combined well for Jubilo’s first goal after only 10 minutes. Jubilo looked the best team for most of the match, and Omiya looked really poor going forward. Gilsinho were a real threat to Omiya all throughout the match, and the brazilian made it 2-0 a few minutes after the break. In fact, he found the net 2 more times, but both were disallowed wrongly for off-side. The referee in other words didn’t had a particularly good day, and he even disallowed a valid goal or Omiya in injury-time, when Omiya’s new signing Lavric headed in what should have been the equalizer. In the end a deserved win for the visitors though, who outshot Omiya 11-6.

Gamba Osaka Kawasaki Frontale 2-1
G: Lucas 10’, Bare 19’

K: Juninho 61’

The biggest match of the round took place in Osaka, where home-side Gamba beat Frontale 2-1 at home. Gamba got off to a great start, and their 2 brazilians up front both got on the scoresheet within the first 20 minutes. With that, Frontale are down in 9th with 4 losses in the last 5 matches.
However, they deserved more here, and should have won it actually. Gamba clearly suffered without Endo in midfield, and after the 2 goals Frontale looked the better team. But they let Gamba get to many chances though on counters, and in the end a home-win seemed pretty fair. Juninho got one back for Frontale midway in the 2nd half, but it wasn’t enough and Gamba are now in 4th. Gamba had 18 shots to Frontale’s 6.

Nagoya Grampus Eight Kashiwa Reysol 1-0
N: Johnsen 67’

Johnsen became the match-winner once again for Nagoya when he scored the only goal against Reysol at home. A strong win, especially considering Reysol’s impressive form of late. The match looked pretty evenly contested from beginning to end, but Reysol didn’t show the sting in attack that they did in recent matches. Nagoya packed their defence pretty tight, and managed to keep the Reysol attackers at bay. This match saw the return of the pivotal Magnum for Nagoya, as he came off the bench early in the 2nd half. He quickly marked his return with a nice through-pass for Johnsen, who made no mistake alone with Reysol’s keeper. After 2 straight losses that was an important goal for Nagoya, who now are joint 2nd with Urawa. Nagoya had 14 shots to Reysol’s 13.

Oita Trinita Urawa Red Diamonds 2-0
O: Maeda 10’, Ueslei 80’

Urawa disappointed big-time by losing 2-0 against Oita away. Oita is a very strong home-team, so that they won weren’t that surprising, but the way Urawa played were the biggest disappointment. They didn’t look at all as a team capable of winning the title, and seems to struggle to stay good over a longer period of time.
Oita have only conceded goals twice at home this season, in 8 matches. That’s impressive, and the biggest factor while they are so high as 7th now.
Maeda gave Oita the lead after only 10 minutes with a nice header from a Suzuki cross, and for the remainder of the match Urawa struggled in their search for the equalizer. They lost the ball far too easily going forward, and didn’t come to too many chances. Instead Oita and Ueslei got close with a long-range effort, and the same Ueslei killed the game off a goal a few minutes before the end. A well-deserved win, and Oita have made The Big Eye Stadium a fortress. Oita had 7 shots to Urawa’s 8.

Tokyo Verdy Kyoto Purple Sanga 0-1
K: Yanagisawa 30’

After just a single point in their last 3 matches, Kyoto took a very important 1-0 win away against Verdy this round. A strong result, as Kyoto contiunued their good form at Ajinomoto Stadium. They did well there last season as well, when the teams were in J2.
Verdy had the most of the chances, and might have deserved more from this. But Kyoto’s defence has improved with the arrival of Mizumoto, and they withstood whatever Verdy threw at them. They even managed to neautralize the usually deadly Hulk. Former Japan NT player Masashi Oguro got his debut here as he came on as a substitute, but he didn’t show too much and needs some more match-practice before he’s ready to start matches.
Kyoto’s goal came after a counter-attack in the 30th minute, when a defender cleared a long pass that Fernandinho neatly got under control. He then rounded off his man brilliantly, before sending Yanagisawa away towards the free goal with a nice through pass. Yanagisawa converted it with ease, and gave Kyoto a much-needed win.
Verdy had 17 shots to Kyoto’s 12.

Shimizu S-Pulse Vissel Kobe 0-1
V: Kurihara 88’

Vissel jumped to 11th with a strong 1-0 away win at the hands of Shimizu this round, but it took a last-minute goal fro Kurihara to secure all points. Shimizu were overall the dominant team, but never really managed to put Kobe under huge pressure. Shimizu’s somewhat un-inspirin line-up up front once again had a disappointing match, and Shimizu once again failed to score a goal. That means they are in 15th, just a point above Marinos in 16th and the relegation-zone.
Marcos Paulo had Shimizu’s biggest chance in the 32nd minute, but the in-effective brazilian squandered is opportunity. Pretty symptomical for the club and even more typical were the last-minute goal for Kobe. Kurihara scored from a corner in the 88th minute in one of Kobe’s few chances the 2nd half. A job well-done for the visitors, who defended pretty well this match. Shimizu had 16 shots to Kobe’s 9.

J2 - First half of the season review

1. Sanfrecce Hiroshima
League-leaders Sanfrecce have been absolutely dominant this season, with just 3 losses so far and a 13 point gap to the 2nd placed team with a game in hand. They look to have 1,5 foot in J1 next season already, and it would take a complete break-down for them not to finish in the top 3. They have by far had both the best offence and defensive record so far this season. Their main strenght lies in attack though, with Japan NT FW Hisato Sato spearheading their attack. In the back-line, they’ve lost Kazuyuki Toda to JEF, but have plenty of cover with Japan U-23 NT players as well as arguably the best defender in J2, Ilyan Stoyanov. They will surely finish 1st.

2. Cerezo Osaka
Cerezo were as equally a big pre-season favorite for promotion as Sanfrecce were, but compared to them they have been a big disappointment. They’ve struggled alot with injuries and suspensions this season, but even thouh they got pretty good cover most places alot of the players are in-experienced and fairly young by age. If say, a key player like Maeda in defence or Germano in midfield are out the team have had a tendency to fall apart. They’ve had a rough period recently, but got 2 strong results in a row now and seems to be back on track. That means they’re still in 2nd place, and they should be good enough to maintain that position for the rest of the season. Looking at player-material, only Sanfrecce can match them on paper. The young hot-shots Shinji Kagawa and Yoichiro Kakitani have both played alot this season, but where as Kakitani are still without a goal Kagawa has been a dominant figure in the Cerezo-squad, won the MVP several matches. The new striker Careca haven’t had the best of seasons, and will probably be off-loaded when the season ends.

3. Sagan Tosu
Sagan curently lies in 3rd place, which is quite surprising considering they’ve only scored 28 goals in 25 matches. They’ve made it a habit of winning 1-0 , and alot of their success are a result of their good defence. They doesn’t have the biggest squad though, and are very prone to injuries of key-members. Sagan’s star striker Yoshihito Fujita have had a decent season so far, although he sat out the first 2 months with an injury. Sagan might hang on for 3rd or even surpass Cerezo for 2nd, but both Vegalta in 5th and Shonan in 6th looks stronger on paper, so it’s gonna be tough. They need to start scoring more goals atleast if they want a top 3 finish.

4. Montedio Yamagata
Montedio are one of the more positive surprises so far this season, and are just 1 point behind Cerezo in 2nd now.They had a marvellous run with 7 back-to-back wins, but have fallen off the pace a bit now. They had a similar run last season, only to go 13 matches or something without a win afterwards. They’ve had their 2 on-loan star strikers Yohei Toyoda ( Nagoya) and Rychelly ( FC Tokyo) injured for most of the season, but the replacements have done a fantastic job filling their shoes, shooting them to win after win. Both are back now though, which gives the coach a luxury problem deciding whom to choose. It’s doubtful Montedio will manage to stay this high though, but they should be able to improve on last year’s 9th atleast.

5. Vegalta Sendai
Vegalta have a had a decent run so far, and are very much in the promotion-race still. Along with Cerezo, they are the biggest favorite for the 2nd place behind Sanfrecce, but it’s more likely they will have to battle Sagan and Shonan for 3rd. Vegalta has opted to go all-japanese this season by signing no foreigners, and so far it’s given results. Vegalta’s biggest weakness is the lack of a goalgetter though, and currently they’re relying on the veteran striker Hirase to score goals. Hirase have never been a clinical striker, but he’s done a fairly good job so far. MF Kunimichi Sekiguchi have been in scincillating form this season, and an early candidate for J2 Player of the Year 2008.

6. Shonan Bellmare
Shonan were by many viewed upon as Sanfrecce and Cerezo’s biggest challenger for the J2 crown, but so far they’ve been a huge disappointment. But if they win their match in hand, they are only 2 points behind Cerezo in 2nd, so it’s not hopeless. But Shonan’s play hasn’t been too impressive, and their defence has been much weaker this season than last year. Perhaps the biggest reason for that is that the former brazilian NT player Jean has been out for most of the season, allegedly with an injury ( although I’m not sure). He was the rock in the Shonan defence, but this season they’e conceded alot . Up front Lincoln and Adiel has been in good form, but both are temperamental types and often has to sit matches out due to suspension. I don’t think Shonan will be able to finish in the top 2 atleast, but they are a serious contender for 3rd. More likely they will finish just below though, in 4th-6th place.

7. Thespa Kusatsu
Thespa are by far the most positive surprise so far this season. They’ve been really hard to beat. They had a poor start to the season, but in the last 18 matches they’ve only lost 3 times. They are just a few points behind the top 3, but to be honest they are over-performing and it’s highly unlikely they will manage to keep the momentum for the rest of the season. Their biggest strength surely lies in defence, and only Sanfrecce have conceded less goals this season. As they are hard to beat, they were that at the latter stage of last season too, they might manage to keep the other teams behind them, but it’s unlikely they will finish any higher than 6th. Still, already a huge improvement from earlier seasons.

8.Avispa Fukuoka
Avispa are the biggest disappointment so far, and Pierre Littbarski’s men have had a difficult time out there. That’s probably just as much Littbarski’s fault as the players, as Littbarski clearly isn’t much of a competent coach. Avispa’s player material aren’t too bad really, but they’ve looked horrible for most of this season. Their form has improved a bit lately though, and they are only 10 points behind Cerezo in 2nd. So a top 3 finish are still within reach, but it’s doutbtful Avispa will manage that. Only 2 teams have conceded more than Avispa this season, and Littbarski were actually sacked, only to be re-instated cause the club lacked the funds to hire a new coach. I don’t think Avispa will be able to climb much higher on the table this season, and probably should start focusing on next season instead.

9. Yokohama FC
Yokohama FC were relegated from J1 last season, but haven’t showed any signs of J1 quality this season. They’ve changed out pretty much their entire squad since last year though, and looks mediocre by even J2 standards. They’ve only won once in the last 11 matches, and are in generally bad form at the moment. They haven’t lost too many matches though, but I don’t think they will able to finish within the top 10 this season. Kofu are likely to surpass them, and either Gifu or Mito should be able to do so as well. Yokohama’s Anderson scored tons of goals early on, and won matches for them on his own. He’s been a shadow of himself in recent matches though, and much of Yokohama’s future success rely on him to get going again.

10. FC Gifu
Gifu have done quite well in their first ever season in J.League, and currently lies in 10th place. They looked really good in the early stages of the season, and were at a time the highest-scoring team in the league. They’ve struggled more to find the net lately, but still managed to come up with some impressive results. Gifu sucks at home, but have proved a very tough team to beat when they play away. They play a very positive kind of football, and should be able to defend their 10th place I think, which would be an impressive position to finish at for a newly-promoted team.

11. Ventforet Kofu
Kofu are, like Yokohama, one of the relegated teams from J1, and like Yokohama they’ve been really poor this season. They are just 1 point behind Yokohama though, and looks strongest among those 2 teams. Kofu’s biggest problem have been scoring, and only Ehime and Tokushima have scored less. However, Kofu just signed to promising brazilians that debuted last match, and both of them looked quite good actually. One of them even got on the scoresheet, so perhaps Kofu’s goalscoring problems are finally over. They are out of it this season though, but should be able to climb a few places. Defensively it’s not been too bad.

12. Mito Hollyhock
Mito are one of the more colourful teams in J2, and probably the hardest team predict. They plays some really good matches from time to time, and manages to come up with some impressive results. But more often than not, they lose matches they ought to have won, especially against smaller teams. Mito has a reputation of being a giant-killer, and like Cerezo’s coach Culpi stated after playing them, Mito would be fighting for a top 3 finish if they managed to play as well as they’ve done against the big teams more often.Perhaps it’s the thought of playing stars and bigger names that ignites a sparkle within the players to perform better,but if they managed to do that against teams like Ehime and Gifu too they would be much higher They’ve improved alot since last season though, and could be able to finish within the top 10 if they manage to keep their form.

13. Ehime FC
Ehime are perhaps the most ”boring” team in the league, without any real profiles, and with a somewhat dull playing-style. They got one of the smallest fan-bases in the league, and are situated on Shikoku along with Tokushima. Ehime never goes on any big win streaks, or loses several matches in a row, and the only constant about them is that they get varying results.They should be able to hold atleast Roasso behind them, as well as neighbours Tokushima.

14. Tokushima Vortis
Tokushima are very much the opposite of Ehime, and have gone on losing streaks several times this season. Once in poor form, they seem to struggle to get back on track. They had a good period early in the season, but have looked poor in their latest matches. They recently lost their star striker Seydou Doumbia ( who even got his international debut for Ivory Coast earlier this season) to swiss side Young Boys. A huge loss to the team, as he were undoubtedly one of the best players in the league. Without him Tokushima looks pretty poor up front, and with a poor defence as well they are not likely to get too many points. It seems to be a dog-fight for the wooden-spoon against Roasso, and with Tokushima ” winning ” it the last 2 seasons, it might look like they will take it 3 years in a row.

15. Roasso Kumamoto
Roasso were expected to be the better among the 2 newly-promoted teams, but Gifu has been by far the best team so far this season. Roasso have looked poor for most of the season, and only on occasion managed to compe up with some nice results. Their most important player has been FW Takahashi, who twice this season has scored a hat-trick. On-loan striker Satoshi Nakayama from Gamba has been a little disappointment, and only scored a few goals this season. Roasso has had a few injuries in defence, and particularly the loss of former Lyn Oslo player Ji Ho Cha has been fatal. This is a learning-year for Roasso, and even though they should be able to avoid the last-place, they are probably focusing more on next season.

R15 - J1 results

Kashiwa Reysol Gamba Osaka 1-0
K: Lee 75’

The biggest match of the round took place in Kashiwa, where Reysol beat Gamba 1-0 after a late goal from Tadanari Lee.
Although Gamba had the most of the chances, Reysol had the biggest ones, and the home-team looked very dangerous every-time they went near the Gamba-goal. It was Franca’s first start this season, and he proved his worth to the team on several occasions with some nice combination plays. Franca and Lee is a dangerous duo up front, and with help from the likes of Popo, Shigehara among others in midfield they make one of the best offensive line-ups in the league. Gamba’s biggest chances came through Bare, but the big striker failed to find the net this match. Reysol’s keeper had a good day, and came up with several good saves.
The only goal of the match came in the 75th minute, when Franca set up Lee to fire home a powerful shot. It came in a good Gamba period, and they put in a good attempt to get back into the match after Lee’s goal. But Reysol rode the storm off, and could take yet another big win that means they are in 3rd, one point ahead of Gamba in 5th. Reysol had 8 shots to Gamba’s 20, and Gamba deserved more from this match.

Kawasaki Frontale Yokohama F Marinos 2-1
K: Ganaha 10’, Juninho 91’

Y: Yamase 43’

For the first time this season, Kawasaki could pair up Juninho and Ganaha up front, and the 2 strikers that formed such a great partnership the previous seasons had a good game together, and both got on the scoresheet. Ganaha where highly undoubtful for the match though, but a late fitness test saw him make it in the starting eleven.
He didn’t took long before scoring the opening goal, when he pounded in a rebound from a Juninho-shot after only 10 minutes. With that the tone were already set, and the 2 rival teams played a competitive and entertaining match this evening. Marinos’s playmaker Yamase scored from a direct free-kick to make it 1-1 just before the break, and for long it looked like it would save a point for the visitors.
The 2nd half were played in a slightly slower tempo, perhaps cause the players were losing stamina. Frontale looked the most likely winner though, and when they subbed in Chong Tese for Ganaha who were running out of steam, they sparked into life again and got to a few chances. Marinos got Kawaii sent off a few minutes before full-time, and in injury-time Frontale exploited the one-man-deficit of Marinos, when Juninho scored on a volley-shot after a corner. Frontale had 12 shots to Marinos’s 9, and deserved the win.

Kyoto Purple Sanga Oita Trinita 1-1
K: Yanagisawa 22’

O: Maeda 25’

Kyoto were unlucky only to get a draw when they met Oita at home. Kyoto had most of the possession and also most of the chances. Only sloppy finishing and good goalkeeping from Nishikawa kept Oita in this game.
It started well for Kyoto though, as Watanabe exploited a mix-up in the Oita defence and ran towards goal with 2 defenders surrounding him. Watanabe found Yanagisawa with a clever pass, and the striker slid in the opening goal. But just a few minutes later, Maeda equalized on a rare chance for Oita, with a header that Kyoto’s goalkeeper should easily have saved.
Kyoto dominated most of the play, and had several chances to double their tally, both before and after the break. But their target striker Yanagisawa were usually were ineffective, and when Fernandinho and the others didn’t managed to hit the target either they only managed a draw. Oita came close a shock win when Ueslei hit the bar with a swirling shot, but that would have been very undeserved. Kyoto had 15 shots to Oita’s 6.

Urawa Red Diamonds FC Tokyo 2-0
U: Edmilson 3’, Nagai 88’

Urawa hit back after 2 straight defeats, and defeated a strong FC Tokyo side by 2-0 at home this round. Urawa got off to a good start, and should have lead by a couple of goals by half-time. Takahara were placed on the bench for this one, which left way for Tatsuya Tanaka to start alongside Edmilson. Those two combined very well, and with a little more playing time they might turn out to be the deadliest partnership in the league. Tanaka’s comeback were a joy to watch, and he impressed more this match than Takahara has done all season. Tanaka were the man behind the first goal, as he got loose on the left and sent in a diagonal pass for Edmilson to fire home in the opening minutes. Tanaka and Edmilson got to a couple of other chances as well, but either Shiota in the Tokyo goal saved it or they failed to hit the target.
The first half were pretty much dominated by Urawa, althought Tokyo got more into the game near the end. They even had a big chance through Konno, who hit the post with his header. After the break, the match had completely turned, and suddenly Tokyo looked the fiercest team, dominating the play. Urawa didn’t come to any chances until they scored the winning goal in the dying minutes, which underlines how good Tokyo were. But the finishing weren’t up to par, and in the end Urawa deserved the win. One of the reasons why Tokyo took more over is perhaps that Tanaka,Edmilson and the very inspiring Robson Ponte all were forced to leave the field early in the 2nd half. Those 2 were the biggest contributors offensively, and they lost the spark in the attack when they went out. When Tokyo were pressing forward for the equalizer, they left alot room left in defence, and Nagai got a rare chance in the 88th minute when he were played through one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Nagai did everything right and punctuated the game with a clinical strike. Urawa had 10 shots to Tokyo’s 12.

Albirex Niigata Nagoya Grampus Eight 2-1
A: Matsushita 59’,Yano 83’

N: Masukawa 74’

Albirex took their 4th win in the last 5 matches when they beat 2nd placed Nagoya 2-1 at home. An impressive win, which means Albirex are in 9th place, just 4 points behind the 3rd placed team. After a very poor start to the season, few would have predicted that Albirex would turn it around like this. Likewise, Nagoya seemed to have fallen apart now, and dropped to 4th with this loss. With just 2 wins in their last 8 matches their form isn’t the best.
It was a very entertaining match, with plenty of chances, and both teams should have scored atleast a couple of more goals. Especially in the first half did they waste chances, and all goals came after the break. Albirex dictated most of the play though, and were deserved leaders in the end. Matsushita scored the opening goal in the 59th minute after a nice pass from right-back Uchida. Nagoya had several chances to equalize, and Johnsen atleast should have managed to get on the scoresheet this match. It was clear that Nagoya were missing their playmaker Magnum though. They still managed to find the net once, when Masukawa headed home a corner-kick in the 74th minute. But it proved to be worthless, because 7 minutes from full-time Kisho Yano scored the winning goal for Albirex. The home team had 20 shots to Nagoya’s 14.

Jubilo Iwata Kashima Antlers 1-2
J: Cullen 61’

K: Ogasawara 3’, Motoyama 34’

Antlers took their 3rd win a row when they beat Jubilo 2-1 away this round. That means they are in 2nd place now, only 1 point behind leading Urawa. Antlers certainly looks very strong this season, and look like early favorites for the title. Jubilo became atleast a number too small this match, and Kashima deserved the win.
The playmaker Ogasawara gave Kashima an early lead after only 3 minutes, after some nice play from Araita on the flank. Araibia had a very good match and set up both of Antlers’s goals. The 2nd goal came in the 28th minute, and was another high cross that Motoyama haded home to make 2-0 for the visitors.
Jubilo weren’t all lost though, and had several chances for themselves to score. The only goal the got came after an hour or so, when Cullen met a cross form Murai wih his head. The end of the match where very entertaining as Jubilo chased the equalizer, which left room for Kashima on counter-attacks. In the end it became another loss for Jubilo though, who struggled down in 16th now with 4 losses in their last 5 matches.

Vissel Kobe Omiya Ardija 1-0
V: Leandro 9’

A single goal from Leandro were enough for Vissel to beat Omiya at home, in a slowly-paced contest without too many chances. The teams were evenly contested, and the win could have gone either ways. Vissel ended up as winners in the end though, which seems fair.
Leandro gave Vissel the lead with a fabulous strike from distance after only 9 minutes, which meant Omiya had to play catch-up for the entire match. They struggled to get past the sturdy Vissel defence though, who played one of their better matches this season. Omiya’s usually effective play on the wings weren’t too good either this match, with overall poor crossing. Vissel were by far the best team in the first half, but Omiya looked the strongest after the break. If the visitors had been a bit more lucky, they could have gotten an equalizer,and especially Marques should have scored. Vissel withstood it though, and in the end they could take a very important win that propelled them out of the relegation zone and into 12th. Vissel had 8 shots to Omiya’s 9.

Tokyo Verdy JEF Utd Ichihara 3-0
T: Hulk 49’, Shibasaki 58’, Diego 79’

Verdy completely out-classed JEF this round as they beat them 3-0 at home. All goals came in the 2nd half, and JEF were lucky to escape with only 3 conceded goals.
Verdy were very deserved winners, and looked the best team for most of the match. They weren’t as dominant in the first half as in the 2nd though, and if JEF have scored on one of their big chances in the first half the match might have been different.
In the 2nd half, it was a complete one-way traffic out there, and JEF didn’t have a single shot on goal. Hulk gave Verdy the lead a few minutes after the break with a powerful shot from distance with his left-foot that left JEF’s keeper stranded. IT didn’t take long before Verdy were 2-0 up, when Shibasaki scored after Hulk set him neatly up. Verdy’s gifted brazilian trio over and over again caused trouble for JEF’s defence, and Diego got the honour of rounding it off with another strike from distance. A very deserved win, and a proof of why JEF are struggling down in the relegation-zone. Verdy had 18 shots to JEF’s only 5.

Consadole Sapporo Shimizu S-Pulse 2-2
C: Davi 29’, Ikeuchi 75’

S: Nishizawa 13’, Marcos Paulo 45’

Consadole and Shimizu fought it out in a close encounter at Atsubetsu Stadium this round, and the teams shared the spoils with a 2-2 result. It was overall a very closely contested match, but the visitors looked marginally the better team. Atleast in the first half the visitors looked good, and took an early lead through Akinori Nishizawa. The veteran striker headed home a cross from Edamura in the 13th minute to make it 1-0 for Shimizu. But the lead didn’t last long, cause in a good Shimizu period Consadole got a corner. Clayton’s in-swinger precisely found the rising Davin in the box, who easily converted his header. As the teams battled it out, and were preparing for half-time, Fujimoto combined well with the brazilian striker Marcos Paulo to set up Shimizu’s 2nd goal. In the dying seconds of the first half Paulo received a nice through pass that set him free to score alone with Consadole’s keeper.
For the 2nd half, Shimizu continued to be the team in charge,but didn’t come to that many chances. Neither did the home-team, but somewhat against the play they still managed to find an equalizer for the 2nd time in the match. Clayton were the one with the assist this time as well, with a nice cross to Ikeuchi who scored with his head. Despite heavy pressure near the end, Shimizu couldn’t find the winning goal, and in the end they might should have deserved more. Overall pretty even though between 2 teams stuck near the bottom of the table.. Consadole had 9 shots to Shimizu’s 8.