Football Japan Minutecast

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