Due to a lack of internet-access lately, it's been a while since my last update. That problem is solved now, and hopefull I'll be able to post on a daily basis again.
Sagan Tosu Yokohama FC 3-2
S: Hirose 35’,48’, Takahashi 86’
Y: Ikemoto 28’, Gokyo 78’
Sagan took a very important win when they met Yokohama at home this round, but it was only due to a late winner from Takahashi that they could celebrate as winners here. It was Yokohama that got off to the best start though, when Ikemoto gave them 1-0 in the 28th minute. Sagan didn’t take long before they had equalized though, when Hirose finished off a counter-attack to make it 1-1 7 minutes later. That were also the score by half-time. Immediately after the break, Sagan got on the scoresheet again, as Hirose struck another one past Yokohama’s goalie. Sagan looked quite good this period, with lots of nice passing and flowing football. They seemed to take their foot off the gas-pedal near the end though, as they allowed Gokyo to equalise with 12 minutes left to play. But Sagan had a little bit more gas left in the tank, and 4 minutes from full time Yoshiki Takahashi scored what can prove to be a really important goal for Sagan, as it meant they took all 3 points here. That was Takahashi’s only 2nd goal this season, and it really improves Sagan’s chances of a top 3 finish. Sagan had 13 shots to Yokohama’s 8, so overall it was a fair result.
S: Takahagi 40’,42’, Sato 44’
Cerezo’s promotion chances took a real knock as they lost to Sanfrecce at home this round. Sanfrecce scored 3 goals within 4 minutes just before the break, and that little period were enough for them to get away with all points. A huge disappointment for Cerezo, who overall were on level with Sanfrecce for most of this match apart from that letdown before the break. Wonderkid Shinji Kagawa gave Cerezo an early lead after only 8 minutes, and Cerezo looked to be in decent control in the following minutes. They were headed to half-time with a 1-0 lead, but in the 40th minute Takahagi equalized. Just 2 minutes he added another before Hisato Sato made it 1-3 straight afterwards. Cerezo were shocked, but Germano reduced on a penalty-kick to make it 2-3 before the referee blew off for half-time.
Cerezo’s best player this match were Kagawa, but as the match went on Sanfrecce managed to neautralize him and that took alot of the sting out of Cerezo’s attack. Even a few offensive substitutions didn’t help, and in the end Cerezo had to see Sanfrecce get away with all the points. Cerezo had 11 shots to Sanfrecce’s 14.
Thespa will be unhappy not being able to beat Roasso at home, as a win would have taken them just a point behind 6th placed Cerezo. Roasso also got a defender sent off early in the match, so it should have been an easy win. Instea, Thespa played their 4th straight draw. I those matches had been won instead, Thespa would have been in the promotion race. Thespa should blame themselves for rued misses though, as most of their shots were harmless. They did hit the bar on one occasion though, but that was the closest the got. Roasso naturally packed their defence after being demoted to 10 men, and it workd out well. That was Roasso’s 3rd game in a row without a defeat, which is a rare thing for them. Thespa outshot Roasso 17-7.
M: Akahoshi 45’, Arata 71’,90’
Mito stood for the biggest shock this round, as they defeated an in-form Vegalta away. Vegalta had 4 straight wins and were headed for a 2nd place before this match. As in the 2 other meetings this year, the match were quite eventful had a bunch of goals to it.
All in all the teams were evenly contested, and that Mito ended up as winners seems fair. Especially considering that Vegalta ”stole” the win the last time they met with a goal in injury-time. Ryan Yong-Gi gave Vegalta the lead in the 43rd minute after a counter-attack, but Mito’s Akahoshi equalized with a pin-point finish in injury-time in the first half. The first half didn’t contained too many chances, and a draw by half-time seemed fair. Mito gof ott to the best start after the break, and Arata gave the visitors the lead in the 71st minute when he went on a dribbling raid past 2 defenders before hammering it home. But Vegalta were soon to equalize, through their brazilian striker Nadson. Nadson haven’t been the natural goalscorer type than Vegalta though they had buyed, but either way he’s been vital to the team’s offensive play. As the match neared it’s end, Arata were on target once again to give Mito the win. A remarkable result, and shows once again that Mito on it’s best are bound for bigger things than living at the bottom of J2. Vegalta had 18 shots to Mito’s 19.
Shonan should consider themselves a bit lucky to be on the winning side in the match against Kofu, as the visitors had most of the chances. Likewise, Kofu must feel disappointed as 3 points here would mean their chances of a top 3 finish would have been significantly strengthened. The only goal of the match came just before half-time, when Ishihara reacted first on a rebound from Kofu’s keeper. That was a good finish to a dull first-half, where neither of the teams really had any chances. Kou geared up a notch for the 2nd half, in their attempt to get the equalizer. They came close on several occasions, but it didn’t result in any goals. Bad luck, as htey outshot Shonan 11-4.
Tokushima played arguably their best game of the year when they hammered island-rivals Ehime 5-0 at home. Almost 12 000 showed up for the derby-match, and the homefans atleast got what they came for. In the first half the teams were evenly contested, and only separated by a single goal which came through Ishida ater 18 minutes. Ehime looked to be fully on level with the home team, but despite some nice individual efforts that resulted in some dangerous chances they failed to hit the target. It was the same in the beginning of the 2nd half, but when Mugita scored his first ever J.League goal in the 60th minute after getting free inside the box, Ehime fell apart and let Tokushima dominate the rest of the match. It exploded within the last 10 minutes, when Tokushima scored 3 quick goals. Sugawara did 3-0 before Ishida added his 2nd of the match. The best goal came through Onishi though, who had only been on field for 20 seconds. From 25 meters out, Onishi took down the ball, and then directly hammered it into the top right corner with only his 2nd touch. A marvellous end to a good game, and Tokushima outshot Ehime 14-9. Although he didn’t got on the scoresheet, MOM must be the former Kofu and Kyoto player Kuranuki, who played a part in almost every goal Tokushima scored this game.
A: Havenaar 43’
Gifu ended their losing streak at 6 games as they managed a draw at home against Avispa this round. That’s a result neither of the team can complain about, as it was a very evenly contested match. Gifu took the lead in the 26th minute through Aikawa, who scored his first goal ever in J.League. Passive defending lead to Aikawa getting the chance, and he made no mistake with his finish. But just before the break, the tall Havenaar headed home the equalizer after a set-play situation. Gifu had alot of focus on the defence this match, after their recent big losses, and it worked well against Avispa, as they managed to close them down for most of the time. Only on occasions did Avispa break through, but it was never really dangerous. All in all a fair result, and the teams had 8 shots each.
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