{"id":20064,"date":"2019-09-17T16:19:25","date_gmt":"2019-09-17T07:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/?p=20064"},"modified":"2019-09-17T16:19:25","modified_gmt":"2019-09-17T07:19:25","slug":"its-getting-tight-as-j-league-enters-final-stretch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/2019\/09\/17\/its-getting-tight-as-j-league-enters-final-stretch\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Getting Tight as J-League Enters Final Stretch"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Credit – Urawa Red Diamonds Official (Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Krishna Sadhana<\/strong><\/p>\n

Football Tribe Asia<\/p>\n

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With 8 games to go until the end of the J1 season, both the title race and the race to avoid relegation heats up as rivals gained and lost vital points at such an important part of the season. Here\u2019s a quick recap of the events in the 26<\/span>th<\/span> match week of J1!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Urawa Reds 1-2 Cerezo Osaka<\/b><\/p>\n

Champions of Asia as recently as 2017, Urawa Red Diamonds are having a torrid season. Despite advancing to the quarterfinals of the AFC Champions League, continental commitments had clearly taken a toll on the squad as the red side of Saitama currently sit 15<\/span>th<\/span> in the table, just one spot above the relegation play-off zone. <\/span><\/p>\n

Their latest result had left a dent on the Reds\u2019 bid for survival as they were beaten at home by ACL-chasers Cerezo Osaka. Riku Matsuda opened the scoring at the Saitama Stadium 2002 for Cerezo in the 47<\/span>th<\/span> minute after a goalless first half, before evergreen Shinzo Koroki leveled proceedings for Urawa in the 60<\/span>th<\/span> minute. However, Yuki Abe received a second yellow card in the 82<\/span>nd<\/span> minute, forcing Urawa to play with 10 men. <\/span><\/p>\n

Cerezo capitalized on this and substitute Atomu Tanaka, formerly on the books of HJK Helsinki, scored the winner on the 84<\/span>th<\/span> minute. With the final score at 2-1 for Cerezo, this result will boost the Sakura\u2019s bid for a strong finish, as they now sit 6<\/span>th<\/span> on the table, only five points off Yokohama F. Marinos in third place<\/span>. For Urawa, manager Tsuyoshi Otsuki must rally his troops if the Reds want to avoid the ignominy of relegation.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Shimizu S-Pulse 3-2 Nagoya Grampus<\/b><\/p>\n

Nagoya Grampus started the season like a house on fire, with only two defeats in their first ten games. However, inconsistencies began to set in and before they knew it, Nagoya found themselves closer to the relegation zone than the top three. The Red Whales visited Shizuoka Prefecture to take on the region\u2019s orange side, Shimizu S-Pulse, for what was an important six-pointer whose winner will cement themselves in mid-table and condemning the loser closer into the relegation dogfight. <\/span><\/p>\n

Nagoya started with all cylinders firing and drew first blood thanks to Kazuya Miyahara in the 14<\/span>th<\/span> minute. However, buoyed by their fans at the IAI Stadium Nihondaira, Shimizu scored three goals, one in the first half and two in the second, to turn the game to their advantage. Kenta Nishizawa scored a brace for the men in orange in the 25<\/span>th<\/span> and 59<\/span>th<\/span> minute, sandwiching a Yosuke Kawai effort. Nagoya did not relent, however, and got one back in the 74<\/span>th<\/span> minute thanks to Aria Jasuru Hasegawa. However, Shimizu defended well in the remaining minutes to secure the win. The result meant that Shimizu leapfrogged Nagoya to 10<\/span>th<\/span> in the table with 32 points, with Nagoya in 11<\/span>th<\/span> with 31 points. The tight nature of the J1\u2019s bottom half (with teams from 11<\/span>th<\/span> to 15<\/span>th<\/span> all having 31 points) meant that one false step and Nagoya would find themselves in the relegation play-off zone.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 1-3 Vegalta Sendai<\/b><\/p>\n

Vegalta Sendai went up north to take on Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo at the Sapporo Dome, with avoiding relegation the first thing in their priority. But it\u2019s never going to be easy taking on a Consadole side eager to emulate their top-half finish from last season, with their fearsome \u201cDouble Jay\u201d combination, consisting of Thailand\u2019s Chanathip Songkrasin (nicknamed Messi Jay) and former Premier League player Jay Bothroyd, ready to tear apart any defense. However, Vegalta shocked the Hokkaido faithful by scoring first in the 32<\/span>nd<\/span> minute thanks to Yoshiki Matsushita. Takuma Arano equalized for Consadole in the 50<\/span>th<\/span> minute, however, goals from Simao Mate and Ramon Lopes in the 53<\/span>rd<\/span> and 85<\/span>th<\/span> minute respectively sealed the win for Vegalta, who now have something to build on in their bid to escape the tight J1 drop zone.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Credit – Oita Trinita Official (Instagram)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Oita Trinita 2-1 Shonan Bellmare<\/b><\/p>\n

The surprise packages of J1 this season, newly promoted Oita Trinita punched above their weight by staying competitive in the J1\u2019s top half, mostly due to the goalscoring efforts of Noriaki Fujimoto and Ado Onaiwu, with the former earning himself a move to Vissel Kobe that hasn’t gone down well with the Oita faithful. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, with Fujimoto and Onaiwu taking the plaudits, it\u2019s easy to forget that the players that had served the Turtles during their darkest days in the 2016 J3 League are still playing and fighting for the badge to this day, two of which shone as Shonan Bellmare paid a visit to the Showa Denko Dome. Continuity was the key behind Oita\u2019s rapid rise underneath manager Tomohiro Katanosaka, and players such as Kohei Isa, Kazushi Mitsuhira, Yusuke Goto and Rei Matsumoto to name a few are the key beneficiaries. <\/span><\/p>\n

Fujimoto\u2019s sale and a long-term injury to Thitiphan Puangchan enabled Isa and Mitsuhira to regain their positions in the starting lineup, and they paid their manager\u2019s trust in them by delivering Oita\u2019s first win in six J1 matches. The duo rolled back the clock to their rampant J2 playing days as they combined to disrupt Shonan\u2019s defense in the first half, with Isa assisting Mitsuhira for the opener in the 42<\/span>nd<\/span> minute before scoring himself moments before the referee blew for half-time. Shonan gave the home faithful a scare after Ryunosuke Noda scored in the 82<\/span>nd<\/span> minute, but Oita held on for the three points. Their unlikely ACL hopes may be slim, but Oita Trinita are here to stay.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Kawasaki Frontale 2-0 Jubilo Iwata<\/b><\/p>\n

Defending J1 champions Kawasaki Frontale welcomed basement dwellers Jubilo Iwata to the Todoroki for match week 26, with Shizuoka\u2019s sky-blue side struggling immensely in the J1 this season and are desperate for a win to boost their slim survival chances. However, Kawasaki\u2019s very own sky-blue team blew a huge hole into Iwata\u2019s survival chances by running out 2-0 winners, with first half goals from Yasuto Wakizaka and Kazuya Yamamura more than enough to earn Kawasaki three important points in their bid for a top 3 finish with their chances of defending their title being quite slim. As for Iwata, they remained bottom of the J1 with 18 points, with manager Fernando Jubero, appointed last month as Iwata\u2019s 3<\/span>rd<\/span> manager of the season, urging his team to keep on fighting.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Yokohama F. Marinos 3-0 Sanfrecce Hiroshima<\/b><\/p>\n

Third-placed Yokohama F. Marinos welcomed Fourth-placed<\/span> Sanfrecce Hiroshima for an intriguing top-of-the-table clash at the Nissan Stadium. While most observers are looking at a closely-contested match between two sides who are vying for ACL qualification and perhaps the title, Yokohama absolutely blew Sanfrecce out of the water with three goals with no replies that cemented their position in the top three and pretty much ended Sanfrecce\u2019s slim title bid. After a goalless first half, the 67<\/span>th<\/span> minute saw Teruhito Nakagawa etching his name into Yokohama folklore as the man who scored their 1,400<\/span>th<\/span> J-League goal, the third J-League team to reach this milestone since the league\u2019s inception in 1993. Thai international Theerathon Bunmathan scored Yokohama\u2019s second in the 81<\/span>st<\/span> minute, before Erik Lima\u2019s penalty three minutes later sealed the win for Ange Postecoglou\u2019s men. While Yokohama\u2019s three goals came late into the game, the Tricolore\u2019s dominance within the match was shown by their 19 shots to Sanfrecce\u2019s 8 as well as having the fair share of possession. This defeat, coupled with Kawasaki\u2019s win over bottom-placed Jubilo Iwata, meant that Sanfrecce are now down to 5<\/span>th<\/span>, five points off Yokohama on 3<\/span>rd<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Vissel Kobe 2-1 Matsumoto Yamaga<\/b><\/p>\n

A lot of pre-season fanfare involved Vissel Kobe\u2019s attempt in building their own <\/span>Galacticos<\/span><\/i> squad thanks to the financial backing of their sponsors Rakuten. Having already had former Arsenal man Lukas Podolski and former Barcelona maestro Andres Iniesta within their ranks, Vissel added former Valencia, Barcelona, and New York City man David Villa and former La Masia graduate Sergei Samper into their squad in the off-season, before adding former Arsenal and Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen in the mid-season transfer window. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, inconsistencies in form, managerial changes, and also disharmony behind-the-scenes meant that a side that was molded to become a dominant force in Japan and Asia ended up battling relegation in the first half of the season, before German manager Thorsten Fink somewhat steadied the ship even though they\u2019re not out of the woods yet. <\/span><\/p>\n

The first half of the league saw Vissel losing to newly promoted Matsumoto Yamaga 2-1 at Nagano Prefecture as one of Vissel\u2019s more embarrassing results of this season, however when the two met again on match week 26 at Vissel\u2019s Misaki Park Stadium, the hosts are steadily improving with three wins, one draw and one defeat in their last five matches even though they remain 14<\/span>th<\/span> in the table, while Matsumoto are in a freefall with one win in their last 5 matches, leaving them second from bottom<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

David Villa and Keijiro Ogawa scored for Vissel as Serginho pulled one back for Matsumoto, and Vissel suddenly found themselves 9<\/span>th<\/span> with 32 points, 7 points off Oita Trinita on 8<\/span>th<\/span>. If Vissel keep this consistency in the next few matches, they could create a gap between themselves and the relegation battlers, while at the same time cementing a mid-table finish and perhaps challenging the top half of the table. For Vissel, the dream of dominating J1 may have been postponed for another year, but they can hope to try it again next year. For Matsumoto, their most recent defeat meant that they\u2019re still second from bottom with 24 points, 3 points off the play-off zone. If manager Yasuharu Sorimachi couldn\u2019t turn things around in time, Matsumoto\u2019s stint in the J1 might be limited to just a cameo appearance.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Credit – Kashima Antlers Official (Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gamba Osaka 1-0 Sagan Tosu<\/b><\/p>\n

While Vissel\u2019s situation is quite sad and disappointing, it pales in comparison to what\u2019s happening at Sagan Tosu. A consistent flag-bearer for Kyushu in the J1 since their promotion in 2012, Sagan went from consistently challenging for a top-half finish or finishing solidly mid-table to relegation battlers in both last season and this season. Sagan\u2019s squad this season bore a number of notable names, such as Victor Ibarbo, the former Cagliari man who was a stable for FIFA Ultimate Team players during his heydays, now out on loan in J2 side V-Varen Nagasaki. <\/span><\/p>\n

Mu Kanazaki, a key player for Nagoya Grampus and Kashima Antlers during his heydays is also part of the squad, so is Yohei Toyoda, who isn\u2019t aging well but was Sagan\u2019s talisman during their early J1 days, as well as Isaac Cuenca, a former Barcelona and Ajax player. Fernando Torres ended his career with Sagan Tosu, and his final match, supposedly a farewell to his long and decorated career in a match against Andres Iniesta\u2019s Vissel Kobe, ended in a 6-1 demolition. <\/span><\/p>\n

Financial problems and the inability of players to adapt to the tactics of previous manager Lluis Carreras\u2019 tactics were blamed for Sagan\u2019s plight this season, and current manager Kim Myung-hwi, despite somewhat steadying the ship, is still battling to prevent his team from falling into the relegation trapdoor. <\/span><\/p>\n

Match week 26 saw Sagan take on fallen giants Gamba Osaka in a relegation six-pointer at the Panasonic Stadium Suita and with the high stakes at hand, both teams knew that a win would help their poor season dearly. Prior to the match, Gamba are just one point above Sagan in the relegation play-off zone, and both Sagan\u2019s Myung-hwi and Gamba manager Tsuneyasu Miyamoto played their best squads with victory clearly in their minds. The match played out as a close encounter, as expected from a match between two teams desperate for points. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, Gamba came out on top thanks to substitute Kazuma Watanabe, who scored a sublime header to ensure the three points for the blue side of Osaka. Sagan\u2019s woes continue as they were condemned to the relegation play-off spot, five points adrift from safety, while Gamba are now 12<\/span>th<\/span> as part of that tight traffic going in and out of the J1 relegation zone.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Kashima Antlers 2-0 FC Tokyo<\/b><\/p>\n

FC Tokyo have dominated the 2019 J1 season so far, leading the table in 20 out of 25 match weeks. While any result against 2<\/span>nd<\/span> placed Kashima Antlers in a clash between titans won\u2019t affect FC Tokyo\u2019s position in the standings, they knew that anything less than a win would hamper the capital side\u2019s charge for their maiden league title. <\/span><\/p>\n

Kenta Hasegawa, a certified title winner with Gamba Osaka in 2014, looks set to add more to his accolades this season with his exciting FC Tokyo side, which bore the goals of Diego Oliveira and had Takefusa Kubo \u201cgraduating\u201d to the glitz and glamour of the Spanish La Liga in the process. However, looking to make the title race a more exciting affair is Kashima Antlers, the current Champions of Asia and currently breathing down FC Tokyo\u2019s neck. <\/span><\/p>\n

Manager Go Oiwa retained the bulk of the squad that finished 3<\/span>rd<\/span> and won the ACL last season with Gen Shoji leaving for Toulouse and Yuma Suzuki leaving for Sint-Truiden the only notable exits, creating the closest challenger to FC Tokyo\u2019s exciting upstarts. Thus, their matchup in match week 26 was an exciting one that could decide the season\u2019s title. <\/span><\/p>\n

FC Tokyo had trounced Kashima 3-1 at the Ajinomoto the last time they met in the league, and Kashima were eager to settle the score at home. And they did just that \u2013 Bueno and Leo Silva were the scorers as Kashima ran out 2-0 winners over a bewildered FC Tokyo, who saw their chance of running away with the title go up in smoke. FC Tokyo may still lead the league, but Kashima\u2019s win meant that the title race is well and truly back on. The next eight matches will be vital for these two, as any slip-up can lead to their rival getting the advantage. FC Tokyo may now hold the upper-hand standings-wise, but they know that they\u2019re no longer safe with Kashima only a point behind them.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Krishna Sadhana Football Tribe Asia   With 8 games to go until the end of the J1 season, both the title race and the race to avoid relegation heats up as rivals gained and lost vital points at such an important part of the season. Here\u2019s a quick recap of the events in the 26th match week of J1!   Urawa Reds 1-2 Cerezo Osaka Champions of Asia as recently as 2017, Urawa Red Diamonds are having a torrid season. Despite advancing to the quarterfinals of the AFC Champions League, continental commitments had clearly taken a toll on the squad as the red side of Saitama currently sit 15th in … Continue reading “It\u2019s Getting Tight as J-League Enters Final Stretch”<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":20069,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[418,127,57,147,1833,95,1766],"class_list":["post-20064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japan","tag-fc-tokyo","tag-j-league","tag-japan","tag-kashima-antlers","tag-oita-trinita","tag-slider","tag-urawa-red-diamonds"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20064"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20076,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20064\/revisions\/20076"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}