Vegalta Sendai came from behind to earn an emotional 2-1 victory away to Kawasaki Frontale as the J. League finally resumed proceedings after a six-week hiatus.
Fans of the Tohoku club – located closer than any other to the region devastated by last month’s earthquake and tsunami – turned the away end at Todoroki into a sea of yellow, as both sets of supporters sang together before kick-off in a poignant symbol of friendship and national unity.
It was Frontale who opened the scoring after 37 minutes, suddenly sparking an otherwise sluggish first half into life with a terrific five-man passing move to speed through the Vegalta defensive third. Defender Yusuke Tanaka connected tamely with Koji Yamase’s cross, but the ball slipped over a rain-soaked surface past the hapless Takuto Hayashi.
The visitors gained their own slice of fortune in the second period, however, as Yoshiaki Ota’s sliding shot struck Kawasaki defender Tomonobu Yokoyama and sailed over Rikihiro Sugiyama’s dive for the equaliser.
Then, with just three minutes remaining, North Korean international Ryang Yong-Gi crossed a free kick onto the head of defender Jiro Kamata, who angled the ball into the top-right corner of Yokoyama’s goal to spark wild celebrations in the stand behind.
Sendai manager Makoto Teguramori struggled to hold back the tears at full time, telling television reporters, “Our players really gave their absolute best for the people of Tohoku, right up to the very end.”
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Kashima Antlers were unable to follow the Sendai lead, however, losing 3-0 to Yokohama F Marinos in the Ibaraki club’s first league match at their temporary home of the National Stadium in Tokyo. Shohei Ogura’s deflected effort found the net after just three minutes, and Yuzo Kurihara doubled the advantage a quarter of an hour from time despite lengthy Antlers pressure.
An injury time own goal from Takuya Nozawa completed a miserable afternoon for Oswaldo de Oliveira’s men.
Defending champions Nagoya Grampus fared no better, going down to a surprise 3-0 defeat at a rampant Urawa Reds on Sunday afternoon. Seigo Narazaki could only parry a Tatsuya Tanaka effort from the corner of the penalty area on 12 minutes, allowing Marcio Richardes the simplest of finishes for his first goal since arriving from Albirex Niigata.
The Brazilian returned the favour by squaring for Tanaka to score himself soon afterwards, after Yosuke Kashiwagi’s precise through ball had bisected the Grampus defence. Teenage forward Genki Haraguchi pounced on Hayuma Tanaka’s hesitation to break clear and beat Narazaki at the second attempt for Urawa’s third late on.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima were the weekend’s other big winners, defeating Gamba Osaka 4-1 at the Big Arch. Tadanari Lee opened the scoring from close range after only 27 seconds, with Koji Morisaki, Mihael Mikić, and Hisato Sato putting the home side well out of sight before Shota Kawanishi’s late consolation. The victory was Sanfrecce’s first over Gamba in ten years.
Promoted Kashiwa Reysol are the leaders of the nascent J1 table with the division’s only 100% record after winning 1-0 at Omiya Ardija through Leandro Domingues. Their opening day victims, Shimizu S-Pulse, earned their first points under Iranian boss Afshin Ghotbi with a 1-0 victory at home to Avispa Fukuoka.
Ventforet Kofu recovered from a deflected opener by Yoshito Okubo to draw 1-1 at home to Vissel Kobe thanks to Daniel’s leveller. Albirex Niigata also drew 1-1 with Jubilo Iwata, while Montedio Yamagata played out a goalless stalemate against Cerezo Osaka.
TALKING POINTS
- A 94th minute strike from substitute forward Satoshi Tokiwa gave Mito HollyHock a dramatic 2-1 victory over Tokushima Vortis in J2. The match had gone ahead despite earthquake damage to the K’s denki Stadium and surrounding area.
J1 results (matchday 7)
Kashima Antlers 0-3 Yokohama F Marinos
Omiya Ardija 0-1 Kashiwa Reysol
Kawasaki Frontale 1-2 Vegalta Sendai
Ventforet Kofu 1-1 Vissel Kobe
Shimizu S-Pulse 1-0 Avispa Fukuoka
Montedio Yamagata 0-0 Cerezo Osaka
Albirex Niigata 1-1 Jubilo Iwata
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 4-1 Gamba Osaka
Urawa Reds 3-0 Nagoya Grampus



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