Football Japan Minutecast

Urawa Reds recorded their fifth consecutive 1-0 victory in all competitions to edge out JEF United Chiba and climb to the top of the J. League table for the first time since last summer. Amidst heavy rain at the Fukuda Denshi Arena, Urawa struggled throughout the first half against a home side fancying their chances of an upset, but the Reds took control of the game after the interval and secured all three points when Edmilson headed home a deep cross from 18-year-old Naoki Yamada just before the hour mark.

Having scored just eight goals and conceded only four in their seven league games so far, the new leaders�f return to the top has hardly been spectacular, but stability on the pitch has been just the tonic for a club that has suffered much turmoil over the last 12 months. Seventh place last season was Urawa�fs worst league finish since 2002, but a record run of clean sheets suggests the team has recovered the defensive solidity that brought it so much success in 2006 and 2007.

Former leaders Kashima Antlers fall to third with a 1-1 draw away to Montedio Yamagata, after Yu Hasegawa�fs equaliser cancelled out a first half opener from Marquinhos. The point keeps the J1 newcomers in fifth, while Albirex Niigata move back up to second after an injury time winner from Marcio Richardes away to Omiya Ardija. Nagoya Grampus rise to fourth place following a 2-1 win over Yokohama F Marinos, but Gamba Osaka drop down to sixth after a derby loss away to Vissel Kobe.

Things go from bad to worse for Oita Trinita, who were condemned to a fifth defeat in seven league games by a last minute penalty from FC Tokyo�fs Yohei Kajiyama. The side from the island of Kyushu now prop up the table after winless Kashiwa Reysol secured their fifth draw of the campaign, away to Shimizu S-Pulse. Jubilo Iwata are now clear of the relegation zone after another goal from Korean sensation Lee Keun-Ho helped them beat Kyoto Sanga 3-2.

In Sunday�fs remaining match, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Kawasaki Frontale played out a 1-1 draw at the Big Arch to remain firmly rooted in mid-table.


J1 results (matchday 7)
Omiya Ardija 0-1 Albirex Niigata
Shimizu S-Pulse 1-1 Kashiwa Reysol
Montedio Yamagata 1-1 Kashima Antlers
JEF United Chiba 0-1 Urawa Reds
Kyota Sanga 2-3 Jubilo Iwata
Oita Trinita 0-1 FC Tokyo
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-1 Kawasaki Frontale
Vissel Kobe 3-1 Gamba Osaka
Nagoya Grampus 2-1 Yokohama F Marinos

South Korean international Lee Keun-Ho introduced himself to the J. League in explosive style yesterday with two goals in Jubilo Iwata�fs 3-0 win over Shizuoka rivals Shimizu S-Pulse. The former Daegu FC striker, who only joined Iwata at the beginning of this month having failed to secure a move to Europe, latched onto a cutback from Ryoichi Maeda to open the scoring ten minutes into the second half, before adding a solo effort to double the advantage 18 minutes later. Not to be outdone, Maeda then extended the lead to three with a fine strike of his own, to complete a miserable afternoon for their defeated neighbours.

Lee�fs debut performance brings fresh hope to a Jubilo side who are now off the foot of the table, having recorded their first win of 2009. With JEF United Chiba also breaking their duck with a 2-1 victory away to FC Tokyo, Oita Trinita and Kashiwa Reysol are the new bottom two in J1, after defeats to Vissel Kobe and an improving Nagoya Grampus, respectively. The tale is a particularly sorry one for Nabisco Cup holders Trinita, who finished fourth last season and had hoped to push for further honours this year.

At the top, a first half hat-trick from Pedro Junior was not enough to take Albirex Niigata back to winning ways, as a second half fightback earned Sanfrecce Hiroshima a 3-3 draw in a thrilling contest at the Big Swan Stadium. With leaders Kashima Antlers held 0-0 at home by Yokohama F Marinos, a win would have taken Albirex back to the summit, but first position is now shared by Urawa Reds after a 1-0 victory over Kyoto Sanga. Just below, Gamba Osaka moved level with Montedio Yamagata in fourth place following a 2-1 win in their encounter at Banpaku, which was played on Friday evening due to Gamba�fs ACL commitments in Indonesia tomorrow.

Elsewhere, the pressure on returning manager Takashi Sekizuka was relieved with late goals from Hiroyuki Taniguchi and Juninho to give Kawasaki Frontale a 3-1 victory over Omiya Ardija.


J1 results (matchday 6)
Gamba Osaka 2-1 Montedio Yamagata
Kashiwa Reysol 1-2 Nagoya Grampus
Albirex Niigata 3-3 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Kashima Antlers 0-0 Yokohama F Marinos
Kawasaki Frontale 3-1 Omiya Ardija
Urawa Reds 1-0 Kyoto Sanga
FC Tokyo 1-2 JEF United Chiba
Jubilo Iwata 3-0 Shimizu S-Pulse
Vissel Kobe 3-2 Oita Trinita

Three times former champions Yokohama F Marinos recorded their first win of the current season in spectacular fashion on Saturday with a 5-0 hammering of Vissel Kobe. Kazuma Watanabe, a 22-year-old rookie given the Marinos number nine jersey after graduating from Waseda University earlier this year, took centre stage with two goals either side of a Koji Yamase strike to give the home side a 3-0 lead before a quarter of the game was complete. For all their endeavours, a stunned Kobe side were unable to forge any kind of foothold in the game, and their embarrassment was complete with further goals in the second half from Yamase and Kenta Kano.

Following two draws and two defeats in their opening four league games, and just one point so far from two Nabisco Cup matches, the victory comes as a welcome tonic for the Marinos, but leaves Vissel in a minor crisis after a disastrous start to what was supposed to be their breakthrough year. Ambitious investment in players like former Japan captain Tsuneyasu Miyamoto gave rise to talk of ACL qualification in pre-season, but four points, three goals scored, and nine conceded in their opening five games paints a rather different picture.

Elsewhere, it was a good day for teenagers as both Kashima Antlers and Urawa Reds were helped to valuable wins by products of their youth systems. Having scored his first ever professional goal in the AFC Champions League three weeks ago, Yuya Osako was on hand to score the Antlers�f second in their 2-1 win away to FC Tokyo, while 17-year-old Genki Haraguchi netted the only goal in Urawa�fs victory at fellow title contenders Nagoya Grampus. With Albirex Niigata going down to a 1-0 defeat in Kyoto, defending champions Kashima now top the table for the first time this year.

Last season�fs J2 runners-up Montedio Yamagata are now in second after a 1-0 win away to 10-man Oita Trinita, while Kawasaki Frontale fell seven points off the pace with defeat away to Shimizu S-Pulse. Gamba Osaka�fs ambitions took a blow with a surprise 3-2 loss in Omiya, Sanfrecce Hiroshima thrashed Kashiwa Reysol 4-1 at the Big Arch, and JEF United Chiba drew 1-1 with Jubilo Iwata in a meeting of the division�fs bottom two.


J1 results (matchday 5)
Oita Trinita 0-1 Montedio Yamagata
Yokohama F Marinos 5-0 Vissel Kobe
JEF United Chiba 1-1 Jubilo Iwata
Kyoto Sanga 1-0 Albirex Niigata
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 4-1 Kashiwa Reysol
FC Tokyo 1-2 Kashima Antlers
Shimizu S-Pulse 1-0 Kawasaki Frontale
Omiya Ardija 3-2 Gamba Osaka
Nagoya Grampus 0-1 Urawa Reds