E: Yokoyama 26’, Tanaka 76’
Avispa disappointed a bit as they only managed a 2-2 draw at home against bottom-dwellers Ehime. Avispa haven’t won for 5 matches now, which understates how poor their season has gone. Tipped as a candidate for promotion, Avispa haven’t been near that standard, and are at best a mid-table team. Yokoyama gave Ehime the lead after 26 minutes, but it was Avispa that looked the best in the first half. That was pretty much Ehime’s only chance before the break. Avispa turned the match around shortly after the break, as Okubo and Tanaka both got on the scoring-sheet. Immediately after Tanaka’s goal, Niwa got sent off for Avispa, which meant Ehime could get back into the game. In the 76th minute they got their equalizer through Tanaka. They could had scored even more goals, but poor finishing let them down. Ehime had 12 shots to Avispa’s 9.
S: Adiel 5’
Cerezo kept their promotion-hopes alive with a strong 2-1 win at home against fellow promotion-chasers Shonan. Shonan are not out of the race yet, but their form is quite bad at the moment and it’s unlikely they will be able tu surpass both Cerezo and Vegalta on the table. Cerezo’s chances are slim though, as Vegalta can’t take more than 2 points from their last 2 matches. Cerezo has to win their matches, so alot has to go right if Cerezo wants 3rd.
They got off to a very poor start, and Adiel gav SHonan the lead after only 5 minutes on a penalty-kick. They were quick to shake off the early disappointment though, and in the 31st minute Sakemoto’s free-kick went directly into the goal which made it 1-1. Cerezo looked very dangerous, and came up with tons of chances to score. Shonan’s tight defence were hard to break down though, and by half-time the score were still 1-1. Kagawa came up with a little big of magic as he dribbled past a few players before hammering it home with a left-foot drive to make it 2-1 immediately after restart. A great goal from the young midfielder, who’s had a marvellous season. Cerezo controlled pretty much the rest of the match, and took a very deserved win in the end. FW Komatsu were injured early in the match, which meant Furuhashi came on. Kaio returns from suspension next round though, so they should still be able to field a strong attack in the next match. For the 4th time in a row, Cerezo had over 20 000 in the stands, which is even higher than city-rivals Gamba has on their games. Cerezo had 20 shots to Shonan’s 8.
V: Uruno 3’,67’
The match between Mito and Kofu had a dramatic end to it, as Mito’s Akahoshi blasted a PK over the bar in injury-time. Earlier in the match, the former Urawa-starlet had converted a penalty, but he didn’t manage to make it 2 in a row. On both PK’s, Kofu got a player sent off, and finished the match with only 9 players. Out-of-favour striker, Jun Uruno, got his first start in over 20 matches, and he put in on a great show, scoring 2 goals to give Kofu the win. He gave Kofu the lead after only 3 minutes, as the home-team looked very aggressive already from the start. Akahoshi equalized just before the break from the PK, but Uruno were on target again in the 67th minute. All in all a good outing from both teams, but in the end Kofu looked marginally better and deserved the win. Mito had 14 shots to Kofu’s 10.
R: Kijima 64’
Montedio are only 2 points away from securing a place in J1 next year, as they are 5 points ahead of Vegalta with 2 matches left. Their goal-advantage is much better though, so in theory only a point from their 2 last matches should be enough. They surprisingly struggled when they met Roasso though, who played their 8th match in a row withot losing. Great form from the Kyushu-outfit, and they nearly got away with the win here as well. Their trio up front, lead by the big Kijima, caused alot of trouble for Montedio’s defence, and the visitors came to several chances. They had to wait until the 64th minute for the opening goal though, which came through Kijima. Montedio took more over after the goal, as Roasso decided to pack their defence. That meant Montedio had time to build up their own play, and suddenly looked much more dangerous. Their efforts paid off, as Toyoda equalized with jsut a few minutes remaining. Earlier in the half, Roasso DF Ichimura had been sent of, which helped Montedio’s cause. All in all a fair result, but Roasso looked marginally better and might have deserved all points. Both teams had 11 shots on goal.
T: Tokura 6’,70’, Toriizuka 60’
Sanfrecce prevailed as winners in what would be one of the most thrilling matches all season. After 2 goals in the dying minutes, they turned around a 2-3 result to win 4-3 against Thespa. The match doesn’t mean that much to either teams, but they both came up with alot of nice play and effort. Surprisingly, Thespa looked to be on level terms with Sanfrecce for most of the match, and it was the away-team that took the lead after only 6 minutes, when Tokura were played free by Shimada. Takahagi equalized shortly after though, and by half-time the teams were still deadlocked. Tomoaki Makino put Sanfrecce 2-1 up from the penalty spot in the 55th minute. Veteran-player Toriizuka made 2-2 shortly after with a powerful shot, and Tokura scored his 2nd to make it 2-3 in the 70th minute. Thespa packed their defence after that, as they tried to hold on for the lead, and it nearly lasted. But in the 89th minute Makino scored his 2nd, and just a minute later winger Moriwaki completed the turn-around to give Sanfrecce all 3 points. Sanfrecce are still able to reach the 100 point mark due to that, if they win their 2 last matches. Sanfrecce had 19 shots to Thespa’s 13.
Sagan surprisingly lost to bottom-placed Tokushima this round. as they crashed to a 2-0 defeat away. That pretty much ends their hopes of promotion, and they can only blame themselves for that. With 3 losses in the last 4 matches, Sagan looks really out of it at the moment. Tokushima came out in a high tempo, and immediately put Sagan under pressure. Despite some dangerous chances, they didn’t manage to score though, and Sagan took more and more over as the first half progressed. But it was the home-team that took the lead, as Ishida finished off a cross from Shiokawa to make it 1-0. Tokushima impressed with alot of quick-passing, and also managed to keep a very tight defensive line. Sagan did their best to get back into the match, but instead it was Tokushima that doubled their lead from the penalty-spot, through former Kofu-ace Kuranuki. This was Tokushima’s final home-match of the season, and they gave their home-fans a nice finish to a long and hard season for the Shikoku-outfit. Tokushima had 10 shots to Sagans 13.
V: Hirase 48’, Nakahara 90’
A last-minute goal from Nakahara secured a point for Vegalta, who are still safely placed in 3rd. That goal might prove to be worth gold though, as it can be the difference of a 3rd or 4th finish for Vegalta. Vegalta needs only 3 points from their last 2 matches to be safe of finishing 3rd, but their form isn’t the best and they meet 2 fairly good teams. Yokohama looked quite lively this match, and took Vegalta by surprise as they sprung to an early lead after Nejime finished off a quick counter-attack by scoring the 1-0 goal. Yokohama defended well after the early goal, and Vegalta had trouble breaking through their defence. A few minutes into the 2nd half, veteran-striker Hirase equalized to make it 1-1, anf the teams were levelled again. Yokohama continued to attack, and it paid off in the 61st minute as Nejime once again put Yokohama in the lead. Vegalta threw everyone forward to chase the equalizer, and in injury-time it finally paid off as Nakahara poked in the equalizer. A pity for Yokohama, who deserved more from such a good performance. Yokohama had 10 shots to Vegalta’s 11.
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