Football Japan Minutecast

Albirex Niigata players were booed by their own supporters yesterday for the first time this season after a late slip-up cost them two points in what was supposed to be an easy win over lowly Montedio Yamagata. A wonderful 25-yard free kick from Marcio Richardes at the start of the second half gave the title challengers a 1-0 lead that looked to be decisive, but a mistake by Japan forward Kisho Yano two minutes from the end allowed Yamagata to launch a counter-attack from midfield, culminating in a grateful Yu Hasegawa slotting the ball home to secure a valuable point for the visitors.

Although the draw was still enough to take Albirex back up to second – a position unthinkable at the start of the season for a team that had ended last season down in 13th – the frustration in Niigata was clear for all to see as players and fans alike rued another missed opportunity to gain ground in the championship race. Albirex have now drawn three matches on the spin, having held a lead in each and succumbed to late equalisers in two of them.

The result was even more agonising in light of two shock scorelines the previous evening. J1 leaders Kashima Antlers needed a second half equaliser from Marquinhos to rescue a point in their home meeting with second-from-bottom Kashiwa Reysol, who had led at the interval through Yusuke Murakami, while Urawa Reds fall to third after a shock 3-0 home mauling at the hands of Nagoya Grampus. After just one win in their previous ten matches, Nagoya coach Dragan Stojkovic finally has cause to smile again thanks to a brace from Keiji Tamada and a second goal in two games from new Australian striker Joshua Kennedy.

Despite their draw, Kashima�fs lead at the top is now up to ten points after Kawasaki Frontale suffered a 3-1 loss at Kyoto Sanga, missing their opportunity to go second in the process. Below them, fifth-placed FC Tokyo drew 0-0 with Sanfrecce Hiroshima in what had been billed as a meeting of the league�fs entertainers, while Gamba Osaka moved up to sixth after Hayato Sasaki�fs goal scraped them a 1-0 win over bottom club Oita Trinita.

Kashiwa are now just three points from safety after Vissel Kobe and JEF United Chiba suffered home defeats at the hands of Omiya Ardija and Shimizu S-Pulse, respectively. Jubilo Iwata drew 1-1 with Yokohama F Marinos in the weekend�fs remaining match.


J1 results (matchday 19)
FC Tokyo 0-0 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Kashima Antlers 1-1 Kashiwa Reysol
Urawa Reds 0-3 Nagoya Grampus
JEF United Chiba 1-2 Shimizu S-Pulse
Gamba Osaka 1-0 Oita Trinita
Vissel Kobe 1-2 Omiya Ardija
Albirex Niigata 1-1 Montedio Yamagata
Jubilo Iwata 1-1 Yokohama F Marinos
Kyoto Sanga 3-1 Kawasaki Frontale

The Ranko Popovic era at Oita Trinita got off to a perfect start on Saturday evening as J1�fs bottom club stunned second-placed Urawa Reds and finally put an end to their league record run of 14 defeats on the bounce. Appointed in the wake of Pericles Chamusca�fs dismissal last Tuesday, the Serbian manager�fs debut was blessed by the return of defender Yuki Fukaya to the starting eleven, and after helping keep Urawa�fs attacks at bay throughout, it was Fukaya who sealed all three points for Trinita with a towering header from Fernandinho�fs corner eight minutes from time.

Of all of Oita�fs injury problems this season, the absence of Fukaya has been felt most keenly, with Saturday�fs game marking his first league start in nearly eight months after snapping his left anterior cruciate knee ligament against Kashima Antlers last November. With Popovic now able to reassemble the back three of Fukaya, Masato Morishige, and Taikai Uemoto that was virtually immovable last year, fans in Kyushu will be hoping their side can match the recovery of Alex Miller�fs JEF United Chiba from a similarly perilous position in the second half of last year.

The gap between Trinita and safety is now 12 points, after Sanfrecce Hiroshima ended a run of three straight defeats with a comprehensive 4-1 thrashing of JEF United, who fall to 16th. Kashiwa Reysol are four points behind them after a 2-0 home loss to Gamba Osaka, who recovered from their own trio of reverses thanks to a brace from the league�fs top scorer, Leandro.

Vissel Kobe move out of the relegation zone after a 2-2 draw at Kawasaki Frontale, as none of the top sides in J1 were able to capitalise on the slipups of those around them. Leaders Kashima failed to win for only the second time in 11 league games after Shimizu S-Pulse came from two down to steal a point at Nihondaira, while third place Albirex Niigata had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Yokohama F Marinos.

FC Tokyo secured their eighth consecutive win in all competitions with a 3-0 hammering of Omiya Ardija, which moves them just behind the chasing pack in fifth position. Montedio Yamagata continued their recovery with a 3-1 win over Jubilo Iwata, while Nagoya Grampus were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Kyoto Sanga.


J1 results (matchday 18)
Omiya Ardija 0-3 FC Tokyo
Kawasaki Frontale 2-2 Vissel Kobe
Yokohama F Marinos 1-1 Albirex Niigata
Shimizu S-Pulse 2-2 Kashima Antlers
Nagoya Grampus 1-1 Kyoto Sanga
Oita Trinita 1-0 Urawa Reds
Montedio Yamagata 3-1 Jubilo Iwata
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 4-1 JEF United Chiba
Kashiwa Reysol 0-2 Gamba Osaka

Nabisco Cup quarter final first leg results (15 July)
Kashima Antlers 1-0 Kawasaki Frontale
Gamba Osaka 1-3 Yokohama F Marinos
Urawa Reds 2-1 Shimizu S-Pulse
FC Tokyo 5-1 Nagoya Grampus

Gamba Osaka chairman Kikuo Kanamori was forced to confront angry supporters late on Saturday evening after his team had succumbed to a dismal 4-1 defeat at home to Shimizu S-Pulse. Despite outshooting their visitors by 18 shots to eight, last year�fs Asian champions were once again let down by a porous, error-prone defence that allowed S-Pulse to race into a 3-0 lead with goals from Shinji Okazaki, Keisuke Iwashita, and Takuma Edamura. Former Shimizu striker Cho Jae-Jin sparked dreams of a Gamba recovery when he came off the bench to score against his old club, but all hope died when the three-goal margin was restored by Kazuki Hara eight minutes from time.

With the Osaka club now 19 points off the pace in eighth position, having lost five of the last six league games and five in a row at Banpaku in all competitions, more than 1,000 home fans stayed behind for over an hour after the full-time whistle, demanding answers from either the chairman or the manager, Akira Nishino. Kanamori, whose day had begun with a message announcing plans for a new home stadium, eventually made an appearance at 10.30pm, but his oratorical skills did little to appease the tension. The chairman told supporters to �eshut up�f and �esupport the team better�f, before backing down once it became clear that his stance had found little favour.

There was better news, however, for Montedio Yamagata, who won 2-1 at Yokohama F Marinos to record their first victory in eight league matches. Shinji Kobayashi�fs side move up two places ahead of JEF United Chiba and Vissel Kobe, who drew 1-1 in their meeting at Fukuari. Only seven points separate Shimizu in sixth place from Vissel in 16th, with Kashiwa Reysol now just three points behind them after a 2-1 win at Kyoto Sanga, but Oita Trinita are 15 adrift of safety after a 3-1 loss to Jubilo Iwata that extends their record run of consecutive league defeats to 14.

Kashima Antlers maintained their eight-point lead at the top with a straightforward 2-0 win over Omiya Ardija, while a 2-2 draw between Albirex Niigata and Kawasaki Frontale allowed Urawa Reds to leapfrog both into second place, after coming from behind to beat Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-1. In-form FC Tokyo secured their fourth win in a row with a 3-0 thrashing of Nagoya Grampus.

In J2, Shonan Bellmare extended their lead at the top to four points after a 4-3 win away to second-placed Cerezo Osaka.


J1 results (matchday 17)
Kashima Antlers 2-0 Omiya Ardija
Urawa Reds 2-1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
JEF United Chiba 1-1 Vissel Kobe
Yokohama F Marinos 1-2 Montedio Yamagata
Albirex Niigata 2-2 Kawasaki Frontale
Gamba Osaka 1-4 Shimizu S-Pulse
Kyoto Sanga 1-2 Kashiwa Reysol
FC Tokyo 3-0 Nagoya Grampus
Jubilo Iwata 3-1 Oita Trinita