Tokyo pull clear, Tosu take advantage of Sapporo hiccup, JEF lost again. Could well come down to goal difference, which is why I have included Tokyo Verdy in the frame, still! And Sapporo could well suffer from that goal difference in the end.1 F.C.Tokyo 63 +392 Sagan Tosu 56 +293 Consadole Sapporo 53 +104 Tokushima Vortis 52 +135 JEF United Chiba 50 +96 Tochigi SC 46 +67 Tokyo Verdy 45 +21

FC Tokyo grab all three points on priceless Ishikawa goal in 95th minute!Verdy down Tokushima and Tochigi win away at Kumamoto – both winners trying to stay in the frame for promotion.JEF lose again, dropping out of that frame!Kusatsu down Gifu – no surprise there!Kyoto put four past Sapporo without reply – surprise there!Roasso Kumamoto 0-1 Tochigi SCGiravanz Kitakyushu 0-0 Shonan BellmareTokyo Verdy 1-0 Tokushima VortisOita Trinita 2-1 Ehime FCThespa Kusatsu 4-2 FC GifuKyoto Sanga F.C. 4-0 Consadole SapporoKataller Toyama 0-3 Sagan TosuFagiano Okayama 2-1 Gainare TottoriMito Hollyhock 1-0 JEF United ChibaYokohama FC 0-1 F.C.Tokyo

1 F.C.Tokyo 60 +382 Sagan Tosu 53 +263 Consadole Sapporo 53 +144 Tokushima Vortis 52 +145 JEF United Chiba 50 +106 Tochigi SC 43 +57 Giravanz Kitakyushu 43 -58 Tokyo Verdy 42 +20

1 Kashiwa Reysol 59 +142 Gamba Osaka 57 +183 Nagoya Grampus 56 +234 Yokohama F.Marinos 52 +105 Vegalta Sendai 50 +13… and at the bottom ….13 Albirex Niigata 35 -214 Omiya Ardija 35 -1015 Ventforet Kofu 30 -1716 Urawa Reds 29 -417 Montedio Yamagata 21 -2418 Avispa Fukuoka 18 -37

Tochigi finally concede a J1 place with a 3-0 home defeat?Gifu pull in a rare 3 points! Tottori and Oita stalemate.FC Tokyo stay top, 7 points clear of 2nd place and almost in J1!Vortis down Kyoto to stay a point behind 2nd place.Tosu down Sapporo to pull level with the Hokkaido team, and a huge goal difference might help in the final rankings!Verdy settle for a draw and are almost certainly out of the promotion race.JEF lose at home and drop away from the top three.Kitakyushu grab another away win but probably not enough – this season!Tochigi SC 0-3 Shonan BellmareFC Gifu 4-3 Yokohama FCGainare Tottori 0-0 Oita TrinitaF.C.Tokyo 3-0 Fagiano OkayamaKyoto Sanga F.C. 1-2 Tokushima VortisConsadole Sapporo 0-1 Sagan TosuMito Hollyhock 1-1 Tokyo VerdyJEF United Chiba 2-3 Thespa KusatsuEhime FC 1-1 Roasso KumamotoKataller Toyama 1-2 Giravanz Kitakyushu

Nagoya take out Gamba (in more ways that one, racking up the yellows), while Reysol take the top spot on a dubious PK!Rafael scores one of the most important goals in the history of Omiya, sending Reds into the bottom 3 and taking Omiya clear of the drop zone.Vissel’s Morioka scores his 1st J.league goal and grabs the draw for Vissel against S-Pulse.Kofu (with 194cm Havenaar Mike getting two goals) destroy Cerezo, boost their goal difference and pull out of the bottom 3.Antlers stay close to the top 3 but not close enough for an ACL place.Marinos try to stay in touch with the top 3 but fail to win against Sanfrecce.Sendai keep winning – still hoping for top four and a top three team to win the Emperor’s Cup, allowing Vegalta into the ACL!!?Niigata rack up three points at Kawasaki and pull clear of relegation.The top is still anybody’s guess – just as the J.league will like it going into the final games, while the final relegation place (joining Avispa and Montedio) now looks to be between in-form Kofu and slumping Reds!Cerezo Osaka 0-4 Ventforet KofuJubilo Iwata 1-2 Kashima AntlersYokohama F.Marinos 1-1 Sanfrecce HiroshimaVissel Kobe 1-1 Shimizu S-PulseAvispa Fukuoka 0-3 Vegalta SendaiNagoya Grampus 4-1 Gamba OsakaUrawa Reds 0-1 Omiya ArdijaKashiwa Reysol 1-0 Montedio YamagataKawasaki Frontale 1-2 Albirex Niigata

All to be played on Nov.16thF.Marinos 13 : 00 Tochigi Nagoya Grampus 19 : 00 Giravanz KitakyushuKashiwa Reysol 19 : 00 Ventforet KofuAlbirex Niigata 19 : 00 Matsumoto YamagaKashima Antlers 19 : 00 Kataller ToyamaMontedio Yamagata 19 : 00 Kyoto SangaKawasaki Frontale 19 : 00 Oita TrinitaFukuoka University 19 : 00 Shonan Bellmare Gamba Osaka 19 : 00 Mito Hollyhock FC Tokyo 19 : 00 Vissel Kobe Sanfrecce Hiro

Oct.8Tochigi 2 – 1 Honda LockConsadole Sapporo 2 – 3 E Mito Hollyhock (After extra time)Thespa Kusatsu 0 – 1 E Fagiano Okayama (After extra time)Kashiwa Reysol 2 – 0 Tochigi UvaMontedio Yamagata 2 – 0 Blaublitz AkitaTokyo 4 – 0 KagoshimaShimizu S-Pulse 2 – 0 Gifu IIShonan Bellmare 2 – 1 Fagiano Okayama IIYokohama 0 – 2 Matsumoto YamagaEhime 2 – 0 RyūkyūVentforet Kofu 2 – 1 Machida ZelviaKawasaki Frontale 2 – 1 Arte Takasaki (After extra time)Sanfrecce Hiro

Kashima took out Nagoya 2-1 on an extra time goal from Shibasaki, as substitute Motoyama made his mark within a minute of coming on with a super defence-splitting pass.Urawa Reds knocked out an off-form Gamba Osaka on a poke-in from Umesaki and goal credited to Esdudero, who deflected in another Umesaki shot with his hand! Gamba sub Otsuka pulled one back in injury time but too little, too late for the J1 leaders.The final takes place on October 29th.

It’s Nagoya Grampus v. Kashima Antlers (Nagoya, 13.00) and Urawa Reds v. Gamba Osaka (Saitama, 17.00) today in the J.League Cup semi-finals. After the excitement and goals of the quarter-finals fans should be in for another treat today, before Japan take on Tajikistan in Nagai on Tuesday night.In Japan both are on TV on two different FujiTV channels on the SkyPerfecTV service.