Football Japan Minutecast

‘Defensive’ Sagan Tosu win by odd goal in nine

Minutecast 210 Kashima Antlers emerged as 3-2 winners against Vegalta Sendai on a poignant Saturday afternoon in which the two J. League clubs most affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami paid tribute to the victims. Two days ahead of the anniversary of the disaster, the match at the Kashima Stadium was preceded by a ceremony and emotional minute’s silence. Vegalta were missing key midfielders Shingo Tomita and Makoto Kakuda, and the absences showed as Antlers established a clear advantage throughout a first half that ended 1-0 in their favour. The goal came on 29 minutes when Davi reacted quickest to a blocked Takuya Nozawa shot to score with a diving header, moments after Juninho had launched the assault with a shot that cracked off the crossbar. But the game turned one way then the other with three goals in as many crazy minutes at the start of the second half. The visitors found their way level almost straight from kick off through Yoshiaki Ota, only for Kashima to restore their lead instantly when Yuya Osako collected a cross from Daigo Nishi and expertly spun past Kodai Watanabe. The day before his 29th birthday, Davi then netted his second from a low Nozawa cross following good Kashima build-up play on the right. Sendai slowly found their way back into the game and scored on the counter midway through the half when substitute Heberty pierced the home defence with a through ball for Wilson. But Antlers held out to record a first win for Toninho Cerezo since his return to the club he successfully managed between 2000 and 2005. ------------ Yokohama F Marinos sit atop the nascent table after sending Afshin Ghotbi and his young Shimizu S-Pulse side back to the drawing board with a stunning 5-0 away victory at Nihondaira. Former Celtic star Shunsuke Nakamura opened the scoring direct from a corner kick after eight minutes, before a lofted through ball from Seitaro Tomisawa sent Shingo Hyodo in to lob Akihiro Hayashi and double the advantage. The second half was the Marquinhos show, however, as the Brazilian – who turns 37 later this month – rolled back the years with a brilliant hat-trick. Manabu Saito once again made a name for himself when coming off the bench to provide the assists for Marquinhos’s first and third goals, but the pick of the bunch came when Nakamura sent a diagonal ball over the advanced S-Pulse defence for the striker to run clean through and net the team’s fourth. There was also a Marinos connection at the Ajinomoto Stadium as Kazuma Watanabe and Aria Jasuru Hasegawa both scored in a 3-0 victory over Kashiwa Reysol for FC Tokyo, the club they left Yokohama to join last year. The impressive win over the 2011 champions means that Ranko Popović’s men join Marinos on maximum points – alongside Cerezo Osaka, who won 2-1 at J2 champions Ventforet Kofu, and Urawa Reds, who beat Nagoya Grampus 1-0. In a game of good quality yet often lacking a spark, Urawa deservedly made the breakthrough nine minutes into the second half when Shinzo Koroki spotted a perfect pass for the overlapping left wing-back Tomoya Ugajin, whose brilliant first time shot curled inside Seigo Narazaki’s far post. Incredibly, this is the first time for 15 years that Reds have begun the season with two wins. Elsewhere, defending champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima partially atoned for their defeat against Urawa last week with a hard-fought 2-1 victory away to ten-man Albirex Niigata, who had defender Seiya Fujita sent off for two yellow cards within the first quarter of the game. Omiya Ardija contined their fine start with a 1-0 win at Jubilo Iwata – Kosuke Kikuchi the scorer. Kawasaki Frontale and Oita Trinita collected their first points of the campaign in a 1-1 draw at the National Stadium, while Shonan Bellmare’s meeting with Sagan Tosu ended in the same scoreline. J2 HIGHLIGHTS Vissel Kobe moved top of the J2 table with a thumping 4-0 win over FC Gifu, leaving only them and Avispa Fukuoka on maximum points after the latter beat Montedio Yamagata. V-Varen Nagasaki’s first ever home game in the J. League ended in a 3-1 defeat to promotion favourites Gamba Osaka. J1 results (matchday 2) Albirex Niigata 1-2 Sanfrecce Hiroshima Kashima Antlers 3-2 Vegalta Sendai FC Tokyo 3-0 Kashiwa Reysol Ventforet Kofu 1-2 Cerezo Osaka Shimizu S-Pulse 0-5 Yokohama F Marinos Kawasaki Frontale 1-1 Oita Trinita Jubilo Iwata 0-1 Omiya Ardija Urawa Reds 1-0 Nagoya Grampus Shonan Bellmare 1-1 Sagan Tosu J2 results (matchday 2) Mito HollyHock 1-0 Kataller Toyama Thespakusatsu Gunma 0-0 Gainare Tottori Fagiano Okayama 0-0 Giravanz Kitakyushu Ehime FC 1-1 Matsumoto Yamaga V-Varen Nagasaki 1-3 Gamba Osaka Consadole Sapporo 0-1 Tochigi SC Yokohama FC 2-2 Tokushima Vortis Vissel Kobe 4-0 FC Gifu Avispa Fukuoka 2-1 Montedio Yamagata Roasso Kumamoto 0-3 JEF United Chiba Kyoto Sanga 0-0 Tokyo Verdy

Antlers edge thriller while five-star Marinos destroy S-Pulse

Urawa lay down early title marker with victory in Hiroshima

Minutecast 209 Urawa Reds showed why they are many observers’ favourites for this year’s J1 title with a 2-1 opening day victory at the home of the reigning champions, Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Twelve months after ex-Sanfrecce boss Mihailo Petrović had taken his trademark 3-4-2-1 system to Urawa only to lose first time out against his former employers, the Serb was able to enjoy the satisfaction of revenge as Reds looked the stronger side from the outset. The first goal came on 37 minutes when Genki Haraguchi dribbled inside from the left flank and rolled the ball back with his studs for Yosuke Kashiwagi to fire inside the near post. The midfielder was joined by fellow former Hiroshima stars Tomoaki Makino and Ryota Moriwaki, making his debut in Urawa colours after a winter switch, to celebrate excitedly on their old stomping ground. Haraguchi broke inside again soon after the restart, this time from the right, for Urawa’s second. His right-footed shot appeared to have been badly mishit, but Sanfrecce ’keeper Shusaku Nishikawa somehow allowed it to squirm between his fingers. The champions were quickly back in contention as Koji Morisaki’s perfect 30-yard free kick sailed over the wall and in off the bar. But the fightback never really materialised and Petrović’s men were good value for their three points – the first time in six years that Urawa had managed a maximum haul on the opening day. Last year’s runners-up, Vegalta Sendai, were made to work hard in snowy conditions for a point at home to the J2 champions, Ventforet Kofu. An energetic start from the visitors put Sendai onto the back foot, but they took the lead four minutes into the second period when Kodai Watanabe rose highest to head home a corner from Ryang Yong-Gi. However, Kofu fought level when debutant Akito Kawamoto headed a bouncing ball beyond two Vegalta defenders for new Brazilian signing Hugo to finish past Takuto Hayashi. ------------ Yokohama F Marinos suffered a real scare at home to newly-promoted Shonan Bellmare but recovered to win 4-2 in the highest scoring fixture of the opening weekend. No sooner had veteran Shunsuke Nakamura given Marinos the lead from a trademark free kick than Bellmare were level, when the mohawked Quirino hit a low 25-yard shot from left to right and into the bottom corner of the net. The Brazilian then beat Yuji Nakazawa and coolly slotted home to put Shonan in front on the hour. But the introduction of Manabu Saito turned the tide Yokohama’s way, as his low cross was met by Marquinhos at the far post for the equaliser, before the Japan Olympic international fired in himself with just seven minutes remaining. Marquinhos added a late penalty to complete the scoring. Elsewhere, an ill-advised attempt to roll out the ball by Oita Trinita goalkeeper Kenta Tanno spelt doom for the third promoted club as Aria Jasuru Hasegawa stole in for an easy FC Tokyo winner at Oita Bank Dome. Omiya Ardija looked set for victory at home to Shimizu S-Pulse as a Calvin Jong-a-Pin own goal plus a Takuya Aoki strike had them 2-0 up after 65 minutes, but Afshin Ghotbi’s men fought back for a point thanks to 18-year-old Hideki Ishige and a crossed free kick-cum-shot from Kenta Uchida. Nagoya Grampus were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Jubilo Iwata in a game that saw Marcus Tulio Tanaka limp off injured, while Sagan Tosu recovered from Yuya Osako’s opener to level through Yohei Toyoda as their meeting with Kashima Antlers finished with the same scoreline. A looping volley in the 88th minute by Yoichiro Kakitani, the latest wearer of Cerezo Osaka’s legendary number eight jersey, was enough to seal victory in a battle of last season’s narrow survivors with Albirex Niigata, while 2011 champions Kashiwa Reysol recorded a 3-1 victory over Kawasaki Frontale in Sunday’s fixture. J2 HIGHLIGHTS Gamba Osaka needed two penalties to fight back for a dramatic 3-3 draw in their first ever second division match at home to Kyoto Sanga. Following a raft of away victories across the country, it is Ehime FC who sit atop the largely theoretical table after their 3-1 victory over Montedio Yamagata made them the only J2 team to win at home on opening day. J1 results (matchday 1) Vegalta Sendai 1-1 Ventforet Kofu Yokohama F Marinos 4-2 Shonan Bellmare Nagoya Grampus 1-1 Jubilo Iwata Cerezo Osaka 1-0 Albirex Niigata Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-2 Urawa Reds Sagan Tosu 1-1 Kashima Antlers Omiya Ardija 2-2 Shimizu S-Pulse Oita Trinita 1-2 FC Tokyo Kashiwa Reysol 3-1 Kawasaki Frontale J2 results (matchday 1) Tochigi SC 0-1 Matsumoto Yamaga JEF United Chiba 0-1 Consadole Sapporo FC Gifu 0-2 Yokohama FC Tokushima Vortis 0-1 Vissel Kobe Tokyo Verdy 0-1 Avispa Fukuoka Giravanz Kitakyushu 1-2 Kataller Toyama Roasso Kumamoto 1-2 Gainare Tottori Mito HollyHock 1-1 Thespakusatsu Gunma Fagiano Okayama 1-1 V-Varen Nagasaki Ehime FC 3-1 Montedio Yamagata Gamba Osaka 3-3 Kyoto Sanga

2008 Asian champions Gamba Osaka relegated to J2

Minutecast 208 A dramatic final day to the J. League season saw the 2005 champions and 2008 Asian Champions League winners Gamba Osaka relegated to the second tier for the first time in their history. Following a disastrous season for Kansai football in general, Gamba will be joined in J2 by local rivals Vissel Kobe, but there were scenes of jubilation up on the Sea of Japan coast as Albirex Niigata completed their incredible late recovery. A point adrift of safety going into the final Saturday, Gamba got off to the worst possible start to their away fixture at Jubilo Iwata – conceding the opener in all too familiar fashion after just five minutes. Hiroki Yamada’s cross was diverted past goalkeeper Yosuke Fujigaya by his teammate Sota Nakazawa, with Ryoichi Maeda on hand to convert after Akira Kaji’s desperate attempt to clear off the line. Albirex had kept their own survival hopes alive with a shock victory over second-placed Vegalta Sendai the previous weekend, ahead of their home fixture with a Consadole Sapporo outfit destined to record the lowest points tally – 14 – in J1 history. Things appeared to be going according to plan as goals from Shusuke Tsubouchi and Bruno Lopes took the Niigata club into a 2-0 half-time lead. This would have been enough to overhaul not only Gamba but also Vissel, who hosted a Sanfrecce Hiroshima side keen to repay Albirex for the favour that had clinched their first ever J1 title. After a goalless first half, the match at Home’s Stadium Kobe sparked into life seven minutes into the second when Kunie Kitamoto foolishly slid in on Hiroshima forward Hisato Sato, who converted the resulting penalty to finish the season with a league-best 22 goals. Almost immediately afterwards, Shu Kurata scored a brilliant equaliser for Gamba, dribbling past both Rodrigo Souto and Tomohiko Miyazaki on the by-line before finishing from a near-impossible angle. With Shota Sakaki pulling one back for Sapporo in Niigata, another goal in either of those games would now have been enough to save the Osaka men. Gamba piled forwards in search of the winner. Mercurial striker Leandro hit the crossbar, Akihiro Ienaga had a shot blocked on the line, and Yasuhito Endo netted with a header only to be denied by an offside flag. But disaster struck with five minutes remaining when Iwata midfielder Yuki Kobayashi smashed the ball past Fujigaya at his near post to put the hosts 2-1 in front. By this point, Alan Mineiro and Bruno Lopes had extended Niigata’s lead to 4-1, and it was only a matter of waiting for the other matches to finish. News of the defeats for both Gamba and Kobe confirmed their place in the top flight for another season, sparking mass celebrations for a team that had been tipped for the drop from day one. For Vissel, it was a miserable end to a season that had begun with significant investment and hopes of challenging for Asian qualification. In mid-August they had been 11 points clear of danger – and only as many adrift of top spot – but they managed just one win in 12 matches thereafter to plummet down the order. The shock was even more profound for Gamba, who had played for the title on the final day 12 months ago. Their decision to replace successful manager Akira Nishino – who later moved to Kobe before another dismissal last month – with the unknown Brazilian José Carlos Serrão set the Osakans into a disastrous rut from which his replacement, Masanobu Matsunami, struggled to escape. The mid-season return of Leandro sparked a haul of 25 points from 16 games – leaving them both with a positive goal difference and as the division’s top scorers – but the damage had already been done. City neighbours Cerezo Osaka had also gone into the final day with a slim threat of relegation, but stayed up after drawing 2-2 with Kawasaki Frontale. ------------ A year after almost suffering relegation themselves, Urawa Reds returned to the AFC Champions League for the first time in five seasons after a 2-0 victory over Nagoya Grampus elevated them to third in the final standings. Yosuke Kashiwagi’s header put them in front midway through the first half, before Tomoaki Makino smashed a superb free-kick through the narrowest of gaps between the outside of the defensive wall and the inside of Seigo Narazaki’s far post. Sagan Tosu had started the day in the last automatic qualifying spot but had to settle for a final position of fifth – still an astonishing achievement in their debut J1 season – after losing 1-0 at Yokohama F Marinos. A trademark free kick from Shunsuke Nakamura took Marinos up to fourth – which could be enough for an ACL place too in the event that Urawa win the Emperor’s Cup. Kashiwa Reysol’s hopes of another continental campaign were dashed as they lost 2-0 at Kashima Antlers to finish their title defence in sixth position. Elsewhere, runners-up Sendai were thrashed 6-2 at FC Tokyo, while Omiya Ardija extended their unbeaten run to a club record 11 matches with a scoreless draw at Shimizu S-Pulse. J1 results (matchday 34) Kashima Antlers 2-0 Kashiwa Reysol Urawa Reds 2-0 Nagoya Grampus FC Tokyo 6-2 Vegalta Sendai Yokohama F Marinos 1-0 Sagan Tosu Albirex Niigata 4-1 Consadole Sapporo Shimizu S-Pulse 0-0 Omiya Ardija Jubilo Iwata 2-1 Gamba Osaka Cerezo Osaka 2-2 Kawasaki Frontale Vissel Kobe 0-1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima J1 final standings 1) SANFRECCE HIROSHIMA 64 2) Vegalta Sendai 57 3) Urawa Reds 55 ------------ 4) Yokohama F Marinos 53 5) Sagan Tosu 53 6) Kashiwa Reysol 52 7) Nagoya Grampus 52 8) Kawasaki Frontale 50 9) Shimizu S-Pulse 49 10) FC Tokyo 48 11) Kashima Antlers 46 12) Jubilo Iwata 46 13) Omiya Ardija 44 14) Cerezo Osaka 42 15) Albirex Niigata 40 ------------ 16) Vissel Kobe 39 17) Gamba Osaka 38 18) Consadole Sapporo 14 The Football Japan Minutecast will take a short hiatus through the coldest part of winter before a triumphant return next year – although we hope to record one or two special editions to help plug the gap until the new season. We are looking for sponsorship to help us keep running in 2013 – please contact Ben Mabley for details.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima crowned J. League champions for the first time

Minutecast 207 Sanfrecce Hiroshima, one of the J. League’s ten original members, were finally crowned as champions for the first time ever on Saturday afternoon after thrashing Cerezo Osaka 4-1, while closest challengers Vegalta Sendai suffered a shock 1-0 loss at home to Albirex Niigata. In front of an expectant crowd of over 30,000 people at the Big Arch, Sanfrecce came out of the blocks quickly to open the scoring after 17 minutes. Yojiro Takahagi’s attempted pass was blocked by a Cerezo defender but rebounded straight back to him to fire home first time from 25 yards. Their lead was quickly doubled when Kohei Shimizu’s overhit cross was brilliantly headed back across goal by Hironori Ishikawa for midfielder Toshihiro Aoyama to finish. The match was effectively ended as a contest five minutes before the break when Hotaru Yamaguchi was somewhat harshly dismissed for a push on Shimizu, and Hisato Sato dispatched the resulting penalty into the roof of the net for his 22nd goal of the season. Ishikawa scored his first ever J. League goal with a confident finish five minutes after the restart to make it four, before Takuma Edamura headed a consolation for the beaten visitors. Attention then switched to Sendai, where Vegalta had begun the day a point adrift and faced a Niigata side needing a win to have any chance of survival. Shingo Tomita hit the post after just four minutes as the hosts looked to take the game to their opponents, but they were stunned on 17 when Albirex midfielder Yuta Mikado raced onto a Michael through ball and cut the ball across the six-yard box for left-back Kim Jin-Su to slot home. Ryang Yong-Gi thought he had equalised for Sendai later in the first half, only for the linesman to rule that the ball had travelled out of play before Shingo Akamine had headed it back into his path. Makoto Teguramori introduced Kunimitsu Sekiguchi and Takayuki Nakahara to add weight to the Vegalta attack in the second half, but despite a desperate six minutes of stoppage time they were unable to break down a stubborn Niigata defence as their title dreams finally slipped away. Back in Hiroshima, players and staff flooded back onto the pitch in joy as news of the Sendai result filtered through. A jubilant Hajime Moriyasu shouted his thanks to the supporters through the stadium’s public address system before later commenting, “I am simply too happy for words. I so wanted to become champions of Japan with Hiroshima, but I never imagined we would win the league in my first season as manager.” ------------ 2005 champions Gamba Osaka will go into the final day still in the bottom three after they could only draw 2-2 in their last home match against FC Tokyo. Two goals from Akihiro Ienaga looked to have put them on course for a much-needed victory after Yuhei Tokunaga’s opener for Tokyo, but Kazuma Watanabe equalised with six minutes left on the clock as Gamba once again crumbled when trying to defend their lead. Omiya Ardija are safe after extending their incredible late-season unbeaten run to ten matches with a 2-0 victory over Jubilo Iwata – Shin Kanazawa’s superb curling opener into the top corner of the net followed up by a second from Daigo Watanabe. Dutra pounced on mistakes by Nagoya Grampus defender Daniel then goalkeeper Seigo Narazaki to net a brace for Kashima Antlers as they sealed their own survival with a surprise 2-1 away victory at the Toyota Stadium. But Vissel Kobe slipped to a 1-0 defeat at outgoing champions Kashiwa Reysol, with Jorge Wagner hitting a low shot across goalkeeper Kenta Tokushige from well outside the penalty area for the winner after the visitors had seen Hideo Tanaka dismissed for two yellow cards in the first half. Gamba are now one point behind Kobe and three behind neighbours Cerezo, with a significantly superior goal difference. Niigata are now only one point further adrift in 17th position and have a home fixture against Consadole Sapporo, who only have 14 points in total, on the final Saturday. In the battle for the third automatic AFC Champions League place, Sagan Tosu continued to defy all expectations by defeating Urawa Reds 3-1 to climb to third in the table. Many had predicted an immediate return to J2 for the top flight debutants this season, but a brace from Yohei Toyoda either side of Ryunosuke Noda’s volley has put the Kyushu outfit in pole position for an Asian campaign next year. Kashiwa, Urawa, and Nagoya are all just a point behind, but if all three fail to win next Saturday then Yokohama F. Marinos can steal the ACL berth with victory at home to Tosu. Marinos won 2-0 in Sapporo yesterday, while in the remaining fixture, Kawasaki Frontale beat Shimizu S-Pulse 2-1. TALKING POINTS - Takenori Hayashi scored a dramatic late winner against his former club, JEF United Chiba, to take Oita Trinita back into J1 with a 1-0 victory in the inaugural J2 playoff final at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Friday. J1 results (matchday 33) Vegalta Sendai 0-1 Albirex Niigata Nagoya Grampus 1-2 Kashima Antlers Gamba Osaka 2-2 FC Tokyo Sanfrecce Hiroshima 4-1 Cerezo Osaka Sagan Tosu 3-1 Urawa Reds Consadole Sapporo 0-2 Yokohama F Marinos Omiya Ardija 2-0 Jubilo Iwata Kashiwa Reysol 1-0 Vissel Kobe Kawasaki Frontale 2-1 Shimizu S-Pulse J2 playoff final result Oita Trinita 1-0 JEF United Chiba Ben Mabley is the English Premier League analysis for the JSports programme ‘Foot!’, appearing every Tuesday night at 10pm on JSports 3. He is also a columnist for Goal.com Japan.

Sanfrecce beaten but hold onto top spot as Sendai are pegged back in Kashima

Minutecast 206 J1 leaders Sanfrecce Hiroshima slipped to a 2-0 defeat away to third-placed Urawa Reds on Saturday, but managed to hold onto a one-point advantage at the top as Vegalta Sendai were pegged back to draw 3-3 at Kashima Antlers. Keita Suzuki was the inspiration for Urawa, deploying his range of skills to pierce the Hiroshima defence for both of his side’s goals. Five minutes before half time, his diagonal pass from just in front of the halfway line found the on-running Tsukasa Umesaki to fire home the opener at the far post. Then, just after the hour mark, Suzuki took advantage of some uncharacteristically hesitant Sanfrecce defending to dribble through from the centre circle virtually unchallenged and double the lead from inside the D. The news from Saitama would have been music to the ears of Sendai fans, whose side began the day two points behind but opened up a 3-1 lead in the first half at Kashima Stadium. Shingo Akamine headed in a Naoki Sugai cross before strike partner Wilson pounced for the second after Antlers custodian Hitoshi Sogahata had spilled an attempt from Yoshiaki Ota. Shinzo Koroki pulled one back for the hosts, but Akamine headed his second from a tight angle following more uncertain goalkeeping from Sogahata. However, Jorginho was able to change the game with a reshuffle and a more attacking approach for the second period. Substitute Juninho crossed for Yuya Osako to halve the deficit two minutes after the restart, before Masashi Motoyama deftly lofted the ball over the Vegalta centre-backs for Koroki to smash in the equaliser. With Hiroshima set for an easier final two fixtures on paper, Sendai’s failure to hold on for all three points may well prove decisive. Urawa still head up the battle for the third and final automatic Asian Champions League place, albeit only on goal difference above Nagoya Grampus, who won 2-0 at Jubilo Iwata with goals at the end of both halves. Sagan Tosu are two points adrift in fifth after coming from behind to win 3-2 at relegated Consadole Sapporo, with Kashiwa Reysol one further back in sixth following their Leandro Domingues-inspired 2-1 victory away to Yokohama F Marinos. ------------ Omiya Ardija made it nine games unbeaten as their late-season survival instincts continued to amaze in a 3-1 victory away to Cerezo Osaka. With a waterlogged pitch serving to nullify both sides’ attempts at passing the ball, the match remained goalless until Milivoje Novaković superbly converted a free kick from about 25 yards, left of the goal, after 37 minutes. Following the breakdown of a Cerezo set play, Daisuke Watabe broke away from the right-back position to hit a powerful low shot across Kim Jin-Hyeon for Ardija’s second. Kenyu Sugimoto quickly pulled one back for the home side, but Takuya Aoki sealed the points late on. If Kincho Stadium was waterlogged, the pitch at FC Tokyo positively resembled a lake for the visit of Vissel Kobe, who fired manager Akira Nishino earlier in the week but adapted to the conditions to seal a vital first league win in ten thanks to a superb first ever goal from rookie right-back Ryo Okui. Gamba Osaka will be wondering what on earth they need to do to break out of the bottom three after they also gained an impressive 3-1 victory away to Shimizu S-Pulse. Shu Kurata scored a brace either side of a 14th goal in 13 games for Leandro, who also held off the entire Shimizu defence to set up Kurata’s second. Albirex Niigata are in a perilous position after they succumbed to a 95th-minute winner by Kawasaki Frontale’s Yu Kobayashi, to drop five points adrift of safety with just six more available. Gamba are still two points behind Kobe and three behind Omiya. Kashima and Cerezo are now suddenly right back in the relegation picture too, respectively three and four points clear of danger. TALKING POINTS Oita Trinita and JEF United Chiba will contest the inaugural J2 playoff final on Friday after each achieving astonishing 4-0 victories in their semi-finals on Sunday afternoon. The idiosyncratic rules for the J. League’s new experiment dictated that, by virtue of respectively finishing the regular season in third and fourth, Kyoto Sanga and Yokohama FC would not only enjoy home advantage for the single-legged semis, but only needed to draw to progress to the final. Perhaps the need to win in 90 minutes galvanised the eventual victors, with Oita’s Yu Kijima hitting all four against ten-man Kyoto while Yoshihito Fujita scored two for Chiba in Yokohama. J1 results (matchday 32) Kashima Antlers 3-3 Vegalta Sendai Urawa Reds 2-0 Sanfrecce Hiroshima Yokohama F Marinos 1-2 Kashiwa Reysol Albirex Niigata 0-1 Kawasaki Frontale Jubilo Iwata 0-2 Nagoya Grampus Consadole Sapporo 2-3 Sagan Tosu FC Tokyo 0-1 Vissel Kobe Shimizu S-Pulse 1-3 Gamba Osaka Cerezo Osaka 1-3 Omiya Ardija J2 playoff semi-final results Kyoto Sanga 0-4 Oita Trinita Yokohama FC 0-4 JEF United Chiba Ben Mabley is the English Premier League analysis for the JSports programme ‘Foot!’, appearing every Tuesday night at 10pm on JSports 3. He is also a columnist for Goal.com Japan.

Minutecast 205 Ben Mabley presents a brief roundup of Wednesday night’s matches from J1. J1 results (matchday 31) Vegalta Sendai 1-1 Cerezo Osaka Omiya Ardija 0-0 Kashima Antlers Kashiwa Reysol 2-2 Gamba Osaka Kawasaki Frontale 4-2 Urawa Reds Shimizu S-Pulse 0-1 Albirex Niigata Nagoya Grampus 1-0 FC Tokyo Vissel Kobe 1-2 Yokohama F Marinos Sanfrecce Hiroshima 3-0 Consadole Sapporo Sagan Tosu 3-2 Jubilo Iwata

J1 matchday 31 roundup

Minutecast 204 Zlatan Ljubijankič scored a superb hat-trick as Omiya Ardija moved three points clear of the J1 relegation zone with a sensational 4-1 victory away to reigning champions Kashiwa Reysol. The Slovenian, whose only previous goal since his mid-season transfer from Gent was a penalty in defeat to Sanfrecce Hiroshima, took advantage of hesitation in the hosts’ defence to open the scoring for Omiya after 21 minutes. He then took firm control of the match for both himself and his team with two more goals in the opening four minutes of the second half. Ljubijankič ran onto a through ball from Cho Young-Cheol to round the Kashiwa goalkeeper Takanori Sugeno and roll in Ardija’s second, before knocking a bouncing ball past Hidekazu Otani and brilliantly firing home with the outside of his right foot. His contribution did not end there, as there was still time to lay on an assist for Daigo Watanabe to net the fourth, before Neto Baiano spotted Takashi Kitano off his line to score an astonishing late consolation goal for Kashiwa from fully 45 yards. Omiya are now unbeaten in their last seven league matches. The result was bad news for Albirex Niigata, who succumbed to a Yohei Toyoda brace at home to Sagan Tosu, and for Gamba Osaka, who outperformed league leaders Hiroshima for much of their game but were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw. Deft footwork from Yasuhito Endo allowed Japan’s most-capped international to evade both Hiroki Mizumoto and Ryota Moriwaki to slot home a deserved opener for the 2005 champions on 56 minutes. However, they were made to pay for their attempts to defend their lead when Kazuyuki Morisaki levelled for Sanfrecce a quarter of an hour from time. A decent result in isolation became all the more painful for the Osakans later on Saturday evening when local rivals Vissel Kobe came back from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 at home to Kawasaki Frontale. Akira Nishino’s men displayed all the misfortune of a side in freefall when Junpei Kusukami’s cross-cum-shot appeared to give Kawasaki an unassailable advantage midway through the second period, but their determination thereafter reaped its rewards with goals from Yuzo Tashiro and a second of the night for Ken Tokura. Gamba are now three points adrift of both Omiya and Kobe in the final relegation position, with Niigata two further back in 17th. ------------ Vegalta Sendai were unable to take advantage of the two dropped points for Hiroshima as they also drew 1-1 in their match away to out-of-form Jubilo Iwata. Makoto Teguramori’s side looked to have reclaimed their position at the top of the table when right-back Naoki Sugai broke forwards and cut back for Shingo Akamine to net his 12th goal in 16 matches against Iwata with 13 minutes remaining. But Ryoichi Maeda fought off the attentions of two Sendai defenders to pull the ball across for substitute Kosuke Yamamoto to score the equaliser moments after coming onto the pitch. A Marcio Richardes effort that rebounded off the crossbar was the closest that third-placed Urawa Reds came to breaking the deadlock in their scoreless draw with Cerezo Osaka, meaning that it remains as you were in the title race with just four matches remaining. Hiroshima lead Sendai by three goals, while Urawa are still six points off the pace. Elsewhere, Shimizu S-Pulse moved up into fourth position after winning 2-1 at Kashima Antlers in a match that was marred by scuffles between opposing supporters. FC Tokyo thrashed already-relegated Consadole Sapporo 5-0, while a trademark free kick by Shunsuke Nakamura rescued a 1-1 draw for Yokohama F Marinos away to Nagoya Grampus. TALKING POINTS - Machida Zelvia earned a stay of execution at the foot of J2 as they beat second-from-bottom FC Gifu 1-0 to cut the gap to three points. - An own goal and a defensive error saw Kyoto Sanga lose 2-0 at Giravanz Kitakyushu, allowing Shonan Bellmare to move within a single point in the battle for automatic promotion. J1 results (matchday 30) Urawa Reds 0-0 Cerezo Osaka Kashiwa Reysol 1-4 Omiya Ardija Jubilo Iwata 1-1 Vegalta Sendai Nagoya Grampus 1-1 Yokohama F Marinos Gamba Osaka 1-1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima Kashima Antlers 1-2 Shimizu S-Pulse FC Tokyo 5-0 Consadole Sapporo Albirex Niigata 0-2 Sagan Tosu Vissel Kobe 3-3 Kawasaki Frontale J2 results (matchday 40) Montedio Yamagata 0-2 JEF United Chiba Mito HollyHock 0-0 Fagiano Okayama Machida Zelvia 1-0 FC Gifu Oita Trinita 1-0 Avispa Fukuoka Tokushima Vortis 2-1 Tokyo Verdy Kataller Toyama 0-2 Shonan Bellmare Gainare Tottori 0-1 Roasso Kumamoto Giravanz Kitakyushu 2-0 Kyoto Sanga Yokohama FC 3-0 Thespa Kusatsu Tochigi SC 3-2 Matsumoto Yamaga Ehime FC 0-0 Ventforet Kofu Ben Mabley will be analysing the English Premier League for the JSports programme ‘Foot!’ this season, every Tuesday night at 10pm on JSports 3.

Zlatan – no, not that one – spurs Squirrels with sensational hat-trick