by Kester Wiseman

With 90 minutes on the clock, the pre-match talk of automatic promotion had all but disappeared and JEF United fans were being reminded just why their team has toiled in J2 for more than half a decade.  Instead you could be forgiven for thinking it was the visitors who had been tipped as promotion candidates, as Tokushima were comfortably defending the 1-0 lead given to them by Daisuke Tomita just before the hour mark.

JEF fans were happy to see the back of 2015 and a season that had always looked likely to end in disappointment. Chiba has some of the best fans in Japan, and they had been buoyed by a pre-season that saw them beat three J1 teams in the space of 12 days.

Having ended last season on a run of six consecutive away defeats, JEF United know their home form will be crucial if they’re going to end their six-year stay in Japan’s second tier. However with nine of the starting 11 playing their first competitive games for the team (Tomisawa and Ide the only survivors of the winter turnover in the starting XI), it was always likely to be a slow start to the first half.

Brazilian striker Elton did show promise with his off the ball movement but was guilty on more than one occasion of wanting too much time on the ball. Similarly, Naoya Kondo looked like a player feeling his way back into first team football after starting just three league games for Kashiwa in 2015.

After an uneventful first half Vortis pushed the tempo at the start of the second, and were rewarded with a rare goal from veteran centre back Daisuke Tomita. A corner from the left looked harmless at first but nobody took command for JEF and when the ball fell near the penalty it was the 38-year-old who reacted the fastest to hook the ball home.

The home side’s response was far from immediate and they almost found themselves further behind when a hopeful clearance found Osaki through on goal, only for the winger to fluff his lines and roll a tame shot into the arms of Sato in the JEF goal. The introduction of Nagasawa did inject some urgency into JEF’s attacks, but when Elton directed an unmarked header right into the keeper’s arms it felt like one of those days for the team in yellow and green.

The pre-game festivities seemed a lifetime ago as the 4th official raised his board to signal four minutes of additional time. Everyone who addressed the crowd before kick-off had made a point of emphasising the words “we” and “together”, and that clearly wasn’t lost on the 13,000 in the stands who stayed when even a draw seemed out of their side’s reach.

Even those standing behind the goal with a sign reading “Romantics 2016″ couldn’t have predicted the fairy tale finish that was to come. Most of the crowd were still celebrating a hard earned point when a bout of penalty box pinball ended with Nagasawa firing in the winner.

For all the joy that greeted the full time whistle moments later, when all is said and done, JEF United will be hoping that this game will be remembered as nothing more than the first rung on the ladder back to J1 and top flight football.

Scorers:

Vortis – Tomita 58
JEF – Yoshida 90 +3 , Nagasawa 90 +6

Only players from Omiya, JEF, Verdy and Yokohama FC considered! It’s a 4-2-3-1 line-up!

GK: Kato (OMI)

DF: Watabe (OMI), Ibayashi (VER), Komoto (OMI), Kazuki Anzai (VER)

DMF: Misao (VER), Paulinho (JEF)

AMF: Sugimoto (VER), Ienaga (OMI), Izumisawa (OMI)

FW: Pecnik (JEF)

Overall player of the season – IZUMISAWA

Kyoto Sanga v Mito HollyHock

Yokohama FC v Thespakusatsu Gunma

Giravanz Kitakyushu v V-Varen Nagasaki

Consadole Sapporo v Tochigi SC

Cerezo Osaka v Tokyo Verdy

Oita Trinita v Jubilo Iwata

JEF UNited Chiba v Kamatamare Sanuki

Zweigen Kanazawa v Omiya Ardija

Ehime FC v Tokushima Vortis

Roasso Kumamoto v Fagiano Okayama

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天皇杯 準々決勝組み合わせ ガンバ v アルディージャ / セレッソ v ジェフ/ グランパス v エスパルス モンテディオ v ギラヴァンツ