Football Japan Minutecast

Kyoto Sanga and Shonan Bellmare are in danger of being cast adrift at the foot of the J1 table after narrow defeats on Saturday left them respectively ten and seven points away from safety.

Having failed to pick up a single league win since March, few had given bottom club Sanga much hope of breaking their torrid run away to league leaders Nagoya Grampus, and everything appeared to be going according to the script when Mu Kanazaki scrambled the hosts in front midway through the first half. However, Kyoto suddenly found their rhythm in the second period, and recently-appointed coach Yutaka Akita was ultimately left rueing a number of missed opportunities to steal a point from their nervous-looking opposition - Atsushi Yanagisawa coming closest when his header bounced over the crossbar in the 94th minute.

Shonan, on the other hand, were beaten more comfortably at Vegalta Sendai than the 2-1 final scoreline suggests, but arguably had much more riding on the game given that their opponents are also in danger of an immediate return to J2. A late winner from Takayuki Nakahara took Vegalta out of the bottom three on goal difference at the expense of Omiya Ardija, who had Chikara Fujimoto sent off in a 2-0 loss at Cerezo Osaka.

The results mean that second-placed Cerezo remain five points behind Nagoya in what has been a far more successful return to J1 for Levir Culpi�fs side. A 0-0 draw between Vissel Kobe and FC Tokyo, meanwhile, leaves both now level on points with Vegalta and Omiya in the midst of the relegation battle.

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Shimizu S-Pulse put an end to their rotten recent form with a 2-0 victory over fifth-placed Kawasaki Frontale, ensuring that they remain just behind Cerezo on goal difference. Goals from Jungo Fujimoto and Shinji Okazaki gave Kenta Hasegawa�fs men their first points in four matches and left their opponents nine points off the Nagoya pace.

Kashima Antlers remain in fourth position after a dramatic equaliser from Masashi Motoyama in the fifth minute of second half stoppage time gave them a 1-1 draw at struggling Urawa Reds. A 3-0 loss for Albirex Niigata at Yokohama F Marinos drops them two spots to eighth behind both their opponents and Gamba Osaka, who beat Jubilo Iwata 2-0.

Elsewhere, Sanfrecce Hiroshima beat Montedio Yamagata 2-1 in their mid-table battle at the Big Arch.


J1 results (matchday 21)
Urawa Reds 1-1 Kashima Antlers
Cerezo Osaka 2-0 Omiya Ardija
Vegalta Sendai 2-1 Shonan Bellmare
Nagoya Grampus 1-0 Kyoto Sanga
Vissel Kobe 0-0 FC Tokyo
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-1 Montedio Yamagata
Yokohama F Marinos 3-0 Albirex Niigata
Gamba Osaka 2-0 Jubilo Iwata
Shimizu S-Pulse 2-0 Kawasaki Frontale

Nagoya Grampus recovered from a 4-0 drubbing at Kawasaki Frontale in midweek to move five points clear at the head of J1 with a 3-1 victory against Gamba Osaka yesterday evening, after several of their rivals once again missed the opportunity to strengthen their positions.

Shimizu S-Pulse suffered a shock 4-1 reverse away to Albirex Niigata on Tuesday, before conceding Shizuoka derby honours against Jubilo Iwata yesterday to make it three defeats in a row since Kenta Hasegawa�fs side went top earlier this month. A first ever J. League goal for 20-year-old midfielder Kosuke Yamamoto just before half-time was enough to restore a decisive one-goal advantage for Jubilo after Kosuke Ota had cancelled out Gilsinho�fs opener.

Long-time leaders Kashima Antlers have just two points from four games in August after the concession of a last-minute equaliser to Gamba Osaka in midweek was followed by a home loss to Cerezo Osaka on Saturday, with Takashi Inui beating Hitoshi Sogahata at his near post to score the game�fs only goal on 55 minutes. Any hopes that in-form Kawasaki had of taking advantage to go second, however, were dashed by a brace from Cho Young-Cheol later that evening as Niigata added to their impressive list of recent victims.

With the pressure relieved somewhat by results elsewhere, Grampus needed just six minutes to open the scoring in Sunday�fs late game through an opportunistic 30-yard effort from Naoshi Nakamura. Despite being pegged back when Gamba defensive midfielder Hideo Hashimoto found the net for an unlikely sixth match in succession, Dragan Stojković�fs men recovered their rhythm to seal victory with goals from Danilson and Joshua Kennedy.

Cerezo�fs superb recent form means they now head a trio of sides five points off the Nagoya pace, ahead of Kashima and Shimizu on goal difference. Kawasaki are a point further back in fifth, with Niigata now just one point behind them after five wins from their last seven games.

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Kyoto Sanga and Shonan Bellmare are in danger of being cast adrift at the bottom after their 2-2 draw on Wednesday was followed by respective home defeats at the hands of Yokohama F Marinos and Urawa Reds over the weekend. Vegalta Sendai - who finished ahead of Cerezo as J2 winners last year - recorded their first league win since as far back as 4 April with a 3-0 romp at Omiya Ardija.

Sendai are now just two points behind Vissel Kobe, who drew 0-0 at Montedio Yamagata, and crisis club FC Tokyo, for whom a 2-0 home setback against Sanfrecce Hiroshima represented a fourth defeat in five games.



J1 results (matchday 20)
Kashima Antlers 0-1 Cerezo Osaka
FC Tokyo 0-2 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Shonan Bellmare 1-4 Urawa Reds
Albirex Niigata 2-1 Kawasaki Frontale
Kyoto Sanga 1-2 Yokohama F Marinos
Montedio Yamagata 0-0 Vissel Kobe
Omiya Ardija 0-3 Vegalta Sendai
Jubilo Iwata 2-1 Shimizu S-Pulse
Nagoya Grampus 3-1 Gamba Osaka


J1 results (matchday 19)
Albirex Niigata 4-1 Shimizu S-Pulse
Gamba Osaka 1-1 Kashima Antlers
Urawa Reds 1-1 Vegalta Sendai
Yokohama F Marinos 0-1 Montedio Yamagata
Kawasaki Frontale 4-0 Nagoya Grampus
Shonan Bellmare 2-2 Kyoto Sanga
Jubilo Iwata 3-2 Vissel Kobe
Cerezo Osaka 4-1 FC Tokyo
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-2 Omiya Ardija

Nagoya Grampus ended the Japanese O-Bon holiday on top of the J1 table after a 3-1 victory over freefalling Urawa Reds, as title rivals Shimizu S-Pulse and Kashima Antlers surprisingly dropped points at home to Yokohama F Marinos and FC Tokyo respectively.

Following a goalless first half, Grampus took the lead nine minutes after the restart thanks to a header from Japan defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka - who was released by Urawa in acrimonious circumstances at the end of last season. 22-year-old left-back Tomoya Ugajin levelled the scores with a terrific strike from just outside the Nagoya penalty area soon afterwards, but two goals in four minutes by Keiji Tamada sealed a deserved three points for the new league leaders.

Tulio insisted during his post-match interviews that he �gcould not really enjoy the goal out of respect for the Urawa supporters�h, but in typically straightforward fashion, added that he was �gglad to have provided an answer in such an important game�h. The win is Nagoya�fs fifth in six matches since the World Cup - in stark contrast to Urawa, who fall to 11th in the table following five losses over the same period.

Shimizu had taken top spot at the halfway mark of the season with a 2-1 victory over long-time leaders Kashima the previous weekend, but slipped to defeat by a similar margin against Yokohama F Marinos thanks to a trademark free kick from former Celtic hero Shunsuke Nakamura. Kenta Hasegawa�fs side are now two points off the pace, with the Antlers a single point further back in third after Yasuyuki Konno�fs late equaliser gave FC Tokyo a share of the spoils at Kashima Stadium.

Elsewhere, Kawasaki Frontale enjoyed a straightforward 2-0 win over Sanfrecce Hiroshima to stay fourth, with Cerezo Osaka still fifth after Akihiro Ienaga�fs late finish gave them a 1-0 win at bottom side Kyoto Sanga. Gamba Osaka beat struggling Vegalta Sendai 3-1 to record their fourth victory in a row - with midfielder Hideo Hashimoto having scored on each occasion - and move to within one goal of their city rivals.

Shonan Bellmare remain second from bottom following a goalless draw at Vissel Kobe, with Omiya Ardija and Jubilo Iwata still just outside the relegation zone after their stalemate at the NACK5 Stadium. In the Friday evening match, Montedio Yamagata secured a 1-0 win over Albirex Niigata.


J1 results (matchday 18)
Montedio Yamagata 1-0 Albirex Niigata
Vissel Kobe 0-0 Shonan Bellmare
Shimizu S-Pulse 1-2 Yokohama F Marinos
Vegalta Sendai 1-3 Gamba Osaka
Kashima Antlers 1-1 FC Tokyo
Nagoya Grampus 3-1 Urawa Reds
Omiya Ardija 0-0 Jubilo Iwata
Kyoto Sanga 0-1 Cerezo Osaka
Kawasaki Frontale 2-0 Sanfrecce Hiroshima


J1 results (matchday 17 - 7/8 August)
Omiya Ardija 3-0 Shonan Bellmare
Kyoto Sanga 0-2 Albirex Niigata
Shimizu S-Pulse 2-1 Kashima Antlers
Vegalta Sendai 0-1 Yokohama F Marinos
Montedio Yamagata 1-0 Jubilo Iwata
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 0-2 Gamba Osaka
Cerezo Osaka 0-0 Kawasaki Frontale
Vissel Kobe 1-0 Urawa Reds
FC Tokyo 0-1 Nagoya Grampus