Surprises in the J-League
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With the J-League on hiatus will June 19, it is time for a general re-cap of the first twelve weeks. If there is a surprise, it certainly isn’t that the Kashima Antlers appear to be running away from the league with Urawa Red Diamonds are in hot pursuit but the collapse of Ōita and rise of Albirex Niigata.
Flipping the table on its end, injuries have played a major part Ōita Trinita’s complete collapse. The defensive powerhouse has given up one goal shy of their entire total last year, have only a single win to speak for and are nearing panic mode to avoid relegation. While there is time to climb safety, the injuries to Yasuhito Morishima, Daiki Takamatsu, Tatsuya Ikeda, Roberto, Edimilson and Ueslei, just to name a few have left them a shell of their former self.
J2 could be quite interesting next year with Ōita possibly headed there but one team who won’t be headed down is Albirex Niigata who are nestled third in the table and only three points behind the Reds. A final day victory over Gamba Osaka gave them a bit of a cushion from relegation last year but few would have expected the club to a emerge with well-disciplined style that oozes fundamentals and patience.
Category: J League News
week 6 summary
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The J-League week six action concluded with Kashima Antlers and Urawa locked at the top of the table but still Ōita struggling to get out of the basement.
The Antlers were disappointed at home as they played Yokohama F. Marinos to a scoreless draw with the visitors creating the majority of scoring opportunities. The drop allowed the Urawa Red Diamonds to fight to top of the table with their 1-0 defeat of Kyoto Sanga 1-0 at Saitama Stadium. The lone strike of the match came eight minutes in from Edmilson after being played through by Ponte.
Gamba Osaka came back to beat Montedio Yamagata 2-1 at home with Japan international Yasuhito Endo and Leandro striking in the final twenty minutes. Kim Byung Suk had given Yamagata the lead just before the break as Tatsuya Ishikawa’s corner came to him before sending in.
Kashiwa Reysol’s difficult start continued they lost 2-1 at home to Nagoya Grampus. Davi had given Grampus the lead at the half hour before Minoru Suganuma leveled the match on the hour. However Davi snatched the victory in added-time.
Albirex Niigata and Sanfrecce Hiroshima to a six goal draw with Junior netting all three for Niigata in the first half. Hisato Sato gave Hiroshima the lead quarter of the hour before Junior went on his rampage. Leveling the match midway of the half nodding in Mitsuru Chiyotanda’s, he added his second on the half hour before volleying in Kisho Yano’s cross two minutes before the break. However Hiroshima came storming back after the restart with Yosuke Kashiwagi bringing to within one at the fifty-fifth minute. Hideo Oshima’s own goal with eighteen minutes left brought the exciting match even.
Kawasaki Frontale defeated Omiya Ardija 3-1 in a shocking finish. After Frontale took control of the match early Naoki Ishihara gave visiting Ōmiya the lead at the half hour the match after being played through by veteran Chikara Fujimoto. Chong Tese found the equalizer two minutes past the hour after being provided the ball by Kengo Nakamura on a fast counter-attack. However with three minutes left Hiroyuki Taniguchi headed-in Yusuke Igawa’s cross only to be followed-up with Juninho’s close range goal to make it 3-1.
JEF United Ichihara-Chiba found its win of the year as they defeated FC Tokyo 2-1 in a late rally. After Naohiro Ishikawa had given the Gas Men the lead nineteen minutes in it looked to heading for a victory for the home side. However Seiichiro Maki and Masaki Fukai struck as time wound down for JEF in a shocking conclusion.
In the Shizuoka derby Júbilo Iwata overwhelmed Shimizu S-Pulse 3-0 at home coming from three goals after the break. Without the services of Gilsinho, suspended for the match, South Korea international Lee Keun Ho hit the mark eleven minutes after the restart with a close range goal set-up by Yohei Nishibe. He doubled the margin with sixteen minutes left via ‘keeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi’s long ball, flicked on by Ryoichi Maeda. Maeda added an insurance goal with nine minutes remaining striking from just inside the box.
Ōita Trinita’s horrible start continued with a 3-2 loss to Vissel Kobe. Yasuhito Morishima gave Ōita the lead at the eighth minute before Hiroto Mogi drew it level eleven minutes later. The see-saw affair continued as Yosuke Ishibit returned Kobe’s lead at strike of the hour but Ōita’s Ueslei squared it up with nineteen minutes remaining. With the match now even Hideo Tanaka found the winner for Kobe with eleven minutes left on the clock and remarkably Ōita sits at the bottom of the table.
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Category: J League NewsJ-League week 5 report
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Week 5 of the J-League came to an end with none other than the Kashima Antlers once again occupying the top spot. The Antlers defeated FC Tokyo as they put up two goals in the first quarter of an hour. Last years league MVP Marquinhos opened the scoring in the opening minute with a drive from outside the box. Only fourteen minutes later eighteen year-old Yuya Osako continued his fast start with his first J-League strike. Shingo Akamine gave the Gas-Men hope five minutes before the break but they couldn’t find the equalizer.
Montedio Yamagata continued their impressed start to the year as they defeated Ōita Trinita 1-0 to further compound Pericles Chamusca’s side early season woes. After a scoreless first half Tatsuya Furuhashi scored three minutes past the hour to give the visitors a surprising victory.
After four weeks without a win Yokohama F. Marinos exploded with a 5-0 victory over Vissel Kobe at Nissan Stadium with Kazuma Watanabe and Koji Yamase each bagging two and Kenta Kano chipping in with twenty-two minutes left. Yokohama manager Kokichi Kimura said after the match, “That was our first win of the season but, as I have said several times, the content has not been bad. I thought this must come eventually. That’s only one match, though, and the next game at Kashima is now going to be very important.”
JEF United Ichihara-Chiba and Jubilo Iwata played to a 1-1 draw with Japan international Ryoichi Maeda bringing the match even with sixteen minutes remaining as he headed-in Yuichi Komano. JEF had taken the lead with own goal nineteen minutes after the opening whistle.
Mihailo Petrović’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima was impressive in their 4-1 trouncing of Kashiwa Reysol. Japan U21 international Tomoaki Makino opened the scoring for Hiroshima five minutes before the break with Kota Hattori, heading this year to his 400th match for the club, doubling the margin early in the new half. Yosuke Kashiwagi added an insurance goal before the hour and while Hideaki Kitajima drew one back for Reysol it was too little, too late. With thirteen minutes remaining Hisato Satō restored the three goal margin.
In the final two matches of the weekend Gamba Osaka’s bad start continued as they lost 3-2 to Omiya Ardija. Ōmiya took a two goal lead with Mato Neretljak and Naoki Ishihara scoring before the break. Gamba’s Cho Jae-Jin drew one back quickly after the re-start but Denis Marques restored the lead just before the hour mark. Leandro brought Gamba back within one
In other action, Albirex Niigata fell from the top-spot with a 1-0 loss to Kyoto Sanga as Paulinho scored the matches lone goal four minutes in. Blue Samurai’s Shinji Okazaki header provided the needed margin to give Shimizu S-Pulse the 1 - 0 victory over Kawasaki Frontale.
Finally in a tightly played match Urawa Red Diamonds defeated Nagoya Grampus with the lone goal coming just before the break from seventeen year-old Genki Haraguchi as he turned in a loose ball from ten metres.
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Category: J League NewsJ-League week 4
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Albirex Niigata continued their unbeaten streak as they defeated troubled Yokohama F. Marinos 2-1 on a last gasp goal by Kisho Yano. After Marcio Richardes gave the host side Niigata the lead eight minutes before the break as he headed in Gilton’s cross, Yuzo Kurihara squared the match three minutes before the hour. However in added time Cho Young Cheol sent a cross than Kisho Yano sent in for the victory.
Kashima Antlers defeated Kyoto Sanga 2-1 in a stunning late come from behind victory at home. Diego Basto gave the visitors the lead near the hour before Ryuta Sasaki brought the match level five minutes before time with Shinzo Koroki setting it up with a cross. Koroki returned to score the winner in added time.
Kawasaki Frontale upended Nagoya Grampus 3-1 in front of their home fans. Júnior leveled the match for the visitors from Yusuke Mori’s provision a minute after Magnum had scored from Grampus midway of the half. Hiroyuki Taniguchi gave Frontale the lead on the half hour with North Korean international Chong Tese adding a insurance goal just past the hour.
Urawa Red Diamonds defeated Oita Trinita 1-0 at Saitama Stadium with an own goal by Masato Morishige two minutes before the half as the decider. However the match will be best known for the debut of much heralded youth product Naoki Yamada for the Red Diamonds and the return of Alessandro dos Santos to the lineup. The eighteen year-old Yamada put in a scintillating performance and is likely to maintain his spot in Urawa’s midfield. Ōita was hampered with the losses of Yasuhito Morishima, Yoshiaki Fujita, Daiki Takamatsu, Roberto and Ueslei and were not able to break down the disciplined Urawa play.
Gamba Osaka and Sanfrecce Hiroshima to a 2-2 draw in Osaka. Akira Nishino’s Gamba took the lead as Korean international Cho Jae-Jin, ex of Jeonbuk Hyundai, four minutes before the half hour. Issei Takayanagi brought the match level for Hiroshima ten minutes later with Japan international Hisato Satō equalizing for Mihailo Petrović’s side two minutes before the break. Fellow Blue Samurai Yasuhito Endo leveled the match three minutes into the half as he converted from the spot.
Kashiwa Reysol and Omiya Ardija fought to a 2-2 draw in front of Reysol supporters in a stunning finish. Thirty year-old veteran Masahiro Koga gave the home side the equalizer in added time as he headed Popo’s cross just after Tomoya Uchida had scored for Ōmiya a minute before regulation. França, formerly of Bayer 04 Leverkusen, had opened the scoring for Reysol nine minutes after the break before Taishi Tsukamoto goal from a free-kick canceled it out three minutes later.
FC Tokyo rebounded after a tough start as Shingo Akamine scored with seven minutes remaining to give the Gas Men a 1-0 victory over host side Jubilo Iwata.
Masaru Akiba gave the home side Montedio Yamagata a 1 - 0 victory over JEF United Ichihara-Chiba with his goal at the eighty seventh minute of the match.
Shimizu S-Pulse defeated Vissel Kobe 1-0 as Blue Samurai Shinji Okazaki scored for S-Pa three minutes past the hour.
Category: J League NewsJ-League week 3
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Only in the third week of the J-League season, the action has already picked up with a series of close fought matches and surprising upsets.
Defending champions Kashima Antlers beat Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-1 with a last minute goal by Blue Samurai Shinzo Koroki. Oswaldo de Oliveira’s men opened the scoring quarter of the hour as Masashi Motoyama found the back of the net however the visitors squared the match sixteen minutes into the new half as Bulgarian international Ilian Stoyanov converted from the spot. Looking to be headed for a draw Shinzo Koroki scored from the spot in added time.
Albirex Niigata maintained its first place status with a scoreless draw to Ōita Trinita. Niigata came close to winning the match as Marcio Richardes free-kick in the opening half stung the post but otherwise both sides played tough defending and limited chances.
Niigata manager Jun Suzuki noted his pleasure with the draw following the match:
“I think a point away to Oita is as good as it gets. Both teams had chances from set pieces and the wings in the first half but I thought we controlled more of the game in the second half and defended well when they countered.”
JEF United Ichihara-Chiba stubbornly denied Kawasaki Frontale a victory in route to a 1-1 draw. Tatsuya Yazawa scored only a minute into the match as he latched onto the a deflected Koki Yonekura and sent it into the net. Shimpei Takeda side swarmed Chiba’s end with Kazuhiro Murakami and Juninho both hitting the bar but at the fifty-eighth minute Juninho found the back of the net as he struck from the edge of the area.
Hisashi Kato’s Kyoto Sanga defeated Gamba Osaka 2-1. Korean international Lee Jung-Soo headed-in Diego’s corner just before the break gave Kyoto the 1-0 lead. Diego doubled the margin ten minutes into the half from the spot on a very debatable penalty judgement. Gamba showed little fight coming back in what was definitely an “off-match” however they drew within one with fourteen minutes left as Shinichi Terada opportunistically sent a rebound in. Energized by the goal Gamba poured forward and came close to leveling with Yasuhito Endō header but could not find the much needed goal.
Following the match Kyoto manager Hisashi Kato expressed his pleasure with the victory:
“I am honestly delighted to take three points off Gamba Osaka, the Asian champions and top of the table team. Our own way of playing is emerging little by little.”
Omiya Ardija and Vissel Kobe left it late to score in route to a 1-1 draw. Veteran Takayuki Yoshida found the mark for Kobe on the hour before Naoki Ishihara opened his scoring account for Omiya as he dove to head-in a corner.
Urawa Red Diamonds disappointing start continued with a 1-1 draw to Jubilo Iwata, who were run off the pitch in their opening two matches. Red Diamond manager Volker Finke went in the match with an aggressive stance but it was Iwata that took the lead thirty three minutes in with Gilsinho’s goal. Urawa was able to level with Edmilson’s goal with twenty-two minutes left but it was Iwata that nearly stole the match as Gilsinho sent a shot off the post late.
FC Tokyo defeated Montedio Yamagata 1-0 with Japan international Naotake Hanyu scoring the lone goal four minutes before the hour from Cabore’s provision.
In the highest scoring match of the weekend Yokohama F Marinos and Kashiwa Reysol fought to a 3-3 draw. After Yokohama Kenta Kano and long-term Japan international Yuji Nakazawa opened the scoring within the first twenty minutes, Reysol’s Kóta Sugiyama brought one back two minutes before the break. However Kazuma Watanabe restored the two goal margin quickly thereafter. After the break França scored six minutes past the hour before Popo leveled the match with four minutes remaining
Nagoya Grampus defeated Shimizu S-Pulse 3-1. Dragan Stojković’s side took the lead just before the half-hour when play-maker Yoshizumi Ogawa provided Davi’s to close out and doing the same with thirteen minute left for Keiji Yoshimura goal. S-Pa got back into the match four minutes later as Japan international Shinji Okazaki headed the ball in. However Davi added his second of the night and fourth of the young season as he scored from the spot in added time.
Category: J League NewsAFC Champions League for J-League clubs
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J-League teams started their AFC Champions League run with solid results as three of the four combatants were victorious.
Nagoya Grampus came from behind to defeat Korean side Ulsan Hyundai 3-1. After Ulsan Hyundai took the lead twenty-five minutes in through the first-half as Cho Jin-soo redirected Yeom Ki-hun corner from close range. Eight minutes after the restart Blue Samurai Keiji Yoshimura’s cross was headed in by Yoshida. With thirteen minutes remaining Davi scored the winner for Nagoya as he headed-in a corner. With four minutes remaining Naoshi Nakamura’s free-kick was headed in by Magnum.
Gamba Osaka devastated Chinese Super League champions Shandong Luneng FC 3-0. Twenty minutes in Gamba took the lead as a following a corner a close range scramble resulted in Leandro poaching on the opportunity. Missed opportunities for the balance of the half left Gamba with a narrow one goal advantage at the break however with nineteen minutes remaining the spot was pointed to after Alejandro Cichero was adjudged to handling the ball in the area and Japan international Yasuhito Endo made no mistake bringing the match to 2-0. Eight minutes later Hayato Sasaki’s entrance into the match proved opportunistic as he picked up a poor clearance and drove the ball in from the top of the box.
In a overwhelming performance South Korea’s Suwon Bluewings defeated Kashima Antlers 4-1. Two minutes before the break the floodgates opened for Suwon with two late goals. First Chinese international Li Weifeng gave Suwon side the lead capitalized on a poor defensive clearance and only a minute later Eduardo doubled the margin as he volleyed-in Hong Soon-hak’s cross. After the break the Suwon controlled the run of play and took the three goal lead with nine minutes remaining as Hong Soon-hak played a smooth one-two with Seo Dong-hyeon before sending the ball in. In added-time Park Hyun-bem made it 4-0 as he drove the ball in from inside the area before Marquinhos found little consolation a minutes later with a close range header to bring the match to a 4-1 conclusion.
Kawasaki Frontale defeated Chinese Super League side Tianjin Teda 1-0 on the strength of Renatinho’s goal sixteen mintues in.
Photo credit: Yonhap news agency
Category: J League NewsJ-League week 1 update
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The final two matches of the opening week of the J-League season concluded Sunday with Kyoto Purple Sanga defeating Vissel Kobe on defender Daigo Watanabe’s goal eight minutes before the half and Omiya Ardija and Shimizu S-Pulse playing to a scoreless draw.
Please drop by next week for coverage on the following matches:
Kashima Antlers @ Albirex Niigata
Kawasaki Frontale @ Vissel Kobe
Kyoto Purple Sanga @ Ōita Trinita
Nagoya Grampus @ Montedio Yamagata
Jubilo Iwata @ Gamba Osaka
FC Tokyo @ Urawa Red Diamonds
JEF United Ichihara-Chiba @ Kashiwa Reysol
Yokohama F Marinos @ Shimizu S-Pulse
Omiya Ardija @ Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Category: J League Newsfirst week action in J-League
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The new J-League season got underway with a number of surprises.
The Kashima Antlers started where they left off with a 2 - 0 victory over Urawa Red Diamonds in Kashima. Veteran Takuya Nozawa gave the defending champions the lead midway of the half with last years league MVP Marquinhos scoring the second seven minutes after the break.
Nagoya Grampus defeated Ōita Trinita 3-2 in Nagoya. Ōita’s promising twenty year-old midfielder Mu Kanazaki, who just earned his first cap for the Blue Samurai opened the scoring eleven minutes in before three unanswered goals by the hosts. Dragan Stojković’s side regrouped after the break with Davi finding the net ten minutes after the restart before a flurry of activity in the final fifteen minutes. In a rare series of defending breakdowns Ōita was victimized by two late goals with Keiji Tamada finding the net with fourteen minutes remaining and Davi collecting his second seven minutes later. Brazilian veteran Ueslei drew one back with five minutes remaining but they could not find the equalizer and Grampus had its first win of the season.
JEF United Ichihara-Chiba heroic run to avoid relegation last year came to a crashing end in front of their home fans as they lost 3-0 to Gamba Osaka. Looking to improve on last years disappointing run, Akira Nishino’s side broke the deadlock five minutes before the half with Leandro, formerly of Vissel Kobe, first goal for Gamba. Two minutes after the break Tomokazu Myojin doubled the margin and with twenty two minutes remaining Gamba’s big off-season signing from Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC, Korean international Cho Jae-Jin made it 3-0.
The Gas Men fine run came to an end as Albirex Niigata tore apart FC Tokyo 4-1 with three unanswered goals at Ajinomoto Stadium. Yusuke Kondo leveled the match for the host seven minutes after restart with Niigata’s new signing Gilton giving them the lead just before the break. Ten minutes into the new half Pedro Júnior added the first of his two goals. Hideo Ōshima, who came over Yokohama F Marinos made it 3-1 with twenty-one minutes remaining and Júnior finished the scoring four minutes later.
Kawasaki Frontale and Kashiwa Reysol played to a 1-1 draw in Kawasaki. After a scoreless half Minoru Suganuma opened the scoring for Reysol six minutes in before Jong Tae-Se leveled with twelve minutes remaining.
The Yokohama F Marinos problems continued as they were defeated by newly promoted Sanfrecce Hiroshima at Nissan Stadium. After Kazuma Watanabe gave the hosts four minutes in Mihailo Petrović’s side came roaring back with four unanswered goals first with Tomoaki Makino opener twenty minutes in and then took the lead five minutes later with Blue Samurai’s Hisato Satō strike. Sanfrecce strong youth core continued to pay dividends as Yosuke Kashiwagi doubled the margin six minutes before the break. Bulgarian international Ilian Stoyanov sealed the match off eight minutes after the break, only to leave Yuzo Kurihara to score a consolation strike with twenty minutes remaining.
Montedio Yamagata entrance into the top flight was stunning as they defeated Jubilo Iwata 6-2 at Yamaha Stadium. After Gilsinho gave the hosts the lead eighteen minutes after the start, Yamagata stormed back with a late surge. Kim Byung-Suk, formerly of Vitória Setúbal leveled the match eight minutes before the half and only two minutes later Tatsuya Furuhashi gave Yamagata the lead. Goals rained down in the final quarter of a hour as Yu Hasegawa doubled the margin for Yamagata. With nine minutes left Tomotaka Kitamura took advantage of the host pushing forward. Gilsinho drew one back for Jubilo Iwata before Hasegawa found his second and Leonard brought the match to its shocking 6-2 final.
Category: J League NewsKashima Antlers start year off right
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With the J-League season nearing, the Kashima Antlers started the season off right with a 3-0 defeat of Gamba Osaka at Tokyo National Stadium to win the 2009 Super Cup. After an early Gamba attack, Oswaldo de Oliveira’s side found composure and Blue Samurai Shinzo Koroki netted the first goal only six minutes into the match with a powerful left-footed drive. Only eight minutes later last-years J-League MVP Marquinhos made it 2-0 as the Antlers capitalized on a powerful break down the left side. Long time Kashima veteran Takuya Nozawa sealed the match off six minutes before the break to make it 3-0. Gamba tried to adjust in the second half with a more attacking formation but they couldn’t budge the scoreline and Kashima won the Cup 3-0.
Category: J League NewsShinji Okazaki and Tatsuya Tanaka lead Blue Samurai to victory
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Takeshi Okada’s valiant decision to field an entire J-League lineup pulled through as in-front of our 30,000 supporters the Blue Samurai defeated Yemen 2-1 in the opening match of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualifying.
Prior to the match, Japan’s manager had taken a very aggressive stance in utilizing an entire lineup from the J-League, given intent on building team play in a longer training camp as well as injuries and placing greater responsibility in domestic development.
The Blue Samurai came to win from the onset and seven minutes after the start when Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale) passed the ball in short off the corner before Tatsuya Tanaka (Urawa Reds Diamonds) cross to Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse) allowed for the close range score. However from that early effort, both sides prohibited each other to enter the final third and most of the play was from box to box. Kengo Nakamura’s golden delivery midway of the half nearly produced the second goal and his corner swung in to Takeshi Aoki (Kashima Antlers) but his header went above the bar.
However after the break Yemen fought back Ali Al Sasi’s set piece was headed in by Zaher Farid two minutes after the start. Seiichiro Maki (JEF United Ichihara Chiba) entered the match and came close to finding the winning goal almost immediately however five minutes later when Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse) flicked on a corner to Tatsuya Tanaka, who then tucked the ball into the net six minutes after the hour.
Japan had further chances to score but couldn’t break through again and the match ended with a 2-1 victory.
Takeshi Okada sung the praise of his new recruits:
“Our players showed their strong willingness and high level of motivation for the game.
“That made them lose their pace in the first-half at some points but because of their high motivation, they were able to produce a result.
“At the same time, I’m sure they have learned how hard it is to play an international game. On top of that, they have collected the win. I’m grateful to them.”
Category: J League News
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