On an exciting evening in the J-League, champions Urawa Red Diamonds moved into 1st place for the 1st time this season after Gamba Osaka dropped 2 unlikely points at bottom club Yokohama FC.
Urawa had no such problems and thrashed Ventforet Kofu 4-1. The game was over as a contest by the break with the visitors leading 3-0. Ventforet pulled a goal back only after the restart however were always 2nd best and Tatsuya Tanaka sealed the triumph after 63 minutes.
Tanaka also got the ball rolling after 6 minutes.Keita Suzuki and the in-form Yuichiro Nagai were the other scorers.
When Yasuhito Endo gave Gamba Osaka the lead midway through the 2nd half at the hapless Yokohama FC, the odds were on an away triumph however only 2 minutes later the hosts were level thanks to Tukumi Wada and the game finished 1-1.
With Kashima Antlers in 3rd and 4th placed Albirex Niigata in action Sunday evening, Yokohama F Marinos picked up a 4th straight win, a 3-0 win at Nagoya Grampus Eight, to move above Albirex into 4th.
Shimizu S-Pulse are in 5th after a 3-1 triumph over the inconsistent Kawasaki Frontale.
At the bottom, Sanfrecce Hiroshima won the 6 pointer with fellow strugglers Oita Trinita 2-0 and JEF United moved further away from trouble with a 3-2 win over Jubilo Iwata.
Elsewhere, Kashiwa Reysol jump 2 places from 9th to 7th with after a 1-0 triumph at FC Tokyo.
In the 1st full round of action in Japan after a 6 week summer break, the story was the 8-1 thrashing that Yokohama F Marinos handed out to city rivals Yokohama FC.
In only the 2nd ever meeting between the 2 clubs, 6 of the goals came in the 2nd half as the Marinos turned the screw on the visitors in front of over 60,000 fans.
Yokohama FC are still 6 points adrift at the bottom of the league and looking at a swift return to the 2nd tier.
Hideo Oshima put the Marinos ahead on the half hour and Daisuke Sakata made it 2 only before the break.
The 3 time champions went to town in the 2nd half. Oshima helped himself to 3 more goals after the break. Koji Namase scored a brace and brother Yukihiro got one.
At the top of the pile, Gamba Osaka extended their lead to 4 points with a 3-1 home triumph against Albirex Niigata. A 1st half own goal got the leaders on their way before Brazilian hotshot Bare made it 2-0 only before the hour. Akira Kaji added a 3rd with 12 minutes remaining before the visitors grabbed a late consolation.
Urawa Reds in 2nd will see their 1-1 draw against Kashiwa Reysol as 2 points dropped especially as Tatsuya Tanaka gave the champions a 60th minute lead. Just 9 minutes later however, Masahiro Koga earned a point for the visitors.
Jubilo Iwata could have gone 3rd with a triumph however were thrashed 4-0 by Vissel Kobe whilst Kawasaki Frontale move up into 5th place with a 3-1 triumph at struggling JEF United thanks to a hat trick from Brazilian player Juninho.
Elsewhere, Oita Trinita moved out of the relegation zone with a 2-1 triumph at FC Tokyo whilst Omiya Ardija picked up a valuable point with a 2-2 draw at Shimizu S-Pulse.
On Sunday, Nagoya Grampus 8 host Sanfrecce Hiroshima whilst Kashima Antlers take on Ventforet Kofu.
Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC sign former Brazilian international forward Fabio Junior on a 2 year contract from VfL Bochum 1848.
The Israeli UEFA Cup participants have recruited the 29 year old on a free transfer from the Bundesliga club, where he scored 3 goals in 31 games during the last 2 seasons.
Hapoel coach Guy Luzon mentioned of his new signing, "He did not get to play in the Bundesliga due to his nice eyes."
Fabio Junior came to prominence at Cruzeiro EC, striking 18 times in 32 games to earn a transfer to AS Roma in 1998. The Italian side later loaned him to Cruzeiro and SE Palmeiras in Brazil as well as Portugal's Vitoria SC.
The forward then moved permanently to Clube Atletico Mineiro, Japanese club Kashima Antlers and Al Wahda of the UAE. His new team Hapoel were drawn against NK Siroki Brijeg from Bosnia-Herzegovina in the UEFA Cup 2nd qualifying round.
24 June 2007
Kashima Antlers stretched their unbeaten run to 9 games in the J League Division One after triumphing over Nagoya Grampus 8 2-1 at home Sunday.
Kashima midfielder Chikashi Masuda put the hosts ahead in the 66th minute after dribbling down the right flank before firing home through a narrow gap between the right post and Nagoya goalie Seigo Narazaki.
5 minutes later, Marquinhos collected a pass from Daiki Oiwa on the edge of the box and skillfully lobbed the ball over Narazaki and into the net.
Nagoya fought back and cut the deficit in the 72nd minute through Norway forward Frode Johnsen, his 7th goal of the season.
But the hosts held on for the win as Nagoya suffered their 3rd straight defeat.
Kashima's Brazilian manager Oswaldo Oliveira was delighted with the result however warned there is still a lot of work ahead.
He said, 'Early in the season, we were criticised for not playing well. However, our team has started to pick up and we have produced some good results, which I am happy about. However, we must continue to work hard.'
In Sunday's other game, 15th placed Omiya Ardija battled hard to hold 9th placed Yokohama F. Marinos to a goalless draw at home. It was the Marinos' 4th draw in the last 5 games.
Omiya are unbeaten in the last 8 games with 2 wins and 6 draws.
23 June 2007
Japanese international midfielder Yuki Abe tuned up for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup with a goal to give defending champions Urawa Red Diamonds a 1-0 triumph over Shimizu S-Pulse in the J-League on Saturday.
The goal came in the 24th minute when Brazilian Ponte's corner connected with Abe's diving header. "I am glad that I scored, however the game was not over. I was more glad to win at the moment when I heard the final whistle," mentioned Abe after netting his 3rd goal of the season.
Urawa's German coach Holger Osieck appeared satisfied with the display of his players. "It was a perfect week for us. We won all 3 games without losing a goal. Furthermore, our performances were very good. I feel my players have enhanced a lot this week," mentioned Osieck.
"I do not point out a particular player, I only would like to praise everybody of the team. For example, Tulio is an important player and when he got an injury to be replaced, the substitute player did a very good job. It is the team's possible that everybody can do the same. I really would like to praise all of my players," he added.
But Urawa did not close on front-runners Gamba Osaka, who overwhelmed FC Tokyo 6-2 later in the day with Brazilian forward Magno Alves and Ryuji Bando scoring 2 goals each.
Osaka raced on to 38 points to retain a 5 point lead over Urawa, followed by Albirex Niigata on 29 points, Jubilo Iwata on 28 and Kashima Antlers on 27.
Niigata defeated JEF United Chiba 2-1, and Iwata downed Kawasaki Frontale 3-2, whilst Kashima will play Nagoya Grampus 8 Sunday.
In other games, Yoshito Okubo was pulled down in the area in injury time and then scored a decisive penalty to give Vissel Kobe a 3-2 triumph over Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
Kashiwa Reysol were 4-2 winners over Yokohama FC, whilst Ventforet Kofu defeated Oita Trinita 2-0.
20 June 2007
Brazilian born Marcus Tulio Tanaka overcame an ankle injury to lead defending champions Urawa Red Diamonds to a 2-0 triumph over Vissel Kobe Wednesday in the J.League.
Tulio, who injured his right ankle Sunday, proved he could be ready for Japan's defence of their AFC Asian Cup title next month by scoring his 1st goal of the season.
It came in the 39th minute when Brazilian midfielder Ponte sent the ball on a corner to set up Tulio's six-metre header.
Brazilian forward Washington's 1st penalty shot in the 27th minute was saved by Kobe goalie Tatsuya Umemoto, however Ponte cashed in on the 2nd opportunity to give Urawa a bit of insurance.
"I have lots of chances to score and I would not before. I am glad I in the end scored a goal today," mentioned Tulio.
"Our trainer had taken care of my injury. I'd like to thank him for being able to play on the pitch," he added.
"We are still behind Gamba Osaka, however it will be fine if we can finish top when the league ends. I'll do my best for that."
Urawa enhanced their record to 8 wins, 6 draws and one defeat for 30 points, reducing the deficit to 5 points against Osaka, who were held to a goalless draw by Yokohama Marinos.
They were followed by Kashima Antlers and Albirex Niigata on 27 points, and Kawasaki Frontale, Shimizu S-Pulse and Jubilo Iwata on 25 points.
Brazilian Edmilson scored 2 goals as Niigata overwhelmed struggling Yokohama FC 3-1, whilst Kashima edged past Kashiwa Reysol 1-0 thanks to Brazilian forward Marquinhos' goal in injury time.
Kawasaki drew with Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-1, Shimizu defeated Nagoya Grampus 8 2-1, and Iwata finished up with a scoreless draw with Omiya Ardija.
In other games, FC Tokyo defeated Ventforet Kofu 2-1, and JEF United Chiba edged out Oita Trinita 1-0.
17 June 2007
The Brazilian duo of Bare and Sidiclei helped J-League front-runners Gamba Osaka to a 3-1 comeback win over Nagoya Grampus 8 on Saturday.
After going 1-0 down, Bare nodded home a five-metre shot in the 63rd minute, before Sidicley fired in a right footer from close range to make it 2-1 in the 75th. Bare added his 9th goal of the season 6 minutes from time.
"We kept the balance pretty well in the 2nd half to score those goals, however it was the bottom line to get 3 points from a win," mentioned Osaka coach Akira Nishino.
"We were forced to work hard in our recent games, because our opponents played with some good tactics against us. I hope we can continue to hit the last shots at goal as we did today."
The result moved Osaka moved on to 34 points, 10 ahead of Kawasaki Frontale, Kashima Antlers, Urawa Red Diamonds and Jubilo Iwata. They are followed by Kashiwa Reysol and Albirex Niigata on 23 points, and Nagoya Grampus 8 and Shimizu S-Pulse one point further back.
Kawasaki were held to a goalless draw by Kashiwa, whilst Kashima beat Sanfrecce Hiroshima 5-1. Iwata downed rock-bottom Yokohama FC 2-1, whilst Urawa will face FC Tokyo Sunday.
10 June 2007
Japan international midfielder Yasuhito Endo struck home a penalty to seal front-runners Gamba Osaka a 2-1 triumph over Yokohama FC in the J-League.
Endo calmly wrong-footed Yokohama goalie Takanori Sugeno in the 79th minute to add to Hideo Hashimoto's goal in the 35th minute. Kazuki Hiramoto pulled one back late in the game.
"We could have scored more goals. We played aggressively, however we lacked accuracy with shots at goal. We must adjust it for our next game. However, it was good to win this kind of tough game," mentioned Osaka coach Akira Nishino.
Yokohama coach Takuya Takagi mentioned his players would not cope with Endo and Takahiro Futagawa, saying, "If Sugeno had not saved well, I have no idea how lots of goals we could have lost."
Osaka, who have 9 wins, 4 draws and one defeat, rest on 31 points, 7 ahead of defending champions Urawa Red Diamonds, who play Sanfrecce Hiroshima Sunday. Kawasaki Frontale and Albirex Niigata have 23 points apiece, and Kashiwa Reysol and Nagoya Grampus 8 are both on 22 points.
Kawasaki twice came back from a goal down to draw with Nagoya 2-2, whilst the Brazilian duo of Marcio Richardes and Edmilson combined to secure Niigata a 3-1 success at Vissel Kobe's expense. Kashiwa were held to a goalless draw by Omiya Ardija.
In other games, Kashima Antlers conceded a late equaliser to draw with Oita Trinita 2-2, whilst Yokohama Marinos beat JEF United Chiba 1-0.
