For unbeaten Sendai, Akamine was out with a muscle strain so in came veteran Yanagisawa to partner Wilson upfront. The talking point came in the 6th minute when a cleared free kick fell to Naoki Ishikawa who deftly half-volleyed the ball home only to see the goal disallowed for an offside flag. The problem was that Daisuke Suzuki was blocking the keeper’s view – good to see the officials get the difficult and unusual decision correct.
It was Suzuki involved in the key decision of the game, and another talking point as, with minutes to go, the defender shoved Wilson in the back and a PK was awarded which the Brazilian duly converted to keep Vegalta well clear at the top of J1.
Albirex coach Kurosaki said the ref was “subarashii”, fantastic! Sarcasm in Japan, whatever next?!