The destination of the J.League title looked like a foregone conclusion during the month of September after Urawa Reds put together an incredible run of form to lose only two matches from April to September. Just when it seemed that they would comfortably seal the title with weeks remaining, Reds have been stuttering in the title race. Their main title contenders, Gamba Osaka, have a midweek Emperor’s Cup match against Shimizu S-Pulse, but they are expected to put up a huge fight in the remainder of the league season. Betfair places Gamba Osaka at 4/7 to win against Shimizu in the Cup clash tonight.

Just one win in the last four matches meant that Reds came into last weekend’s top of the table clash against Gamba Osaka will less than stellar confidence and a 2-0 win for Gamba Osaka has now thrown the league title race wide open with two match days remaining. The prospect of an astonishing collapse for Urawa Reds now looks real due to the difficult end to their campaign.

Gamba Osaka are up against Vissel Kobe and Tokushima Vortis in the remaining two matches. The former does not have much to play for due to their mid-table position, while Tokushima are rooted to the foot of the table.
Gamba Osaka have not won the league title since 2005 and the first half did not give them a lot of confidence. Reds could have gone ahead just before half-time after Daiki Niwa came close to putting the ball into his own net before it was acrobatically saved by goalkeeper Masaaki Higashiguchi.

Reds coach Mihailo Petrovic will be extremely unhappy about the defeat considering that his team have been in imperious form in front of their own supporters this season. This was their first defeat at home since March.

At the coming weekend, Urawa Reds have to deal with a difficult away match against Sagan Tosu, who are still mathematically in with a chance of the title. Ironically, Sagan inflicted Reds’ previous home defeat and they have not lost against this opposition since 2012. Even if their title hopes are slim, a top three finish and a chance to play in the AFC Champions is a very real possibility for the Kyushu team. Urawa Reds complete the campaign with a home match against mid-table Nagoya Grampus, but given the nervousness that they showed against Gamba Osaka, this match is unlikely to be a certain three-pointer.

Momentum plays a huge role in league title races and the J.League is no different in this aspect. Gamba Osaka clearly have the momentum on their side, as they have dropped just five points since the start of September. This is an astonishing run in any league and it is not surprising to see them just two points off the top.

Despite this incredible run, there was always the danger of Gamba Osaka running out of matches. Akihiro Sato put those fears to bed after scoring against Reds with just two minutes of normal time remaining. While for long periods of the match there was nothing to separate the two teams, and both created a similar number of opportunities, Sato’s late goal seemed to take the wind out of Reds’ sail. Their efforts to get the much-needed equaliser resulted in Shu Kurata confirming three points with an injury time goal to make the final score 2-0 to the away team.

Urawa now have a full week to prepare for their high profile clash against Sagan Tosu whereas Gamba will concentrate on reaching the final of the 2014 Emperor’s Cup before looking ahead to their weekend league meeting with Vissel Kobe. They also have only two days of preparation for this match, but Gamba manager Kenta Hasegawa will have every reason to believe that the club’s momentum will carry them through these tough matches.

Shimizu S-Pulse are the opponents – and the underdogs – against Gamba with Betfair placing them at 19/5 for a victory. The winners will be playing at the Nissan Stadium against Montedio Yamagata or JEF United.
Gamba coach Hasegawa may feel the pressure, but having led the team to Nabisco Cup success recently and with an Emperor’s Cup semi-final place in the bag, he can afford to let the team ride on the momentum. After all, the Japanese league title is technically still Urawa Reds’ to lose!

http://int.soccerway.com/national/japan/emperor-cup/2014/s9143/final-stages/