Gifu in green
Yokohama took a rare win as they managed to overcome Gifu away by beating them 1-0 this round. Clearly neither of the teams really managed to sparkle, and it looked as both were just hoping for the season to end. Gifu tried at first to put Yokohama under some pressure, and although they managed a few dangerous shots on goal it didn’t trouble Yokohama’s keeper too much. Yokohama stood low, and were happy to go to half-time with a 0-0 result. As the Gifu players ran out of steam, Yokohama got more into the game in the 2nd half, and started creating chances on their own.Gifu had a bog chance through Aikawa though, but Koyama in Yokohama’s goal came up wit a brilliant save to deny him. Instead, DF Yamada scored for the visitors, after being nicely set up by Nanba. Yokohama’s defensive strategy worked well after that, and they managed to held on for the lead. Yokohama outshot Gifu 14-11, and the over 8000 home-fans had to leave the stadium with yet another disappointment.
S: Sato 45’
Vegalta met J2 chmapions Sanfrecce at home this round, and with all 3 persuaders winning their games, it was important with a good result for them. 1-1 is not too bad, but they would have been alot more safer with a win. Vegalta got off to a good start when Sugai finished off a great back-heel pass from Nagai to make it 1-0. Shortly after the prolific striker Sato, who were recently picked for the NT, equalized with a difficult shot just before the break. Sanfrecce had most of the possession in the 2nd half, and also the biggest chances. In the end a draw is a fair result though, and a result both teams can be reasonably happy with.Sanfrecce are still on schedule to reach the 100 point gap, but then the remaining 3 matches has to be won. For Vegalta’s sake, they are only 4 points ahead of 4th placed Shonan, and should win 2 more matches to be safe. Vegalta had 10 shots to Sanfrecce’s 13.
Only a complete breakdown will prevent Montedio from making it to J1 for the first time ever now, as they are 5 points ahead of 3rd placed Vegalta. They had few problems beating a poor Tokushima side away, and took a comfortable 3-0 win. Hasegawa gave the visitors the lead immediately after kick-off, which meant the home team had to play catch-up already from the start off. They struggled to break through Montedio’s defence though, as the away team packed their defence. A mistake from Tokushima’s goalie led to Toyoda scoring the 2-0 goal in the 34th minute. Sonoda made it 3-0 with a nice header after a corner-kick in the 55th minute, and by then Tokushima have already give up. They only managed a mere 3 shots on goal in total, as Montedio didn’t take any chances going forward, and by that risking throwing the lead away. A good performance from Montedio.
T Kumabayashi 15’, Tokura 67’
A late goal from Hirose kept Sagan’s hopes of finishing 3rd alive, as they beat Thespa 3-2 at home. Takahashi gave them the lead after only 8 minutes, after a scramble in front of Thespa’s goal. Shortly after however, Kumabayashi equalized with a well-placed free-kick for Thespa. The rest of the first half were quiet, and it seemed neither of the teams really tried to attack. Shimizu gave Sagan the lead again in the 58th minute, but once again managed Thespa to equalize, this time through Tokura after a corner-kick. Thespa were now eyeing all points, as they had the upper hand. Despite several chances they didn’t manage to score though, and instead Hirose could give Sagan the win with his goal right before the end. Overall a evenly contested match, and a draw would have been the most fair result. Both teams had 11 shots each.
C: Kagawa 51’,73’, Fujimoto 69’
Shinji Kagawa
A marvellous turn-around by Cerezo in the 2nd half means they still got a chance of 3rd place, but being 6 points behind Vegalta with 3 matches left it will be tough. Kofu got off to the best start this match, and Maranhao gave them the lead from the penalty-spot after only 9 minutes. He were on target again in the 39th minute after Kofu attacked down the right-hand side. Cerezo looked changed for the 2nd half though, and coach Culpi must have said the right words, cause just a few minutes after the restart gave Kagawa Cerezo a lifeline. Kota Fujimoto, who’s only recently have been involved on the first team, equalized in the 69th minute. Kagawa once again showed how important he is to the team with another goal shortly after, which in the end became the winning goal. Despite some dangerous counter-attacks from Kofu, the result stayed the same, and Cerezo could take 3 very important points. Cerezo opted for a 3-5-2 formation this match, and although the struggled a bit defensively, it worked well in offence. FW Kaio were sent off late in the 2nd half, and the in-form striker will be out for the match against Shonan next round. Cerezo had 13 shots to Kofu’s 11.
Shonan’s supersub Tuto proved his worth once again, as he scored his 4th goal in only 5 appearances, all as a sub. That goal proved to be the winner, and Shonan’s chances of finishing 3rd are still alive. But that means Cerezo has to be beaten away next round, and the winner there will still have a shot at 3rd. As fo the match, Shonan adopted a very defensive strategy, and several mistakes in their build-up led to some semi-dangerous Mito chances. Mito had the most of possession, but against a 10-man defence they didn’t have enough skill to get through. The match were in other words a dull performance, atleast for a neutral fan. In the 60th minute came the only goal of the match, and that after Tuto had only been on the pitch for 4 minutes. The veteran striker has become a talisman for Shonan now, scoring several important goals lately. All in all a somewhat undeserved win for Shonan, and Mito deserved atleast a draw. Shonan outshot Mito 12-8.
Roasso climbed to 12th with a fine win away against fellow bottom-dweller Ehime FC. Takahashi were on target again to give them the win, as he scored his 19th goal of the season. Only Hisato Sato has scored more goals than Takahashi this season, and it’s likely a bigger club will try to get hold of his services next season. The goal came after only 7 minutes, as Takahashi headed home a cross from Ichimura to give Roasso the lead. Roasso packed their defence after the early goal, and Ehime struggled to break through for the rest of the match. All in all we saw very few chances, and even when hime threw everyone forward, Roasso stayed back. They could have gone for some counter-attacks, as it was wide open at the other end, but they decided to lay low. With the win, Roasso are unbeaten for 7 matches, which is a new club record. Both teams had 8 shots each.
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