Football Japan Minutecast

The slump became a crisis for J1 leaders Kashima Antlers on Saturday as woeful defending allowed Nagoya Grampus to cruise to a 4-1 victory at Kashima Stadium.

After Joshua Kennedy opened the scoring for Grampus on just five minutes, an air kick from �ekeeper Hitoshi Sogahata moments later gifted a first ever J. League goal to Montenegrin striker Igor Burzanović, before Kenta Sugimoto�fs strike at the beginning of the second half took the visitors�f lead to three. Although Marquinhos was able to head home a consolation goal for the home side, yet more defensive errors allowed Burzanović to steal in and double his personal tally with seven minutes remaining.

Kashima have now lost three league games on the bounce for the first time in three years, and having seemed near certainties for a third straight title after 13 wins in the first half of the season, Oswaldo de Oliveira�fs men have only mustered eight points in the ten league games since. A cushion that was once ten points is now down to just one, as Shimizu S-Pulse - who were fully 17 points off the pace at the halfway mark - scraped a 1-0 win over 10-man Vissel Kobe thanks to a late strike from defender Daisuke Ichikawa.

Gamba Osaka are now up to third, with a brace from Japan midfielder Yasuhito Endo enough to secure a 2-1 success at home to Kawasaki Frontale. The win means that, in ten league matches, Gamba have reduced their deficit to Kashima from 19 points to just four. Kawasaki, however, fall to sixth after Albirex Niigata brought Sanfrecce Hiroshima�fs nine-game unbeaten run to an end with a 2-1 victory at the Big Arch.

At the other end, 15th-placed Montedio Yamagata gave themselves a little breathing space with a hard-fought 2-1 win away to second-from-bottom JEF United Chiba. Kashiwa Reysol are now three points back in the final relegation position after failing to break a 0-0 stalemate away to bottom club Oita Trinita.

Elsewhere, Urawa Reds fell to ninth after a 2-1 loss at home to Yokohama F Marinos. Omiya Ardija earned a fine 3-1 win away to Kyoto Sanga, while FC Tokyo beat Jubilo Iwata by the odd goal in five - all of which were scored after half time.


J1 results (matchday 27)
Oita Trinita 0-0 Kashiwa Reysol
FC Tokyo 3-2 Jubilo Iwata
Gamba Osaka 2-1 Kawasaki Frontale
Kashima Antlers 1-4 Nagoya Grampus
Kyoto Sanga 1-3 Omiya Ardija
JEF United Chiba 1-2 Montedio Yamagata
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-2 Albirex Niigata
Shimizu S-Pulse 1-0 Vissel Kobe
Urawa Reds 1-2 Yokohama F Marinos

The all-Japanese quarter-final of the AFC Champions League remains delicately poised after Kawasaki Frontale came from behind to secure a 2-1 first leg victory at home to J. League rivals Nagoya Grampus.

Frontale had decided to switch the game from their usual home of Todoroki to the National Stadium in Tokyo, which will serve as the venue for this year�fs final, but a reduced crowd of just under 18,000 people were silenced when Joshua Kennedy headed home a Naoshi Nakamura cross after 28 minutes to give Grampus a 1-0 lead.

The �ehome�f side fought back after the interval, and equalised on the hour when Kengo Nakamura somehow managed to squeeze a low free kick inside Koichi Hirono�fs near post. The comeback was completed three minutes later, as Juninho forced the ball home following Hiroyuki Taniguchi�fs initial effort, but the away goal conceded will ensure Kawasaki still have plenty to do when they visit Nagoya for the return match next week.

Coach Takashi Sekizuka remains confident in his side�fs ability to fight on all four fronts, but Frontale�fs J1 title bid took a major blow over the five-day weekend with defeat at home to Urawa Reds. With Kashima Antlers going down to a fourth league reverse in six away to Yokohama F Marinos, the championship now suddenly seems up for grabs, and Shimizu S-Pulse look best placed to challenge after moving up to second with a 1-0 win at Montedio Yamagata. S-Pulse are now just four points behind Kashima, with Sanfrecce Hiroshima two points further back in third following a 1-1 draw at Kashiwa Reysol.

The results left Montedio just one point ahead of Reysol either side of the relegation line, with JEF United Chiba three points behind them after a late strike from Kohei Kudo sealed a 2-2 draw away to Vissel Kobe.

Gamba Osaka�fs title challenge is still on thanks to a useful point at FC Tokyo that moved them seven points behind the leaders, but Albirex Niigata are now 10 points off the pace after a dismal goalless draw at home to bottom club Oita Trinita. Nagoya rose to eighth with victory at Omiya Ardija, while Jubilo Iwata took a comfortable 3-0 win over Kyoto Sanga.


AFC Champions League quarter-final first leg results
Kawasaki Frontale 2-1 Nagoya Grampus
Bunyodkor (UZB) 3-1 Pohang Steelers (KOR)
Umm-Salal (QAT) 3-2 FC Seoul (KOR)
Pakhtakor Taskent (UZB) v Al-Ittihad (KSA)


J1 results (matchday 26)
Albirex Niigata 0-0 Oita Trinita
Jubilo Iwata 3-0 Kyoto Sanga
FC Tokyo 0-0 Gamba Osaka
Yokohama F Marinos 2-1 Kashima Antlers
Omiya Ardija 0-2 Nagoya Grampus
Montedio Yamagata 0-1 Shimizu S-Pulse
Kawasaki Frontale 0-2 Urawa Reds
Kashiwa Reysol 1-1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Vissel Kobe 2-2 JEF United Chiba

Kawasaki Frontale looked to have thrown the J1 title race wide open again on Saturday evening as they stormed into a 3-1 advantage away to leaders Kashima Antlers, but the result was thrown into doubt when an extraordinary rain storm forced referee Masayoshi Okada to abandon the game after 74 minutes.

Chong Tese had scored twice in the first half either side of a Marquinhos leveller, before Juninho added a third for Frontale midway through the second period. By this point, however, the pitch had become increasingly waterlogged, and after an initial half-hour delay, Okada announced that conditions were unsuitable to play out the remaining 16 minutes.

The Kawasaki players were understandably frustrated, with Chong calling the decision �ecrazy�f, and Japan midfielder Kengo Nakamura saying �eno matter how much it rains, in football, we play on�f. J. League regulations state that any match that is abandoned should normally be replayed in its entirety from 0-0, but do not declare this to be a rule as such, fuelling Frontale hopes for a 16-minute mini-game with their two-goal lead still intact. The league�fs board of directors will convene to make a final decision tomorrow.

For the time being, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Shimizu S-Pulse have moved level on points with Kawasaki after continuing their fine runs of form with wins over Yokohama F Marinos and Omiya Ardija respectively. Gamba Osaka are a point further back in fifth after winning an exciting Kansai derby with Vissel Kobe by the odd goal in five.

FC Tokyo fall to eighth after a 2-1 loss at Kyoto Sanga, as both Albirex Niigata and Urawa Reds ended their recent losing streaks with victories over JEF United Chiba and Montedio Yamagata. Montedio are now just two points clear of safety after Kashiwa Reysol managed a shock 3-2 win at Nagoya Grampus, with JEF United a further three points back in 17th, and Oita Trinita still well adrift at the bottom despite beating Jubilo Iwata 2-1.


J1 results (matchday 25)
Shimizu S-Pulse 1-0 Omiya Ardija
Kyoto Sanga 2-1 FC Tokyo
JEF United Chiba 0-1 Albirex Niigata
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 3-2 Yokohama F Marinos
Kashima Antlers 1-3 Kawasaki Frontale (match abandoned after 74 minutes)
Nagoya Grampus 2-3 Kashiwa Reysol
Gamba Osaka 3-2 Vissel Kobe
Urawa Reds 4-1 Montedio Yamagata
Oita Trinita 2-1 Jubilo Iwata