Football Japan Minutecast

Japan have one hand on a place in next summer�fs World Cup Finals in South Africa following a hard-fought 1-0 victory over bogey side Bahrain in their fourth round Asian qualifying match in Saitama on Saturday. After a goalless first half, the hosts finally took the lead two minutes after the restart, when Shunsuke Nakamura�fs free kick deflected off the head of Bahrain defender Abdulla Marzooq and into the top corner of Sayed Jaffer�fs net. The single strike proved to be enough to secure the win, and leaves Japan on top of Group A with eleven points from five games.

The meeting was these two countries�f fifth in a year and three days, and having gone down to a narrow defeat in Bahrain in Asian Cup qualifying this January, Japan coach Takeshi Okada was understandably delighted with his side�fs first home victory in this stage of the current World Cup campaign. �eIt was a difficult game,�f said Okada, �ebut our players were determined to win, and they performed extremely well overall�f. Bahrain manager Milan Macala was in no doubt about the significance of the outcome, claiming �ethis win basically means Japan will qualify�f.

Okada stresses that his team are taking nothing for granted, but following a 4-0 win for Uzbekistan at home to Qatar, Japan will only need one win from their remaining three games to guarantee qualification whatever happens in the two Group A matches played this Wednesday in their absence. In Group B, Saudi Arabia kept their hopes alive by coming from a goal down to win 2-1 in Iran, while North Korea edged closer to their first Finals appearance since 1966 with a 2-0 victory over the United Arab Emirates.

Despite the absence of their national team stars, 12 of the 18 J1 clubs were in action this weekend in the group stage of the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup. The latest new format is yet to inject real life into the competition, however, with just six goals being scored in Sunday�fs six games. Highlights included a 1-0 win for Urawa Reds away to Yokohama F Marinos, and a 1-1 draw in the second Chiba derby to be played this month.


World Cup qualifying results (Asia)
Group A
Japan 1-0 Bahrain
Uzbekistan 4-0 Qatar

Group B
North Korea 2-0 United Arab Emirates
Iran 1-2 Saudi Arabia

Yamazaki Nabisco Cup results (matchday 2)
Group A
Albirex Niigata 0-0 Jubilo Iwata
Oita Trinita 0-0 Omiya Ardija
Yokohama F Marinos 0-1 Urawa Reds

Group B
FC Tokyo 1-0 Vissel Kobe
JEF United Chiba 1-1 Kashiwa Reysol
Shimizu S-Pulse 2-0 Kyoto Sanga

A controversial penalty had Gamba Osaka crying foul on Sunday as their perfect start to the 2009 season was blotted by a first defeat in nine years to local rivals Kyoto Sanga. Having already fallen behind to a Lee Jung-Soo strike in first-half stoppage time, Gamba were outraged when a penalty was awarded for an alleged trip on Atsushi Yanagisawa by Yosuke Fujigaya, despite the �ekeeper appearing to have got two clear hands on the ball. Diego made no mistake from the spot, and Kyoto held on to win despite a 76th minute consolation goal from Shinji Terada.

After the game, a visibly angry Fujigaya told reporters �eif that�fs a penalty, then anything�fs a penalty. Write it down as a referee error�f. Gamba manager Akira Nishino was unusually emotional as well, saying �ewe might have been poor today, but we weren�ft as poor as the refereeing�f. The club have already issued an official complaint to the J. League.

Top spot in J1 has now been taken by Albirex Niigata, whose excellent start to the season shows no signs of stopping despite drawing a blank in a scrappy 0-0 draw away to Oita Trinita. Tipped as candidates for relegation before the start of the season, Albirex now have seven points from three games – all against teams finishing in the top six last year.

The Niigata side are joined at the top by Nagoya Grampus, who beat Shimizu S-Pulse 3-1 thanks to a brace from Brazilian striker Davi, either side of a goal from Keiji Yoshimura. Kashima Antlers left it late to beat Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-1, but Urawa Reds�f indifferent start to the campaign continued when they were held to a 1-1 draw by bottom club Jubilo Iwata.

Elsewhere, Kawasaki Frontale�fs struggles continued with a 1-1 draw away to JEF United Chiba. Montedio Yamagata suffered their first loss in J1 away to FC Tokyo, Vissel Kobe drew 1-1 away in Omiya, while Yokohama F Marinos and Kashiwa Reysol played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at the Nissan Stadium.


J1 results (matchday 3)
Omiya Ardija 1-1 Vissel Kobe
FC Tokyo 1-0 Montedio Yamagata
Jubilo Iwata 1-1 Urawa Reds
Yokohama F Marinos 3-3 Kashiwa Reysol
Oita Trinita 0-0 Albirex Niigata
Nagoya Grampus 3-1 Shimizu S-Pulse
Kyoto Sanga 2-1 Gamba Osaka
Kashima Antlers 2-1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
JEF United Chiba 1-1 Kawasaki Frontale

Gamba Osaka took a massive stride towards qualification for the knockout stages of the AFC Champions League with a 4-2 win away to FC Seoul of South Korea on Tuesday evening. Having failed to build on an early goal from Masato Yamazaki, the defending champions were fortunate to go into half-time still in the lead, and it was little surprise when international forward Jung Jo-Gook equalised for the hosts soon after the restart. But Leandro then took the game by the scruff of the neck with an explosive, 22-minute hat-trick to give Gamba an unassailable advantage, with a last minute consolation strike from Lee Sang-Hyup all the Koreans could manage in reply.

Having already beaten Shandong Luneng 3-0 in their opening game, two wins from next month�fs double header with the group�fs weakest side, Sriwijaya of Indonesia, will likely be enough to secure Gamba�fs early qualification for the last 16. The three goals for Leandro, meanwhile, took his tally to six in four games since joining from local rivals Vissel Kobe.

After a 4-1 thrashing in Suwon last week, J League champions Kashima Antlers got their ACL campaign back on track by beating Shanghai Shenhua 2-0. Takuya Nozawa opened the scoring just before half time, but it was a real night to remember for 18-year-old forward Yuya Osako, who marked his first ever start for the Antlers with a goal to seal the points late on.

Nagoya Grampus head a tight looking Group E on goals scored after their first ever home game in the Champions League ended in a scoreless draw with Chinese side Beijing Guoan. In Group H, Kawasaki Frontale kept on track for the last 16 with a useful 1-1 draw in Korea away to Pohang Steelers – Shuhei Terada cancelling out a tenth minute goal from Kim Jae-Sung.


AFC Champions League group stage results (matchday 2)
Group E
Nagoya Grampus 0-0 Beijing Guoan
Newcastle United Jets 2-0 Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i

Group F
FC Seoul 2-4 Gamba Osaka
Shandong Luneng 5-0 Sriwijaya

Group G
Kashima Antlers 2-0 Shanghai Shenhua
Singapore Armed Forces 0-2 Suwon Bluewings

Group H
Pohang Steelers 1-1 Kawasaki Frontale
Tianjin Teda 2-2 Central Coast Mariners