N: Ogawa 40’
JEF’s turnover is complete now, and they’ve stepped out of the relegation zone for the first time this year. Well, atleast away from the bottom two that gives direct promotion. That’s because they beat league-leaders Nagoya 2-1 at home, an incredible strong result considering Nagoya had 5 straight wins. And it was deserved as well, as the home team had the most of the chances and most of the possession. They looked strong in the opening minutes, combining well with their quick passing and ”free-flow” football. But itwas the visitors that took the lead, on one of their numerous counter-attacks. Ogawa fired home a shot from distance to make it 1-0 just before the break. That was Ogawa’s 3rd goal in the latest 3 matches, and the winger is only 1 goal behind topscorer Johnsen now on the goalscoring charts.
But JEF didn’t give up, and almost immediately after the break, they equalized through Yazawa, who became the hero last match with his injury-time winner. Yazawa scored after a rebound given by Narazaki in Nagoya’s goal, and a minute later the speedy winger were in action again. This time he found Fukai with a nice cross, and the striker scored the 2-1 goal. They managed to held on for the win despite some hevy pressure from Nagoya near the end. With Jubilo being hammered by Tokyo, it means that JEF are now in 16th, which gives playoff vs the 3rd-placed J2 team. JEF had 14 shots to Nagoya’s 9.
J: Maeda 34’
We were worried that Tokyo might would struggle in front of goal this match, being without their topscorer Akamine as well as their 2 most important midfielders Hanyu and Konno. But the Gasmen proved to be extremely efficient this match, scoring a whopping 5 goals from only 10 shots. Bad luck for Jubilo, who fell into direct relegation with this loss.
Tokyo took the lead after only 14 minutes, when Cabore finished off a counter-attack by hitting the back of the net. Hideki Sahara added another in the 33rd minute, but seconds later Jubilo’s Ryuichi Maeda exploited an error in the Tokyo defence to reduce to 1-2. The first half didn’t saw much more chances really, and Jubilo were at this time still in the match, being on level with the home team. That were soon to change though, as Tokyo immediately after the restart started their domination. 16 minutes into the 2nd half, Tokyo got their 3rd through an own goal, and soon after the speedy Ishikawa made it 4-1. Ishikawa were perhaps the man of the match this round, and along with Cabore up front he were a constant threat to Jubilo’s defence. Suzuki completed the humiliation when he made it 5-1 in the dying minutes, after rounding of the goalkeeper elegantly. Tokyo had 10 shots to Jubilo’s 8.
V: Yoshida 64’, H.Tanaka 78’
A frantic finish to the game, where we got 5 goals in the last 35 minutes, saw Albirex beat Kobe 3-2 at home. That means Albirex are safe now, being 8 points above the relegation zone. For Vissel however, things are getting serious, and with an in-form JEF only bein 4 points behind now they needs to up their game.
The first half of this match is not really worth mentioning, as most of the action took place after the break. Marcio Richardes opened the scoring with a tricky header in the 54th minute after being set up by Matsuo down the wing. The goals came with only few minutes between now, and Vissel were soon to equalize through Yoshida, who an down the left-wing to beat the goalie from a tight angle. Atomu Tanaka were the next to get on the scoresheet, with his right-legged volleyshot after Matsushita had found him with a cross. When Hideo Tanaka hammered the ball into the top corner after Leandro did well so well to find him in the 78th minute, it looked like the match would end a draw. But Albirex weren’t finished, and with just 6 minutes left to play Yano headed home the winning goal. Matsushita were the architect also this time. Overall it was a evenly-contested match,and it could have ended both ways. That shows in the shot-statistic as well, with Albirex habing 12 shots to Kobe’s 11.
Shimizu S-Pulse Tokyo Verdy 1-0
S: Hara 72’
Shimizu recorded their 3rd straight win when they beat Verdy at home this round. For Verdy however, the loss means they’ve only taken 1 point in the last 4 and are just 4 points above relegation now. Shimizu were by far the best team this match, and should have won by a much bigger margin. The strikers Yajima and Hara bouth missed tons of chances, much due to Verdy’s Doi standing in the way for each of their efforts. Verdy on the other hand, didn’t produce much dangerous, and their biggest chance were a header that went over the bar. Shimizu’s goal came in the 72nd minute, when Hara headed home a free-kick from the right. Shimizu continued with that their great form, that has taken them as high as 8th in the table. They outshot Verdy 12-7.
K: Own Goal 72’
Marinos and Frontale shared the spoils in an evenly contested battle this round. It being a derby match, alot of pride were at stake, and for Frontale’s sake only a win were good enough in their pursuit of the title.They got off to a great start, but coldn’t find the opening goal their many chances . Instead, Nakazawa headed home a corner to give Marinos the lead just before the break. Nakazawa were in focus later in the match as well, when he scored the equalizer for Frontale with an own-goal. It was a hard fought battle with lots of aggression on the pitch, and it resulted in some cards and a sending off for Marinos. Shohei Ogura, who played so well for Mito last season, have finally breaken into the Marinos squad. 10 minutes before full-time he received marching order though. Frontale had 18 shots to Marinos’s 15, and the home team will be most happy with the draw I think.
C: Anderson 67’, Nishi 90’
Oita moved to the top of the table after beating last-placed Consadole at home this round. However, Oita struggled more than what the teams league position should suggest, and with 3 goals in the dying minutes we got a very exciting finish to the game. The game were played in Oita’s old stadium, and the home team didn’t look too comfortable with that. They let Consadole run the play for long periods in the first half. Oita had the biggest chances though, and should have been 1-0 up by half-time. Edmilson gave Oita the lead after 57 minutes when he reacted quickest to a shot that hit the post. But just 10 minutes later Anderson header over the Oita goalie to equalize. With the time running out, both teams looked like they would settle for the draw, but 2 minutes from full-time Ueslei scored with a clever-taken freekick to put Oita back in the lead. Consadole didn’t give up though, and Nishi volleyed home the equalizer once again after a scramble in the box in injury-time. Clearly the match should have ended then, but Edmilson were on target once again with what was virtually the last kick of the match to give Oita an extremely importan win. With Nagoya losing, Oita are now in 1st place on goal-difference. Oita had 17 shots to Consadole’s 10.
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