Sanfrecce Hiroshima moved two points clear at the top of J1 on Wednesday night with a comfortable 3-0 victory over already relegated Consadole Sapporo while Vegalta Sendai only drew 1-1 with Cerezo Osaka at the Yurtec Stadium.

Visiting Consadole rarely threatened Sanfrecce, and it was not long before the league leaders took the lead in a predictably one-sided affair. A reckless challenge by 19 year-old defender Kazuki Kishibiki on Hisato Sato yielded Sanfrecce a penalty, which was duly converted by Koji Morisaki on the 17th minute. Hisato Sato added a second on 31 minutes after firing home a spectacular 50 yard through ball from Toshihiro Aoyama to bring his personal tally for the season to a highly impressive 21 goals this campaign. The home side wrapped up an easy three points with a Hiroki Mizumoto header late in the second half to give themselves a two point cushion at the top of the table with a total of 58 points.

Vegalta Sendai found themselves frustrated by a stunning display of goalkeeping by Cerezo Osaka’s Kim Jin-Hyeon, who pulled off a string of top class saves to keep their encounter scoreless at half-time. Having survived the first-half onslaught, Cerezo went into the lead with a goal from Yoichiro Kakitani in the 55th minute. With Sendai on the brink of their first home defeat in the league in six months, things took a late twist when former Japan striker Ryuji Bando received his marching orders from referee Kenji Ogiya in the 88th minute after picking up a second yellow for time-wasting. Shortly after, a Ryang Yong-Gi corner allowed defender Naoki Sugai to nod Sendai level to set up a finale to the spectacle, with Sendai almost clinching the win in added time with an effort from their Brazilian striker Wilson hitting the inside of the post. The 1-1 draw leaves Vegalta on 56 points in second place. Their remaining three games see them face Kashima Antlers away, before hosting relegation battling Albirex Niigata and then traveling to play FC Tokyo on the final day of the season. Meanwhile, leaders Sanfrecce will travel to play Urawa Reds next, before a home tie against in-form Cerezo Osaka and an away trip to face a Vissel Kobe side that may have to win to remain in the division.

Urawa Reds continued their mysterious collapse in form with a 4-2 away loss at the hands of Kawasaki Frontale at the Todoroki Stadium. Reds opened the scoring in the 19th minute after Yosuke Kashiwagi’s tame shot dribbled its way past unsighted ‘keeper Yohei Nishibe’s near post, but swiftly found themselves back on level terms after a long-range Renato free-kick was deflected into the net just three minutes later. Renato again struck on the 28th minute, bending a free-kick around the wall and past ‘keeper Nobuhiro Kato to make it 2-1 to Frontale before completing his hat-trick in the 34th minute when a Kengo Nakamura pass found him unmarked in the box. Reds captain Tomoaki Makino netted shortly before the hour mark to bring the game back to 3-2, but a failed clearance from Keita Suzuki allowed Koji Yamase to put the game beyond reach with a powerful drive past Kato to complete the scoring. eds have now lost four of their last six league outings, leaving them nine points behind top-of-the-table Sanfrecce on a total of 49 in third place, meaning that their championship hopes are effectively over.

Nagoya Grampus climbed into fourth place with a 1-0 victory over FC Tokyo. Marcus Tulio Tanaka was yet again the hero for Grampus as he tapped in his 11th goal of the season in all competitions after capitalizing on some poor marking from FC Tokyo’s Masato Morishige. Grampus are now level with Urawa Reds on 49. The pair meet on the final day of the season in what could be a huge game in terms of deciding ACL qualification.

Beaten Nabisco Cup finalists Shimizu S-Pulse are fifth in the table on 48 points after they slumped to a 1-0 loss at home to Albirex Niigata. Naoki Ishikawa headed home an Alan Mineiro corner on the 59th minute to provide the visitors with a huge three points as they battle to avoid the drop. Albirex are currently in 17th position with 34 points.

Fellow relegation zone residents Gamba Osaka are also on 34 points in 16th place after a thrilling 2-2 draw with Kashiwa Reysol. Reysol got off to a great start with Masato Kudo heading the home side into the lead in the 12th minute before slack defending from Tatsuya Masushima and Daisuke Nasu allowed Leandro to sprint past them and fire home a long-range through ball from Takuya Takei to make it 1-1 on the 35th minute. With the match heading toward half-time, Kudo again fired Reysol in front with a spectacular volley after finding himself unmarked in the box. The second-half saw a nasty collision between Japan star Yasuhito Endo and Reysol ‘keeper Takanori Sugeno, which left the midfield ace requiring post-match stitches to his chin (although it is understood that he is still considered available for the upcoming international match against Oman next week). In the final minute of the match Gamba found a potentially vital point after Leandro was allowed to latch on to a simple pass from Yasuyuki Konno and dance his way through the Reysol defense with ease before putting the ball past ‘keeper Sugeno. The prolific Brazilian has now netted an astonishing 13 times in 12 games since returning to Gamba on loan in the summer. For Reysol, the point represents a missed opportunity to close the gap on their ACL qualification chasing rivals. They are currently three points off third place, in eighth on a total of 46.

Omiya Ardija managed to scrape a 0-0 draw at the NACK5 Stadium in their encounter with Kashima Antlers to move above Vissel Kobe in the table and up to 14th in the table on 37 points. Vissel slumped to yet another defeat under manager Akira Nishino after a 2-1 home loss to Yokohama F.Marinos. Marinos defender Seitaro Tomisawa opened the scoring with a long range effort that was deflected into the Vissel goal, with veteran striker Marquinhos doubling the lead in the second-half. Marinos were later reduced to ten men when Tomisawa was ordered off for a second booking, but managed to secure maximum points despite Ken Tokura snatching a late goal for the home outfit. Vissel have now failed to win any of their last ten games in all competitions, and are now just two points above the relegation zone in 15th place, while Marinos are in sixth place with 47 points.

Sagan Tosu survived a late Jubilo Iwata comeback to win 3-2 at the Best Amenity Stadium. A mishit shot from Kim Kun-Hoan took a wild deflection to put the home side a goal up at half-time, with Yohei Toyoda netting a brace after the interval after some woeful defensive play from Jubilo. The forward has now scored an impressive 16 goals this league campaign for a Sagan Tosu side that was widely written off as relegation fodder prior to the start of the season. Jubilo responded with late goals from Hiroki Yamada and Hidetaka Kanazono, but it proved to be too little too late for the Shizuoka side, which has now gone six league games without a win. For Sagan Tosu, the result sees them just two points off third place, in seventh with a total of 47, while Jubilo are tenth on 43 points, one behind ninth placed Tokyo and just ahead of Frontale on goal difference.

Find the original, then explore JapanFooty at: http://www.japanfooty.com/apps/blog/show/19830677-consadodo-win-puts-sanfrecce-2-points-clear