Football Japan Minutecast

Kashima Antlers came from two behind to clinch a dramatic 3-2 victory at Jubilo Iwata and extend their lead at the top of J1 to three points, as closest rivals Nagoya Grampus and Shimizu S-Pulse shared six goals in an equally thrilling encounter at the Mizuho Stadium.

Reeling from the shock exit of Korean international defender Lee Jung-Soo to Al-Sadd of Qatar in midweek, the three-times defending J. League champions looked set to surrender to struggling Jubilo when Daisuke Nasu and Sho Naruoka helped the hosts into a 2-0 lead before the interval. Whatever Kashima coach Oswaldo de Oliveira said to his players in the dressing room must have worked, however, as Brazilian left-back Gilton headed the Antlers back into contention just seven minutes after the restart, before goals from Koji Nakata and Marquinhos sealed an impressive comeback.

A point for Shimizu meant they were at least able to hold onto second, but Nagoya were left rueing a missed opportunity after leading three times and failing from the penalty spot. Keiji Tamada scored twice either side of a Frode Johnsen equaliser to give the home side a 2-1 half-time advantage, but the Japan forward skied his spot-kick on the hour mark and saw international teammate Shinji Okazaki restore parity at the opposite end soon afterwards. Mu Kanazaki put Grampus back in front with a fine solo effort with 15 minutes remaining, but Eddy Bosnar promptly headed home to level the scores for S-Pulse once again.

Kawasaki Frontale held onto fourth position with a 1-0 win over bottom club Kyoto Sanga thanks to a last minute winner from star Brazilian forward Juninho, making his first appearance of 2010 following a calf tear in pre-season training. Cerezo Osaka continued their fine form despite the departure of Shinji Kagawa by beating Montedio Yamagata 3-0 to stay fifth.

Elsewhere, Marcio Richardes scored an unlikely hat-trick of set pieces to give Albirex Niigata a 3-2 victory at Vegalta Sendai. Having already expertly converted both a penalty and a free-kick earlier in the second half, the midfielder somehow managed to deceive Vegalta �ekeeper Takuto Hayashi directly from a corner in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima won at the Saitama Stadium for the first time ever to move up to sixth and make it just one point from the last 12 available for Urawa Reds, while Yokohama F Marinos are now in seventh following Takashi Amano�fs 94th-minute winner against Gamba Osaka. Omiya Ardija and Shonan Bellmare remain in the relegation zone following 3-1 losses to Vissel Kobe and FC Tokyo, respectively.


J1 results (matchday 14)
Urawa Reds 0-1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Jubilo Iwata 2-3 Kashima Antlers
Cerezo Osaka 3-0 Montedio Yamagata
Vegalta Sendai 2-3 Albirex Niigata
Yokohama F Marinos 1-0 Gamba Osaka
Nagoya Grampus 3-3 Shimizu S-Pulse
Shonan Bellmare 1-3 FC Tokyo
Vissel Kobe 3-1 Omiya Ardija
Kawasaki Frontale 1-0 Kyoto Sanga