After a couple of poor performances lately, Sagan were in need of a win again against Ehime, and thanks to a brace from their star-striker Yoshihito Fujita they secured all 3 points. Ehime put up a tough fight though, and were fully on level with Sagan this match, and probably deserved atleast a draw. Both of Fujita’s goals came early in the 2nd half. In the 53rd minute he led a Sagan-counter and finished it off himself with a well-taken shot, and just 2 minutes later he exploited an error in the Ehime defence to double the lead. Ehime were the best team before the half, but Sagan’s 2 goals turned the match around. Later in the 2nd half Ehime made a few substitutions though, and took over the initiative again. All in all a evenly-contested match, and Sagan have to thank Fujita and a very impressive defence for all 3 points here. That means Sagan are still in a solid 3rd. Ehime had 18 shots to Sagan’s 16.
T: Takada 1’
2 of the biggest draw-specialists met in Yokohama this round, and naturally the match ended with the teams sharing the spoils in a 1-1 match. The match started off with a boom, when Thespa’s Yasunori Takada found the net with a well-placed left-legged shot after dribbling his way past a few men after only 1 minute. A lightning start to the match, and it didn’t take long before we got the 2nd goal either. In the 14th minute Anderson received the ball inside the box, and after muscling his way past a defender he hammered it home to make it 1-1. That was Anderson’s first goal in 9 matches, and the nifty brazilian have been really off lately. It was an evenly contested match from then onwards, with the play shifting from one side to another constantly. Thespa looked marginally better though, and with a bit more luck they would taken all 3 points. This was Yokohama’s 10th draw this season and Thespa’s 11th. Only Vegalta with 12 draws got more this season. Yokohama had 7 shots to Thespa’s 10.
After 4 matches without a win, Cerezo finally found back to winning ways when they met Mito this round. And they played quite a good match too, constantly pressuring Mito’s defence. New signing Inui scored his first ever goal in a Cerezo-shirt in the 13th minute from close range, after a scramble inside the penalty-box. Just 5 minutes later Inui set up Komatsu for Cerezo’s 2nd goal, when Inui dribbled a few guys before taking a shot that Honam in Mito’s GK only could parry for Komatsu to head it home. Cerezo were in total control the first half, and came to tons of chances. Honma in Mito’s goal did a good job at keeping the score at 0-2, and the finishing of particularly Kaio up front weren’t that good either. Mito’s Takafumi Akahoshi reduced to 1-2 a few minutes into the 2nd half after a mistake in the Cerezo-defence, and the away-team looked much more competitive in the 2nd half. But it was no doubt that Cerezo deserved the win, and they outshot Mito 28-9 in the end.
FC Gifu Tokushima Vortis 1-1
G: Otomo 78’
T: Sosa 42’
Both Gifu and Tokushima are on winless streaks now, where Gifu only got 2 points in their last 6 matches, and Tokushima got a horrible record of 0-2-9 in their last 11. Therefore a win were important for both teams here, but perhaps even more for Gifu who’s battling for positions. Tokushima seems stuck in last place, and probably won’t be able to avoid the wooden spoon in the end. Gifu got off to the best start, and looked the strongest team in the first half. They didn’t get to that many big chances though, and instead it was Tokushima who took the lead right before the break. Wellington Sosa, who’ve been missing the target with several shots in the last 3 matches finally scored his first goal for the club, after collecting the ball inside the box before side-stepping a Gifu-defender. A nice goal, and a possible break-through for the striker. Sosa has been quite lively after he came to the club, but has been unlucky with the finishing and a goal might be what he needed to start scoring points for Tokushima on a regular basis. Tokushima continued in the 2nd half where they left it, and put Gifu under alot of pressure early on. but they didn’t manage to get that important 2nd goal, and instead they let Gifu back into the game. Otomo received a through-pass from Kojima in the 78th minute, and alone with Tokushima’s goalkeeper he converted his shot with ease. 1-1, and for the remainder of the match we saw few chances at both ends. A disappiinting match for Gifu who were outshot 13-9 by Tokushima.
R: Takahashi 83’,86’
Avispa will be unhappy with just a draw against island-rivals Roasso at home, especially since they need to win as many matches as possible if they want to have a realistic chance of promotion. They are currently 9 points 3rd placed Sagan, so it’s still a long way to go. They got off to a good start though, and Nunobe gave them the lead after only 8 minutes with a well-taken shot from distance. Avispa were by far the best team in the first half, so it was fully deserved that they went to half-time 1-0 up. However, they looked a little monotonous in attack though, and it was easy for Roasso to stop their attacks. Roasso got more into the game in the 2nd half, and started getting to chances themself. IT didn’t erupt before in the dying minutes though, when a double from ace-striker Takahashi turned the match around, and resulted suddenly in Roasso leading 2-1. Not long after Avispa’s Tanaka came up with a miraculous game-tying goal that saw the match end 2-2. Avispa were overall the best team, and should have taken all 3 points. They outshot Roasso 19-6.
Vegalta Sendai Montedio Yamagata 0-1
M: Toyoda 78’
The biggest clash of the round took place in Sendai, where visitors Montedio impressed with a very strong 1-0 away win. With that they look to be in a very good position regarding promotion, while for Vegalta it was a blow who are now without a win for 6 matches. Before this loss they had 5 straight draws, and needs to up their game if they want to finish 3rd or higher. Vegalta got off to a good start , and had some big chances in the opening minutes. They even had a goal disallowed, when Nakashima found the net only to be called off for offside. Montedio were on the same level as Vegalta though, and had chances of their own. FW Yohei Toyoda returned from the Olympics earlier than planned, and came off the bench midway through the 2nd half. The powerful striker had an immediate impact on the game, and became the match-winner with his header in the 78th minute. Vegalta had 13 shots to Montedio’s 8 in the end, and perhaps a draw would be the most fair result.
Ventforet beat Sanfrecce for the 2nd time this season, and considering Sanfrecce have only lost 4 times that’s an impressive feat. It was fully deserved as well, and Kofu wen out with a high-pressure already from the beginning of. Hayashi gave them an early lead in the 21st minute after a header from corner, and they managed to keep Sanfrecce at bay for most of the time as well, denying them anye real goal-scoring opportunities. Minutes into the 2nd half Sugiyama received the ball outside the box, and hammered in a shot from distance to make it 2-0. Sanfrecce tried their best to respond, but the closest they got were a shot from Koji Morisaki that Kofu’s keeper saved. The win means Kofu’s hopes of promotion are still alive, and although it’s still some points up to the other teams they are in decent form. Kofu outshot Sanfrecce 10-7.
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