J1 - round 30 results

Kawasaki Frontale Consadole Sapporo 3-1
K: Nakamura 20’, Taniguchi 28’, Juninho 85’

C: Davi 73’

The Frontale fans has lots of reasons to cheer for...

Frontale had few problems beating a weak Consadole side at home this round, and climbed up to 3rd in the table with the win. Since both Antlers and Oita lost, Frontale are now only 2 points behind the 1st place. Frontale dominated the match from start to end, and had tons of chances. Nakamura scored the opening goal in the 20th minute, after Renatinho dribbled his way past 3-4 players down the left-side, before giving the ball to Juninho who found Nakamura with a clever back-heel. A wonderful goal, and only 8 minutes later doubled Taniguchi the lead with a well-placed shot. Sapporo had a few chances on their own, but nothing that really frightened the goalkeeper. Juninho and Renatinho kept causing havoc in Sapporo’s defence, but they couldn’t find the goal. Instead Davi reduced to 1-2 in the 73rd minute, after going round Frontale’s keeper. Juninho killed the game off with a finish from close range with 5 minutes to go though. Frontale outshot Consadole 27-7.

Omiya Ardija JEF Utd Ichihara 2-1
O: Kobayashi 35’, Fujimoto 47’

J: Yazawa 20’

After 7 matches without losing, JEF surprisingly fell to struggling Omiya and lost 2-1 away. Omiya had 6 straight losses before this match, and taking all 3 points was really important. The result means Omiya climbed to safe place and 15th, leaving JEF in 16th and play-off.
Omiya played perhaps their best game in months, and really gave it all the entire match. It was JEF who started the best though, and Yazawa gave the visitors the lead with a low drive from distance after Fukai nicely set him up with the pass. But shortly after, Kobayashi hit the target with a nice volley-shot to equalize. Omiya should have scored earlier though, and then especially Uchida who had a couple of dangerous shots. Just a few minutes after the break Omiya received a penalty, and Fujimoto made no mistakes from the spot. As the game went on, there were chances at both ends, but Omiya had the most of them and in the end they fulle deserved the win. They outshot JEF 23-10.

FC Tokyo Kashima Antlers 3-2
T: Cabore 57’, Nagatomo 78’, Otake 81’

K: Koroki 61’, Tashiro 86’

Tokyo still in with a shot at ACL next year.

An in-form Antlers lost 3-2 away to a surprisingly strong Tokyo side, and the result means things are very open at the top again. Tokyo are down in 6th, but only 5 points behind leading Antlers with 4 matches to go. So all is possible still. The first half of the game didn’t produce any chances at all almost, except a few semi-dangerous attempts from Tokyo. The match exploded in the 2nd half though, and Cabore gave the home-team the lead with a clever header after a corner-kick from Ishikawa. Just a few minutes Koroki dived in the equalizer from short range after being set up by Marcinho. We saw plenty of chances at both ends at this time, and DF Nagatomo somewhat luckily scored in the 78th minute after a scramble in front of goal. Just 3 minutes later Ishikawa once again set up a goal, with a brilliant back-heel to Otake who got the ball past Sogahata in Antlers’s goal. Tashiro did well to reduce to 2-3 a few minutes later, but Antlers didn’t get more goals and lost for the first time in 7 matches. Tokyo had 18 shots to Kashima’s 12.
Albirex Niigata Urawa Red Diamonds 0-1
U: Hosogai 81’

Hosogai's goal means Urawa are back in the title race.

Urawa revived their title chances with a 1-0 win away over Albirex, but they had to struggle for the win. Albirex had the most of the chances, and with a bit more luck they would have taken all 3 points. Instead, they find themselves now only 3 points ahead of JEF in 16th, and are in danger of being relegated. Niigata had an offensive approach to this game, and came up with several chances in the opening half. Tsuzuki in Urawa’s goal had a good game though, and came up with several match-winning saves. He did some strange things too, but luckily for Urawa Niigata didn’t manage to exploit his errors. Urawa focused more on defending than attacking this match, and only had a handful of attempts on goal. There were some long-range efforts too, but nothing that troubled the goalkeeper. However, in the 81st minute they got reward for their patience, and a smart turn by Hosogai got him free to take the shot that gave Urawa the win. Niigata outshot Urawa 15-13 though, and were the best team this match.

Shimizu S-Pulse Gamba Osaka 3-1
S: Edamura 39’,49’, Okazaki 52’

G: Roni 77’

Gamba’s title chances took a real blow when they lost 3-1 away to Shimizu, and clearly the tough match midweek against Urawa in the ACL semi-final took it’s toll on the players. They look tired, and after winning such a big match perhaps this was an anti-climax for them. However, Shimizu are in great form, and this win takes them only 1 point behind Gamba. Being 6 and 7 points behind Antlers respectively, all hope isn’t gone with regards to making it into ACL next year, but that means the remaining matches has to be won. In-form Edamura were once again the best player on the pitch, and he topped a great performance with 2 goals. He also scored 2 against Gamba in the cup a while ago, and repeated that feat here. His first goal were somewhat lucky though, as he scraped past a defender and got a lucky touch on the ball to tap it past Gamba’s goalie. Early in the 2nd half, he were on target again, after Hara did well to set him up coming down the right hand-side. Okazaki is another player in good form, and just a few minutes later he made 3-0 for SHimizu, when his shot deflected a Gamba-defender. Substitute Roni headed home what would only be a consolation-goal for Gamba, and in the end Shimizu fully deserved the win. Both teams had 11 shots.

Kashiwa Reysol Yokohama F Marinos 1-3
K: Kurisawa 75’

Y: Kano 39’,84’, Tanaka 53’

Marinos played their 7th match in a row without losing when they beat Reysol 3-1 at home, and on the last 13 they only got 1 loss. Still, they are far from safe yet, and currenty they are on level points with Reysol. JEF in 16th are only 5 points behind though. Marinos looked great this match, and the win were fully deserved. With an offensive 4-3-3 formation, they created lots of chances. The blonde-haired Kenta Kano, who’ve started several matches recently, were a constant threat and were the man of the match. Not only did he score 2 goals, he also set up the 3rd.Just before the break he took a volley-shot that flew over Reysol’s keeper, which meant Marinos had a 1-0 lead at half-time. Early in the 2nd half Kano raced down the right flank, and found Tanaka with a brilliant chip-pass on the far-post. Kurisawa reduced to 1-2 in the 75th minute, but shortly after Kano were on target again with a finish from close range to make it 1-3. Marinos outshot Reysol 18-7.

Kyoto Purple Sanga Tokyo Verdy 0-0

Neither of the teams will be exactly thrilled with only a draw here, but avoiding defeat was nevertheless more important than winning this match. Both teams are struggling to avoid the drop, and are currently only a few points ahead of JEF in 16th. Verdy looked the best in the opening minutes, and even had a shot that hit the bar. Kyoto took more and more over as the match progressed though, and had a couple of dangerous attempts. But we didn’t see any goals, and Kyoto also hit the bar on 2 occasions. Yanagisawa should have done better on one if his chances though, but he had a difficult task against a packed Verdy-defence. A boring match, and if anyone deserved the win it should be Kyoto, who outshot Verdy 11-7.

Nagoya Grampus Eight Jubilo Iwata 0-0

For once Nagoya played at the breathtaking Toyota Stadium instead of the old and wore-down Mizuho...

Nagoya drew their 4th match in a row when they played Jubilo at home this round, and are not exactly looking like a title contender at the moment. For Jubilo, a draw is better than nothing, but they got to start winning again soon if they want to stay in J1. It’s only 2 points up to safe place, and with 3 of the remaining 4 matches being against tough competition it can be hard. They got 3 home games left though, so the chances are still there.
Jubilo had the best start, and the offensive drives from right-back Komano created trouble for Nagoya on more than one occasion. Never really looked like scoring though, and it was Nagoya who had the biggest chances. A risky back-pass were snapped up by Tamada, who came one-on-one with Jubilo’s keeper. Instead of passing to an open Johnsen, he opted for the shot from his tight ankle, which were easily saved by Kawaguchi. All in all an entertaining match despite no goals, but the over 30 000 at Toyota Stadium probably felt Nagoya deserved the win. Nagoya outshot Jubilo 14-6.

Vissel Kobe Oita Trinita 1-0
V: Okubo 81’

Yoshito Okubo (no.13) scored the winning goal.

Oita are going through somewhat of a crisis now, with 3 losses in their last 4 matches. Down in 4th place, they need to start winning again. However, with all the other teams up there also dropping points, they are only 2 points behind leading Antlers. Oita got off to the best start though, and had the most of the possession the first half. We didn’t see too many chances though, and the first really big one came early in the 2nd half, when Morishima hit the bar with a header. Vissel also came close on a couple of occasions, especially when Kitamoto hit the side netting with another header. In the 81st minute, we finally got a goal, as substitute Suzuki raced down the left-hand, and sent in a cross that Okubo converted with his head. A rare goal for the little striker, who isn’t exactly known for his aerial abilities. Oita threw everything forward in the dying minutes in their hunt for the equalizer, but despite alot of effort and several chances they ended up losing in the end. Both teams had 11 shots on goal.