Kashiwa Reysol 3-1 Consadole Sapporo
Goals from Otani and Kudo put the home team in the driving seat by half time. Otani then hit a post – with Leandro Domingues missing an open goal with the follow-up – before Junya Tanaka scored the 3rd goal for Reysol, coming off the bench, to seal the points, after Consadole had threatened a comeback with an 81st minute goal from Sakaki.

Cerezo Osaka 0-2 Nagoya Grampus
Goals from a Taguchi free kick – the ball going through everyone after Tulio elbowed Takahashi in the back of the head to put the defender off – and Kennedy, stretching at the far post to poke home a speculative low cross, sealed the points for Nagoya, after the game was delayed by over an hour because of lightning storms!

Shimizu S-Pulse 1-1 FC Tokyo
Ishikawa hit the bar for Tokyo in the 21st minute, while Kim came close in the 32nd minute for S-Pulse before Genki Omae robbed Yoneyama about 35 yards out, turned, took a touch and unleashed a long drive that took a deflection on the way in, 1-0 S-Pulse at half time. FC Tokyo equalised just before the hour through Vucicevic, who worked a short corner before blasting home through a forest of legs.

Omiya Ardija 1-0 Sagan Tosu
The vital winning goal came from a Kikuchi header, and the same player hit the post late in the game. The win allowed Ardija to pull out of the bottom three on the following result …

Kawasaki Frontale 2-2 Kashima Antlers
The away team took a two goal lead through a Koroki shot in the 6th minute and a penalty kick by the same player on 16 minutes – his first goals for 11 games! But just when it looked like Kashima would walk away with the game, Saneto pulled a goal back for Frontale and the home team grabbed a point on a long shot from Oshima, that keeper Sogohata completely fumbled. Juninho missed a late open goal and the chance to give Antlers three points against his old team!

Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-1 Vegalta Sendai
In the battle of the top two teams, Sanfrecce came out on top with 2nd half goals the order of the day. Koji Morisaki will be credited for the first Sanfrecce goal, in the 48th minute, but it did take a huge deflection. Sendai equalised through a diving header from Akamine in the 70th minute. Just as Vegalta thought they had a point in the bag,Takahagi latched onto a palm out by the keeper and blasted home from close range, just! His volley hit into the ground and just kept under the bar when it could easily have bounced over! His goal takes Sanfrecce back to the top of J1.

Yokohama F.Marinos 1-2 Urawa Reds
Reds came from behind to take all three points after a Marquinos header, from a Yuji Ono cross has given the home team the lead in the 5th minute. Reds came back through goals from Kashiwagi – a beautiful delicate chip over the keeper after being played through by Makino – and Makino himself, who got the winner in the 64th minute, following up a Haraguchi blast that was only palmed out by Iikura in the Marinos goal.

… and our two featured games this week :

Vissel Kobe 1-2 Jubilo Iwata

With Japan international centre back Inoha suspended, Vissel coach Nishino called upon Lee as his replacement alongside Kitamoto in the back line. Yoshida and Hayashi were also out through injury.

There was a bright start for Vissel, with Kitamoto, Okubo amd Ogawa all getting chances in the opening exchanges, Okubo’s nicely controlled volley in the 23rd minute working the crowd up nicely for the opening goal of the game moments later. A Tashiro header from a Tanaka’s cross beat the keeper but was going wide, but Ogawa steamed in and popped the ball into the open goal!

Vissel were put up against the wall, though, in the 62nd minute when Okui’s challenge for the ball was deemed a yellow card – his second – and Vissel were down to ten men. Why the referee deemed a genuine attempt for the ball, with four other Vissel players in close proximity, a yellow card is anyone’s guess, but, once again, a referee influenced a match result, it would seem.

Maeda hit a post with a follow-up header in the 66th minute, after a fine save from Tokushige, before Yamazaki bundled the ball home at the second attempt. A defender on the far post would have denied the goal with ease – is it just me or does anyone else think defenders on posts is a basic tactic at corners!?

Yamada won it for the away team in the 82nd minute, controlling the cross, shoving Mogi off illegally with his right arm – the referee yards away and with a perfect view – to break the hearts, (and almost, Mogi’s jaw in the process?) of the home fans.

Vissel Kobe – Tokushige, Okui, Kitamoto, Lee (Takagi, 76), Soma, Hashimoto, Tanaka, Nozawa (Mogi, 66), Ogawa, Tashiro (Fernando, 72), Okubo

Gamba Osaka 1-1 Albirex Niigata

Gamba took the lead on the 14th minute, after threatening to do so for a few minutes… an Endo free kick hit the wall, but the ball fell back to the no.7, who slipped it to Leandro on the left. The striker turned inside and curled the ball home at the far post.

The Brazilian striker broke free again in the 30th minute, but his final set-up touch was blocked before he could finish and the game went in 1-0 at half time, with Iwashita having headed home but the whistle having gone for a foul! Albirex registered not a single goal attempt in the opening session – that was about to change!

In the 1st minute after the break Mikado advanced on to a Bruno Lopes pass, forcing a fine save from Fujigaya. The follow-up was acrobatically put just wide by Michel. The same player zinged a grass-cutter past the post minutes later, then headed a chance right at the legs of the Gamba keeper.

Just as the fans thought that Gamba had weathered the storm, Michel advanced into the area in the final minute of normal time, and was upended by Iwashita. Bruno Lopes drove the penalty kick home and earned Albirex a point.

Gamba Osaka – Fujigaya, Iwashita, Konno, Niwa, Fujiharu, Myojin, Endo, Futagawa (Yokotani, 65), Kurata (Takei,74) , Sato, Leandro