Nagoya Grampus Eight Tokyo Verdy 1-1
N: Johnsen 90’
V: Tsuchiya 40’
Verdy came to Nagoya without too big hopes of a point, but the visitors came within a whiske of taking all actually, and Nagoya were only saved by a last-minute equalizer by Frode Johnsen. Verdy looked dangerous already from the start off, lead by Hiramoto and Diego up front who showed good strength on the ball. Yukio Tsuchiya, with his characteristicially bald head rose highest on a corner in the 40th minute to give Verdy a well-deserved lead to take with them to half-time. Nagoya got a bit more into the match in the 2nd half, and came up with a few chances. Most of them fell to Johnsen, who should have scored on 2 occasions. It got a little better when Sugimoto came on, as he added another dimension to Nagoya’s attack with his speedy runs down the flank. So in injury-time, Nagoya finally got their equalizer, after Yoshimizu Ogawa’s cross landed on Johnsen’s head. All in all a somewhat lucky point though, with Verdy outshooting the home-team 18-11.
U: Tulio 9’, Edmilson 86’
JEF’s rise doesn’t seem to stop, and this time it was Urawa that became the victims of Alex Miller’s defensive organizing and great tactics. He’s done wonders with JEF, and have lead them to 5 straight wins now which puts them in 14th place. At the moment JEF are Japan’s best club it seems, which shows how fast it can change considering they were the worst just a few months ago. Masaki Fukai has been a revelation in the last matches, and this match he scored his 3rd and 4th goal in only his 7th start of the season. He gave JEF the lead after only 30 seconds with his first touch of the ball after Tanizawa found him with the pass. However, jsut a few minutes late Tulio equalized for Urawa and the teams were deadlocked again. The first half were evenly contested, and if anyone should have been in the lead it was Urawa, who had the majority of the chances. JEF held out though, and after 57 minutes Fukai were on target again with a brilliant indicidual effort. The brazilian striker Michel added another one just 10 miinutes later, in what was his first goal ( and first shot!) since his debut 5 matches ago. Urawa threw everyone forward in an attempt to get back into it, and got one when Edmilson reduced in the 86th minute. It was too little too late though, and JEF took another 3 valuable points. For Urawa it was the first loss in 9 matches or so, but they’ve drawn alot lately as well and have lost several points. They are in danger of missing out on even a top 3 finish, which gives ACL. Urawa outshot JEF 15-8, but overall it was an even match.
Jubilofans will be happy to see their team back on track with a 5-0 win over bottom-dwellers Consadole Sapporo at home this round. That means the former big-name club got 2 wins in a row, and are closing in on the teams above. They are on level points with Tokyo Verdy and Omiya Ardija now, but not for long if they keep up the good form. Jubilo had few problems beating a very poor Sapporo-side, and NT-striker Ryuichi Maeda became the MOM with a hattrick in the first half. He opened the scoring after only 7 minutes with an easy tap-in after Consadole’s GK gave a rebound. Then within 4 minutes later in the half he scored twice with his head after Komano fed him with pin-point corner-kicks. So the outcome of the match were already decided by then, and Jubilo eased down a bit in the 2nd half. But they added 2 more goals, first through a PK from Gilsinho, and in injury-time Inuzuka took a shot from distance that went straight into the top-corner. All in all an impressive performance from Jubilo, who outshot Consadole 13-5.
Omiya Ardija Kashiwa Reysol 0-4
R: Murakami 9’,14’,44’, Suganuma 48’
Kashiwa Reysol’s Yosuke Murakami stood for the biggest headline this round, as the right-back scored a marvellous hattrick in his first ever J.League match. This was his debut, as he stepped in due to some injuries in Reysol’s defence, and he got a fantastic start to his career. It didn’t take long before his set his mark on J.League, and scored twice in the opening 15 minutes with his head to put Reysol 2-0 up. he rounded off his hat-trick when he raced forward and came alone with Omiya’s keeper just before the break. With a well-taken lob from distance he became the first player since Zico back in 1993 to score 3 goals in his debut in J.League. Suganuma added a 4th a few minutes after the break, and Omiya were never a threat to the visiting team. It was Reysol’s first win in 10 matches actually, and 3 very important points in their battle against relegation. For Omiya however, the result means they are now in 17th place, which means J2 next year.
K: Tahara 52’
Kyoto took one heck of a beating when they they visited Kansai-rivals Vissel this round. The home-team won 4-1 which put them in 9th place. Japan NT striker Yoshito Okubo were on target with a nice finish after only 3 minutes, and set the tone for the rest of the match. Both teams had plenty of chances in the opening half, but Okubo’s goal was the only thing that divided them by half-time. Immediately after the break though, Uchiyama scored an absolutely cracker of a goal as he curled it into the top-corner and made it 2-0 for Vissel. Tahara finished off a beautiful attack a few minutes later to give Kyoto a life-line. Visse’l Kobayashi got sent off not too long after, and Kyoto now eyed a point or possible even a win. Vissel kept going on with their offensive tactics though, and in the 77th and 78th minute both Leandro and Okubo got on the scoresheet. Kyoto weren’t as bad as the result suggests, but either way a major boost for Vissel who’s had a disappointing season this year. Kyoto needs to start picking up points again now if they want to avoid the drop.
Marinos extended their unbeaten streak to 5 games with a draw in Niigata, which means both teams picked up a valuable point. Niigata are in 12th with 36 points now, and Marinos lies only 1 point behind. It was easy to see that both teams were afraid to lose, and therefore didn’t take too many chances going forward. A dull performance, but atleast Yokohama tried on occasions. They even got a goal, but Sakata were called off for handball before he put the ball in the net. Niigata only came forward a few times, and the only one that created any danger for them were Yano, who put in a solid performance up front. Marinos outshot Niigata 13-5, and should have taken all points. However, a draw is a result both teams can live with.
FC Tokyo Shimizu S-Pulse 1-5
T: Emerson 59’
S: Yamamoto 21’, Iwashita 40’, Hara 45’, Okazaki 79’, Toda 90’
Title-chasing Tokyo took a real bashing as they lost 1-5 to Shimizu at home. That ended their 5 match win-streak and put a halt to their title-ambitions. They are only 5 points behind though, so the chances are still there. For Shimizu, they enjoy playing without any pressure at all, as they are placed in the middle of the table, well safe from the relegation zone and too many points behind the top teams. But they certainly looked a top-team this round, as they proved very efficient up front, and impressed with solid defending. Yamamoto gave them the lead after 21 minutes, before Iwashita and Hara added 2 more just before the break. Tokyo had the most of the chances though, and the score were a bit lop-sided. Emerson, who came off the bench at half-time, reduced for Tokyo in the 59th minute, and Tokyo were chasing a 2nd when Okazaki killed the game off his goal in the 79th minute. Toda finished them off with Shimizu’s 5th goal in injury-time. Shimizu looks great these days, and are soon to take part in the league-cup final. Clearly they are favorites there in this form.
Gamba and Kashima shared the spoils in Osaka this round, a result the visitors will be most happy about. Gamba are down in 7th, 6 points behind the top, and can’t afford to drop any more points now if they want a shot at the title. Antlers got off to the best start, and put Gamba under pressure early on. Gamba’s defence has improved over the last couple of months though, and they withstood the ongoing surges forward. In the 2nd half, Gamba lead the play, but just like Antlers they couldn’t find the goal. All in all a fair, as Gamba outshot Antlers 15-12.
Kawasaki Frontale Oita Trinita 3-0
K: Renatinho 23’,27’, Juninho 57’
Oita have 2 straight defeats now, and are falling like a rock in the table. Down in 4th, they need to get their act together again if they want a top 3 finish. Frontale on the other hand, looks to be in great form and only have a single defeat in their last 12 matches. This match, they had few problems beating a disappointing Oita-side. Renatinho scored 2 quick goals in the middle of the 1st half to make it 2-0 for Frontale.The brazilian have been quite good in the latest matches, and looks to be the natural replacement for Juninho who’s not getting any younger. Speaking about Juninho, he showed in the 2nd half he still got it though, as he added a 3rd for Frontale in the 57th minute.Oita weren’t totally hapless though, but all in all it was a well-deserved lead. Frontale had 11 shots to Oita’s 7.
2 comments:
Hey made!
What alot of work you do here??? :D
just great!
I found it after my long time off.
you make me envy with your pics from urawa, yokohama, nagai, denshi and banpaku, you pink-blue stripe wiking! >:( ;)
best wishes from germany and see you at BS :)
haha thanks endo;) you should join me next time I go to Japan then :-) seems we will get some more Avispa-Cerezo matches last year as well. a pity we couldn't make it to J1!
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