Excellent to hear from you, Oitim, and thanks very much for the Kanto League coverage. I had noticed the extraordinary state of affairs in Division 2 and was intending to give it a mention in a wider round-up - I'm offering Regional League results via twitter.com/rljpn, by the way - but it's obviously better to have a hands-on description. re: Kohei Tokita, yes, he's gone on loan to Trinita but I doubt he'll return to Omiya. I'd say that he's not up to J1 standard but can do a decent job in J2. He's a right-sided midfield player who started to be used as a right back during pre-season. Speedy, although how good he is as an actual defender remains to be seen.

On to this weekend's J-League round-up. The 2010 J1 season reached its mid-way point and the fixture scheduler boffins at J-League HQ could hardly have planned it better, as second played first in the shape of Shimizu S-Pulse against Kashima Antlers at Nihondaira. It was a game of defensive errors and the Antlers made the more significant gaffes to lose 2-1, the decisive goal coming sixteen minutes from time when Takuma Edamura took advantage of confusion in the Kashima back line to chest the ball into the net. Hardly a contender for Goal of the Season, but even so it could turn out to be one of the year's most significant scores.

Another potentially important goal came deep into injury time at FC Tokyo, where Marcus Tulio Tanaka headed the winner to keep going Nagoya Grampus' title challenge. Despite being out-played for much of the game, that victory for the Red Whales sees them overtake Kashima and move into the top two in the standings for the first time all year. There was no such change at the bottom of J1, however, as Kyoto Sanga, Shonan Bellmare and Vegalta Sendai all lost to remain in the relegation places. With all three in terrible form, it's hard in the short term at least to see any of them getting out of trouble.

Credit where it's due at Tokyo Verdy, where even though the club is in a calamitous state off the pitch, Ryoichi Kawakatsu's team are making themselves tough to beat and are climbing the J2 standings as a consequence. On Sunday they became the first side this year to defeat Kashiwa Reysol, in a match that saw Reysol have a man sent off, several Verdy players have a stand-up row amongst themselves which nearly saw fists fly - and one goal, via a towering header from Seitaro Tomisawa. The Green Machine are up to seventh, six points off the promotion places, an extraordinary achievement bearing in mind how precarious their existence is.



Tokyo Verdy players and fans at Kashiwa Reysol

J1 Scores & Standings @ Round 17/34

Cerezo 0-0 Kawasaki
FC Tokyo 0-1 Nagoya
Hiroshima 0-2 Gamba
Kobe 1-0 Urawa
Kyoto 0-2 Niigata
Omiya 3-0 Shonan
S-Pulse 2-1 Kashima
Sendai 0-1 Marinos
Yamagata 1-0 Jubilo

1. S-Pulse 36 (+16)
2. Nagoya 35 (+9)
3. Kashima 34 (+14)
----------------
4. Kawasaki 29 (+3)
- - - - - - - - - -
5. Niigata 28 (+5)
6. Cerezo 27 (+10)
7. Gamba 27 (+8)
8. Hiroshima 26 (-)
9. Marinos 25 (+2)
10. Urawa 23 (+4)
11. Yamagata 21 (-8)
12. FC Tokyo 19 (+1)
13. Kobe 18 (-7)
14. Omiya 17 (-4)
15. Jubilo 17 (-8)
----------------
16. Sendai 14 (-9)
17. Shonan 12 (-17)
18. Kyoto 10 (-18)

J2 Scores & Standings @ Round 21/36

Fukuoka 2-0 Ehime
Gifu 1-1 Kumamoto
Kashiwa 0-1 Verdy
Kusatsu 2-1 Tochigi
Oita 1-0 Toyama
Sapporo 2-0 Kitakyushu
Tokushima 0-1 Kofu
Tosu 1-1 JEF
Yokohama FC 2-0 Okayama

Bye: Mito

1. Kashiwa 45 (+23)
2. Kofu 43 (+16)
3. JEF 36 (+17)
-----------------
4. Fukuoka 33 (+15)
5. Tosu 31 (+2)
6. Kumamoto 31 (-2)
7. Verdy 30 (+5)
8. Tochigi 29 (+6)
9. Tokushima 28 (-2)
10. Yokohama FC 26 (-)
11. Sapporo 26 (-1)
12. Gifu 23 (-11)
13. Ehime 22 (-4)
14. Oita 22 (-6)
15. Mito 21 (-5)
16. Kusatsu 20 (-11)
17. Okayama 19 (-12)
18. Toyama 19 (-15)
19. Kitakyushu 12 (-15)

Last weekend saw a potentially key shift in the J1 title race, as champions Kashima Antlers fell from top spot as a result of their defeat to new leaders Shimizu S-Pulse. Nagoya Grampus moved into second ahead of Kashima to complete the group of three main championship contenders, with only the Antlers being previous J-League winners. This weekend they take on FC Tokyo, who are having a disappointing year but who now have J2 goal king Masashi Oguro on loan from Tokyo Verdy via Yokohama FC, in the hope that he will make the second half of their season a lot better than the first.

S-Pulse are at home to Yokohama F Marinos, the emergence for the Sailors of promising-looking teenager Yuji Ono going some way towards making up for the disappointing Shunsuke Nakamura. It's a red letter weekend for Nakamura's international team-mate Marcus Tulio Tanaka, though, as his current side Nagoya host previous team Urawa Reds, whose coach Volker Finke is feeling the pressure of recent poor results. Down towards the relegation zone, Omiya Ardija play Jubilo Iwata and Vegalta Sendai aim to win their first league match since early April against Gamba Osaka.

There are a couple of big promotion games in J2, as Ventforet Kofu could go top if they're able to beat Avispa Fukuoka; third-placed JEF United can also do themselves a big favour by beating Roasso Kumamoto. Kyushu sides Fukuoka and Kumamoto are among the teams closest to JEF, but so far neither they nor anyone else have been able to close the gap between the top three and the rest. Following on from their shock first defeat of the season by Verdy, leaders Kashiwa Reysol have a reasonable chance to bounce back with an away game at the Shikoku Oranges of Ehime FC.

The J1 leadership changed hands for the third time in as many rounds following the weekend games and it's Nagoya Grampus who now stand top of the table. Dragan Stojkovic's team took advantage of a couple of defensive errors to beat Urawa Reds 3-1, two-goal Keiji Tamada the key man in spite of a stunning shot from Reds' Tomoya Ugajin that had earlier tied the game up at 1-1. Shimizu S-Pulse dropped to second place as a result of their home loss to a Shunsuke Nakamura-inspired Yokohama F Marinos, which rendered my negative remarks about him in this week's preview particularly ill-timed. Buggeration.

A late equaliser from the perhaps unlikely source of international defender Yasuyuki Konno gave FC Tokyo a draw at Kashima Antlers and stopped the Antlers from taking full advantage of S-Pulse's defeat. Most notable of the teams on the more distant fringes of the title race are still Cerezo Osaka, in their first season back in J1 following promotion and coping well with the loss to Borussia Dortmund of star forward Shinji Kagawa. Following their win over Kyoto Sanga the Cherries lie fifth - just ahead of in-form neighbours Gamba Osaka, who also beat relegation-threatened opposition in Vegalta Sendai.

Triumphing 3-0 at Ehime FC, Kashiwa Reysol picked up their first win in five matches to reassert their authority in the J2 promotion race. Ventforet Kofu battled to a draw at home to Avispa Fukuoka and stay second, although JEF United closed the gap on Kofu thanks to a 2-0 win over Roasso Kumamoto. Tokyo Verdy continued their excellent run of results - one defeat in fourteen games now - by beating Consadole Sapporo to move into fifth, while at the foot of the table Giravanz Kitakyushu's excruciating J-League debut season continued with a 4-1 loss to Yokohama FC.



Australian internationals Josh Kennedy of Nagoya and Urawa's Matthew Spiranovic

J1 Scores & Standings @ Round 18/34

Kashima 1-1 FC Tokyo
Kawasaki 2-0 Hiroshima
Kobe 0-0 Shonan
Kyoto 0-1 Cerezo
Nagoya 3-1 Urawa
Omiya 0-0 Jubilo
S-Pulse 1-2 Marinos
Sendai 1-3 Gamba
Yamagata 1-0 Niigata

1. Nagoya 38 (+11)
2. S-Pulse 36 (+15)
3. Kashima 35 (+14)
----------------
4. Kawasaki 32 (+5)
- - - - - - - - - -
5. Cerezo 30 (+11)
6. Gamba 30 (+10)
7. Niigata 28 (+4)
8. Marinos 28 (+3)
9. Hiroshima 26 (-2)
10. Yamagata 24 (-7)
11. Urawa 23 (+2)
12. FC Tokyo 20 (+1)
13. Kobe 19 (-7)
14. Omiya 18 (-4)
15. Jubilo 18 (-8)
----------------
16. Sendai 14 (-11)
17. Shonan 13 (-17)
18. Kyoto 10 (-20)

J2 Scores & Standings @ Round 22/36

Ehime 0-3 Kashiwa
JEF 2-0 Kumamoto
Kitakyushu 1-4 Yokohama FC
Kofu 2-2 Fukuoka
Mito 1-2 Gifu
Okayama 1-2 Tokushima
Tochigi 2-0 Oita
Toyama 1-2 Kusatsu
Verdy 2-1 Sapporo

Bye: Tosu

1. Kashiwa 48 (+26)
2. Kofu 44 (+16)
3. JEF 39 (+19)
-----------------
4. Fukuoka 34 (+15)
5. Verdy 33 (+6)
6. Tochigi 32 (+8)
7. Tosu 31 (+2)
8. Tokushima 31 (-1)
9. Kumamoto 31 (-4)
10. Yokohama FC 29 (+3)
11. Sapporo 26 (-2)
12. Gifu 26 (-10)
13. Kusatsu 23 (-10)
14. Ehime 22 (-7)
15. Oita 22 (-8)
16. Mito 21 (-6)
17. Okayama 19 (-13)
18. Toyama 19 (-16)
19. Kitakyushu 12 (-18)

Following Oitim's recent post on the extraordinary final round of the Kanto League Division 2 season, it's time to take a quick look at how things are going in the nine Regional Leagues that make up the fourth tier of Japan's football pyramid. Aside from Kanto, which has completed its schedule particularly early this year, the other eight such leagues are currently enjoying a mid-season break as most clubs take part in local qualification competitions for national tournaments such as the All-Japan Shakaijin (loosely speaking, the FA Vase) and Japan's equivalent of the FA Cup, known as Tennohai, or the Emperor's Cup.

Let's start as usual up north. With only six teams this year, Hokkaido is the smallest of the Regional Leagues and as expected the top two are Club Fields Norbritz Hokkaido and the 2009 champions, Sapporo University Goal Plunderers. The Goal Plunderers are a couple of points ahead with a couple of games to go, the key round so far coming at the beginning of July, when the aforementioned students' team lost for the only time to date, 1-0 against Sapporo FC, while Norbritz battered Sapporo Winds to the tune of 17-0. The two challengers meet head to head in the middle of next month.

In the northern Honshu region of Tohoku, it's another two-horse race between Fukushima United and Grulla Morioka, both of whom are among the Regional League clubs aiming for the J-League. Fukushima have a three-point advantage at the top of the Division 1 table, as a result of the 2-1 win they pulled off when the teams met at the start of June - a game that was played in front of a crowd of more than 3000 fans. Of the other J-League wannabes, Cobaltore Onagawa are struggling badly following promotion from Division 2 (South), but in Division 2 (North) Vanraure Hachinohe have a chance of going up.



Mad for it at Vanraure Hachinohe

Over in Hokushinetsu, AC Nagano Parceiro were two down after seven minutes of their crucial Division 1 game against the students of Japan Soccer College, but fought back to win 3-2, the deciding goal coming in the third minute of injury time. Parceiro have dropped only a couple of points all season and remain on course to follow local rivals Matsumoto Yamaga Club up into the JFL via the end-of-year play-offs. Division 2 is at the moment topped by the two teams promoted from the prefectural leagues, Artista Tobu and one of the local teachers' sides that pepper the Japanese non-league scene, Fukui KSC.

Covering Greater Tokyo, the already-completed Kanto League has been won for the second year running by Yokohama Sports & Culture Club, who finished ten points clear of Saitama SC. Club Dragons, or the reserve side of JFL outfit Ryutsu Keizai University, are relegated to Division 2, which as Oitim has already indicated finished with only three points dividing seven of the eight teams. The biggest shock is that Honda Luminozo Sayama, Kanto champions as recently as 2005, will next season be playing prefectural league football, as they had the worst goal difference of the four sides to finish on eighteen points.

Japan's version of the MyFC internet football management game, Shizuoka Fujieda MyFC, lead the way in the Tokai League and look likely to be able to hold off the challenge of Maruyasu Industries and relegated former JFLers FC Kariya; handily for the ambitious Fujieda, last year's champions Yazaki Valente are surprisingly struggling below halfway. J-League hopefuls FC Suzuka Rampole from Mie prefecture are performing respectably if not setting the world alight following their promotion from Division 2, which is now led by a team up from the prefectural leagues, the Mighty Greens of FC Gifu Second.



Championship-winning celebrations for YSCC

Following the reversion to fully amateur status of the Banditonce Kakogawa club, the Kansai League covering the area around Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe is now dominated by company team Sanyo Electric Sumoto - eight points clear and seemingly more than capable of retaining their title from last year. Banditonce themselves, who repeatedly failed to move up to the JFL via the play-offs, will keep their Division 1 status at best. There are a couple of sides focused on achieving J-League places, Nara Club doing well in their first season in Division 1 and Tojitsu Shiga FC in with a chance of promotion back up from Division 2.

Among the favourites to get into the JFL this year will be Renofa Yamaguchi, from the far south of Honshu and thus taking part in the Chugoku League. However, Renofa have played more games than many other teams, meaning that the claims of surprise package Volador Matsue and Hiroshima's Sagawa Kyubin Chugoku cannot be dismissed. Volador, straight up from the Shimane Prefectural League, started the season in outstanding form but have been playing less well lately; the title decider could end up being Renofa's meeting with Sagawa Kyubin in the last match of the season in early October.

To finish by taking a look at the two leagues covering the islands at the south-western end of the Japanese archipelago. The Shikoku League is a three-way fight between Kagawa prefecture's hoped-for J-League entrants, the Noodle Boys of Kamatamare Sanuki, and amateur sides associated with Shikoku's two current J-League clubs, Tokushima Vortis Second and Ehime FC Shimanami. All three have dropped points in somewhat unexpected circumstances, such as Kamatamare's home draw with Nangoku Kochi - former top dogs but now no more than mid-table also-rans - and the championship race will go down to the wire.

Previously the strongest of the Regional Leagues, competition in Kyushu has inevitably been reduced by the promotion to the JFL over the last few years of many of the area's top semi-pro clubs. In that context, long-standing Kyushu League participants Volca Kagoshima have ended up being left behind by their rivals - but even this year with the coast apparently clear of strong opposition Volca don't seem able to claim the title. Top at the moment and showing every sign of holding on to their lead are Hoyo Atletico Elan, an ambitious side newly promoted from the Oita Prefectural League; Volca may have to wait yet another year.



The magnificently-coiffured Motoki Mori of Volador Matsue

Hokkaido current standings

1. Sapporo University Goal Plunderers 21
2. Club Fields Norbritz Hokkaido 19
3. Sapporo FC 16
4. Maruseizu FC 10
5. Blackpecker Hakodate 3
6. Sapporo Winds 0

Tohoku Division 1 current standings

1. Fukushima United 31
2. Grulla Morioka 28
3. NEC Tokin 20
4. Akita FC Cambiare 12
5. Morioka Zebra 10
6. FC Primeiro 10
7. Shiogama FC Wiese 6
8. Cobaltore Onagawa 5

Tohoku Division 2 (North) current standings

1. Fuji Club 2003 25
2. Vanraure Hachinohe 24
3. Mizusawa SC 15
4. Tono Club 11
5. Omiya SC 10
6. Reinmeer Aomori 10
7. Nippon Steel Kamaishi 7
8. FC Shiwa 3

Tohoku Division 2 (South) current standings

1. FC Scheinen Fukushima 23
2. Sendai Nakata Club 22
3. Bandits Iwaki 21
4. Merry 17
5. Iwaki Furukawa 12
6. Marysol Matsushima 12
7. Viancone Fukushima 8
8. Soma SC 3

Hokushinetsu Division 1 current standings

1. AC Nagano Parceiro 37
2. Japan Soccer College 34
3. FC Ueda Gentian 18
4. Saurcos Fukui 16
5. Granscena Niigata 14
6. Teihens FC 12
7. Valiente Toyama 11
8. FC Antelope Shiojiri 9

Hokushinetsu Division 2 current standings

1. Artista Tobu 30
2. Fukui KSC 27
3. CUPS Seiro 21
4. Niigata University of Health & Welfare 17
5. Niigata University of Management 17
6. Goals FC 14
7. Maruoka Phoenix 8
8. Ohara School JaSRA 7

Kanto Division 1 final standings

1. YSCC 33
2. Saitama SC 23
3. FC Korea 22
4. Vertfee Takahara Nasu 20
5. Tonan Maebashi 20
6. MSDF Atsugi Marcus 18
7. Club Dragons 17
8. AC Almaleza 9

Kanto Division 2 final standings

1. Toho Titanium 25
2. Kanagawa Teachers 20
3. Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance 20
4. Hitachi Building & System Care 19
5. Aries FC Tokyo 18
6. Sagawa Computer System 18
7. SAI Ichihara 18
8. Honda Luminozo Sayama 18

Tokai Division 1 current standings

1. Shizuoka Fujieda MyFC 29
2. Maruyasu Industries 25
3. FC Kariya 21
4. FC Suzuka Rampole 16
5. Fujieda City Hall 14
6. Yazaki Valente 12
7. Chukyo University 10
8. Hamamatsu University 7
9. Fuyo Club 1

Tokai Division 2 current standings

1. FC Gifu Second 23
2. Toyota FC 17
3. Ise Yamato 16
4. Chukyo University 16
5. Kasugai Club 16
6. Konica Minolta Toyokawa 11
7. KMEW Iga 7
8. Mindhouse Yokkaichi City 1

Kansai Division 1 current standings

1. Sanyo Electric Sumoto 29
2. Ain Food 21
3. Nara Club 20
4. Hannan University 18
5. AS Laranja Kyoto 14
6. Banditonce Kakogawa 13
7. Biwako SC Hira 6
8. Renaiss Health & Medical College 3

Kansai Division 2 current standings

1. Amitie SC Kyoto 26
2. Diablossa Takada 23
3. Tojitsu Shiga FC 23
4. Kwangaku Club 21
5. Kyoto Shiko Club 16
6. Technonet Osaka 8
7. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kobe 5
8. Kobe FC 1970 4

Shikoku current standings

1. Kamatamare Sanuki 29
2. Ehime FC Shimanami 26
3. Tokushima Vortis Second 25
4. Sanyo Electric Tokushima 13
5. Nangoku Kochi 12
6. Kuroshio FC 8
7. R Velho 7
8. Minami Club 1

Chugoku current standings

1. Renofa Yamaguchi 34
2. Volador Matsue 28
3. Sagawa Kyubin Chugoku 24
4. ENEOS Mizushima 22
5. Dezzolla Shimane 22
6. Fagiano Okayama Next 19
7. NTN Okayama 18
8. FC Ube Yahhh-man 13
9. Hitachi Manufacturing Kasado 12
10. JFE Steel Western Japan 0

Kyushu current standings

1. Hoyo Atletico Elan 37
2. Volca Kagoshima 32
3. Nippon Steel Oita 27
4. Kyushu INAX 19
5. Kyushu Sogo Sports College 17
6. Kawasoe Club 14
7. Kaiho Bank 14
8. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki 12
9. MSU 8

Tuesday and Wednesday evenings see the staging of another full round of J1 fixtures, including a number of matches crucial to the top and bottom of the division. Urawa Reds against Vegalta Sendai to an extent falls into the latter category - Vegalta's horrendous recent results have them in the relegation places - but if the Reds don't win such a game, the job of coach Volker Finke must surely be in serious danger. A run of five defeats in the last six matches means that Urawa are now in the bottom half of the table, with pressure from the media and supporters mounting on the former Freiburg manager. Yippee! Sorry.

Anyway, the other big games. Nagoya Grampus are looking at a pretty stern test to their status as new J1 leaders as they go to a Kawasaki Frontale side working to close the gap on the top three. The other frontrunners, Shimizu S-Pulse and Kashima Antlers, also have very tough away matches at Albirex Niigata and Gamba Osaka respectively, which is especially bad news for Kashima as they struggle to regain control of the title race following their downturn in form. Gamba's crosstown rivals Cerezo Osaka, meanwhile, could go fourth if they can beat FC Tokyo and Frontale lose to Nagoya.

At the foot of the standings, the relegation scrap is looking a little bit cut and dried at the moment, given Sendai's current inability to pick up points and the sheer lack of quality on offer at Shonan Bellmare and Kyoto Sanga. Even so, there's still almost half a season to go, and the gap between Vegalta in sixteenth and Jubilo Iwata in the safety of fifteenth is only four points. Shonan and Kyoto play each other in a real must-win game for both - Sanga, by the way, have lost the last six without scoring a single goal - and Jubilo can give themselves some more breathing space by beating the hardly stellar Vissel Kobe.

Great stuff as usual, thanks Furtho.

There may not be that many leagues in the world in which the top two teams in the top division both concede four goals in the same round of matches, but the J-League ain't no ordinary league. For on Tuesday night, Shimizu S-Pulse went down 4-1 at Albirex Niigata and then on Wednesday, new leaders Nagoya Grampus were thumped 4-0 by Kawasaki Frontale. Despite that loss Grampus still hold on to first place because the only other side in a position to overtake them, Kashima Antlers, dropped two crucial points when they conceded an injury-time equaliser at Gamba Osaka.

That crushing win for Kawasaki also served to pull the Kanagawa Blues into the title race and it's noticeable how their results have improved since the return to the line-up of veteran striker Juninho, who missed the first four and a half months of the season through injury. Frontale are still in fourth but are now only three points off the top of the table, while immediately behind them lie arguably the team of the year so far. Cerezo Osaka were promoted from J2 off the back of a strong attack and have maintained their positive approach - but now they're back in the top division, they have the best defensive record to go with it.

Whether the Cherries can keep going their impressive form is one of the key questions for the rest of the campaign. Whether Volker Finke can keep his job as coach of Urawa Reds is another, given that following Reds' draw with relegation-threatened Vegalta Sendai Finke's team find themselves lower in the table than minnows Montedio Yamagata and only one place above their diminutive neighbours Omiya Ardija. Yamagata in turn kept going their fine season by beating Yokohama F Marinos and Omiya continued their climb away from the relegation places with a win at Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Speaking of relegation, neither Kyoto Sanga nor Shonan Bellmare were really helped much in their fight to avoid the drop by sharing a 2-2 draw, although for Sanga it could have been worse given that they nicked that point by scoring in the fifth minute of injury time. They're both looking more than a little bit doomed at the moment, although Vissel Kobe and FC Tokyo are now the teams closest to the danger zone. Tokyo's terrible year continued with a 4-1 defeat at Cerezo that means they drop into the bottom five for the first time, and Kobe were beaten 3-2 by Jubilo Iwata.



What you got to smile about, Kyoto Sanga-supporting lady?

J1 Scores & Standings @ Round 19/34

Cerezo 4-1 FC Tokyo
Gamba 1-1 Kashima
Hiroshima 1-2 Omiya
Jubilo 3-2 Kobe
Kawasaki 4-0 Nagoya
Marinos 0-1 Yamagata
Niigata 4-1 S-Pulse
Shonan 2-2 Kyoto
Urawa 1-1 Sendai

1. Nagoya 38 (+7)
2. Kashima 36 (+14)
3. S-Pulse 36 (+12)
----------------
4. Kawasaki 35 (+9)
- - - - - - - - - -
5. Cerezo 33 (+14)
6. Gamba 31 (+10)
7. Niigata 31 (+7)
8. Marinos 28 (+2)
9. Yamagata 27 (-6)
10. Hiroshima 26 (-3)
11. Urawa 24 (+2)
12. Omiya 21 (-3)
13. Jubilo 21 (-7)
14. FC Tokyo 20 (-2)
15. Kobe 19 (-8)
----------------
16. Sendai 15 (-11)
17. Shonan 14 (-17)
18. Kyoto 11 (-20)

How important can one player be to a team's hopes of winning a championship? Since Kashima Antlers striker Marquinhos went off injured during the first half of the match with Shimizu S-Pulse, his team have picked up two points from a possible nine, conceding the lead in J1 to Nagoya Grampus in the process. The Antlers' fixture this weekend is a game that before the season started they would have expected to win comfortably, but Cerezo Osaka have proved themselves to be difficult opponents and indeed are now trying to pull themselves into the title race, off the back of an excellent run of form.

If the significance of Marquinhos has been demonstrated by his absence from the Kashima team, Hideo Hashimoto has in recent weeks emerged as a key player at resurgent Gamba Osaka. The sometime international - omitted from Takeshi Okada's World Cup squad - has scored in each of the last five games including a late equaliser against the Antlers in midweek. And in the other standout fixture of the weekend, Hashimoto and chums make the short trip to Nagoya, while third-placed S-Pulse have a Shizuoka derby against Jubilo Iwata to contend with. Who knows what the top five could look like come Sunday night.

In contrast, the very top of the J2 table has been adorned all season long by Kashiwa Reysol, but the Chiba Yellows could have their lead reduced to a single point if they lose at home to nearest challengers Ventforet Kofu. The presence of JEF United in third place is mainly down to their home form and as such it's tough to assume that they'll win away at FC Gifu; but if the promotion race is to involve any other teams, JEF's slip-ups have to be exploited by the likes of Avispa Fukuoka and shock challengers Tokyo Verdy, who this week play Roasso Kumamoto and Mito Hollyhock respectively.

It's hard to know where to start as regards a summary of the weekend's results in the J-League championship race, so the fact that all of a sudden Nagoya Grampus are five points clear at the top will have to do to get things going. Bouncing back from a 4-0 defeat at Kawasaki Frontale in midweek, Grampus beat Gamba Osaka 3-1 in a could've-gone-either-way encounter on Sunday evening, which wasn't sealed until Josh Kennedy scored the third for the Red Whales with twenty minutes left. Everywhere else, however, their rivals for the title were succumbing to defeat.

Shimizu S-Pulse, for example, continued their current poor form with a 2-1 loss in the Shizuoka derby against Jubilo Iwata, but Kashima Antlers played in a manner that made it look as if they'd read the previous post in this thread and thought they'd help me out by demonstrating the veracity of my point about injured striker Marquinhos. For the Antlers missed a bucketload of chances - hello Shinzo Koroki, in particular - and then allowed Cerezo Osaka starlet Takashi Inui to lash in a shot at the near post and win the game for the Cherries, who remarkably now stand second in the table.

And the top-of-the-table game in J2 also turned out to be a real belter, as Kashiwa Reysol were two up and coasting until defender Yusuke Murakami was sent off with a quarter of an hour to go. Cue all-out attack from visitors Ventforet Kofu, for whom beanpole forward Mike Havenaar managed to score twice in the last four minutes to grab a draw. What with JEF United also losing at FC Gifu it was a pretty tremendous weekend for the Kyushu Wasps of Avispa Fukuoka, whose 5-0 whupping of poor old Mito Hollyhock now has them just a couple of points outside the promotion places.



Yasuaki Oshima, scorer of a fifteen-minute hat-trick for Giravanz Kitakyushu

J1 Scores & Standings @ Round 20/34

FC Tokyo 0-2 Hiroshima
Jubilo 2-1 S-Pulse
Kashima 0-1 Cerezo
Kyoto 1-2 Marinos
Nagoya 3-1 Gamba
Niigata 2-1 Kawasaki
Omiya 0-3 Sendai
Shonan 1-4 Urawa
Yamagata 0-0 Kobe

1. Nagoya 41 (+9)
2. Cerezo 36 (+15)
3. Kashima 36 (+13)
----------------
4. S-Pulse 36 (+11)
- - - - - - - - - -
5. Kawasaki 35 (+8)
6. Niigata 34 (+8)
7. Gamba 31 (+8)
8. Marinos 31 (+3)
9. Hiroshima 29 (-1)
10. Yamagata 28 (-6)
11. Urawa 27 (+5)
12. Jubilo 24 (-6)
13. Omiya 21 (-6)
14. FC Tokyo 20 (-4)
15. Kobe 20 (-8)
----------------
16. Sendai 18 (-8)
17. Shonan 14 (-20)
18. Kyoto 11 (-21)

J2 Scores & Standings @ Round 23/36

Fukuoka 5-0 Mito
Gifu 1-0 JEF
Kashiwa 2-2 Kofu
Kumamoto 3-2 Verdy
Oita 1-0 Kusatsu
Sapporo 0-0 Tochigi
Tokushima 4-4 Kitakyushu
Tosu 2-2 Toyama
Yokohama FC 0-0 Ehime

Bye: Okayama

1. Kashiwa 49 (+26)
2. Kofu 45 (+16)
3. JEF 39 (+18)
-----------------
4. Fukuoka 37 (+20)
5. Kumamoto 34 (-3)
6. Tochigi 33 (+8)
7. Verdy 33 (+5)
8. Tosu 32 (+2)
9. Tokushima 32 (-1)
10. Yokohama FC 30 (+3)
11. Gifu 29 (-9)
12. Sapporo 27 (-2)
13. Oita 25 (-7)
14. Ehime 23 (-7)
15. Kusatsu 23 (-11)
16. Mito 21 (-11)
17. Toyama 20 (-16)
18. Okayama 19 (-13)
19. Kitakyushu 13 (-18)

A couple of Japan-related news stories to mention midweek. Former Urawa Reds and FC Tokyo boss Hiromi Hara has been charged by the JFA with finding a new national team coach to succeed Takeshi Okada, who stepped down after the World Cup finals. Hara's target had been to get someone signed up ahead of next month's friendly games against Paraguay and Guatemala, but at a press conference on Tuesday Hara indicated that he himself would oversee the team for those matches, with a squad chosen by Hara and - oh joy - other members of the JFA's technical committee.

Hara has admitted that he has no experience in the headhunting line and confirmed at the press conference on Tuesday that he had recently been turned down by two candidates in Ernesto Valverde, who has chosen to stay at Olympiakos Piraeus, and Manuel Pellegrini, most recently coach at Villareal and Real Madrid. Other people who have been linked with the post are Marco van Basten, former Porto manager Victor Fernandez and Javier Aguirre, who coached Chile in the World Cup and although Hara wouldn't say who he is now talking to, he did confirm that no coaches currently working in the J-League are being considered.

On the transfer front, it's looking more and more likely that Urawa's international midfielder Yuki Abe will shortly join Leicester City. Abe, who will be 29 in a couple of weeks, began his career with JEF United and moved to Japan's most popular club in 2007. He can play as a defender, but performed well in the World Cup in a role just ahead of Yuji Nakazawa and Marcus Tulio Tanaka in the middle of the back four. Meanwhile with Abe believed to be as good as sold, the press rumour machine is already linking Reds with Tomoaki Makino, another product of Sanfrecce Hiroshima's outstanding youth development programme.

Recent developments in the J1 championship race mean that there are important games wherever you look this weekend - but although outsiders such as Cerezo Osaka and even Albirex Niigata can now regard themselves as contenders, the fact remains that by Sunday night Nagoya Grampus could be seven points clear at the top of table. Grampus are aided by the fact that they have a surely-to-God-they'll-win-this home game against bottom team Kyoto Sanga (except nothing in the J-League is quite so certain), while among their nearest challengers Shimizu S-Pulse in fourth take on fifth-placed Kawasaki Frontale.

The biggest crowd of the weekend will be at Urawa Reds' match with hated rivals Kashima Antlers, who remain third despite having picked up only a couple of points in the last four games; Cerezo are at home to Omiya Ardija, an opportunity for the Cherries to gain revenge for the 3-0 drubbing they received in Saitama on the opening day of the season. The key match in the bottom third is Shonan Bellmare's trip to Vegalta Sendai, whose fans' behaviour in booing a sponsor's speech at their win over Omiya on Sunday led to complaints by Ardija and a formal apology being issued on the Vegalta website. Naughty.

There's a top-against-bottom fixture in J2 as well, Kashiwa Reysol taking the long trip to Giravanz Kitakyushu. The other two teams occupying the promotion places have winnable home games, as Ventforet Kofu play Oita Trinita and JEF United host the Pheasants of Fagiano Okayama; Avispa Fukuoka can at last climb into the top three, if they beat Kataller Toyama and JEF lose. There remains a large group of teams bunched together several points behind Avispa and this week it's the turn of Tochigi SC and Roasso Kumamoto to try and beat each other and thereby improve their distant chances of going up.

Yeech, it's turning into a long season for the 'hock.

The Abe move is being reported as virtually done, but he doesn't fulfil the international 75% criteria, so let's see what happens with that. Also, I'm puzzled as to where the money is supposed to be coming from, given that the King Power consortium's takeover at Leicester has not gone through.

All that aside, what's your opinion of him as a player? I know he played in all Japan's games at the World Cup, but I don't recall really noticing him.

It's turning into a poor season for Mito, delicatemoth, although I don't think that their fans were expecting much different after the departure during the winter of most of the players who made 2009 such a comparative success. It's a shame - Tomoyuki Arata scored a bucketload for them for a period of a couple of years and has been a substitute at Jubilo; Hiroyuki Takasaki hasn't had a sniff of first team action at Urawa.

I haven't seen any press reports in Japan that suggest that there's any doubt over there that the Abe deal will go ahead, although there's obviously no reason why the Japanese media should be in tune with the vagaries of the Home Office. For example, it's anticipated that he will make his debut against Coventry on 11 September and it has been reported that his salary has doubled (!!) as a result of the move.

I dunno, I can see both sides. Abe's nearly 29 and he's wanted to test himself by playing outside Japan. Fair enough. He's a good player. Whether this deal will turn out to have a wider value to Japanese football, for instance by making him into a more rounded footballer in time for the next World Cup, has got to be open to question. And even though Junichi Inamoto from what I can gather did pretty well at Cardiff, you also have to wonder whether the rough and tumble of the Championship is likely to be the most appropriate environment for Abe when compared with the technical level of J1 or other European leagues.

In my eagerness to update you about the antics of Denis Marques, I've realised that I'd forgotten about your other old boy Leandro Eusébio.

Much better news here - he's now at Fluminense and has been playing very well in his solid and unspectacular way, most recently in a 3-0 win at Goiás. Of course, he could be in line for a league winner's medal as Flu have just opened up a 5 point lead at the top.

I'm sure he's enjoying working with manager Muricy Ramalho as there's no-one better at coaching and developing centre backs.

That's excellent news, cantagalo. He seems like a good guy: above my desk in the office I have a photograph of myself with Leandro as he signed my shirt at the end of a Squirrels training session. We had a great conversation:

Me: Can you speak English?

Leandro: No! ... [gesturing at me] American?

Me: No, I'm English.

L: Ahhhhh, Beckham.

etc. etc. Denis Marques actually could speak some English, so the chat I had with him a few minutes later was in all honesty a little more rewarding.

As for the J-League, well, a crowd of just over 51,000 packed into Saitama Stadium for the headline game of the weekend in J1, as champions Kashima Antlers travelled to the home of their most hated rivals, Urawa Reds. Kashima had star forward Marquinhos back in the team after a spell of injury during which they haven't won once, and it was looking like seriously bad news for the Antlers when first Marquinhos had a penalty saved and then Robson Ponte put Urawa ahead. But in the fifth minute of injury time, Masashi Motoyama pounced on a loose ball to fire in an equaliser with the last kick of a tempestuous match.

Even so, Kashima drop to fourth after all of the other main contenders for the title won. Current leaders Nagoya Grampus were hardly at their most impressive but just about did enough to get past J2-bound Kyoto Sanga, and Cerezo Osaka had too much for Omiya Ardija. Sunday's highlight was the key game between Shimizu S-Pulse and Kawasaki Frontale, in which S-Pulse midfielder Jungo Fujimoto celebrated his recall to the national squad with a scintillating run and near miss and then the penalty that put his side on the road to a hard-fought 2-0 triumph. 

With Kashiwa Reysol and JEF United pulling off their expected wins over Giravanz Kitakyushu and Fagiano Okayama respectively, much of the attention in J2 was on the other teams in the promotion race. Ventforet Kofu stay second, but dropped points in a 3-3 draw against Oita Trinita that included a fourteenth goal of the season for the division's top scorer, Mike Havenaar. Despite conceding in the second minute, Avispa Fukuoka beat Kataller Toyama to continue their pursuit of the top three and Roasso Kumamoto also stay in touch after an excellent defeat of Tochigi SC.



Urawa Reds line up before their draw with Kashima Antlers

But hey, it's also Emperor's Cup time! Well, nearly. Japan's equivalent to the FA Cup starts on Friday, when in the First Round the winners of the 47 local prefectural tournaments are drawn to play each other, prior to all the J-League clubs and a handful of top semi-pro sides coming on board for the Second Round on... Sunday. The last couple of days, however, have seen the staging of the prefectural finals and as such there's been a modest level of wider attention on the amateur, part-time, corporate, university and even high school teams that make up the vast majority of the 6000 or so entrants spread right across the country.

The Japanese prefecture is somewhat more significant a unit of cultural currency than is typically the case with counties in Britain and indeed all prefectures have their own NHK TV stations: in Kyoto, for example, the local final between Sagawa Printing and Doshisha University was broadcast live in HD. This is akin to, say, a BBC TV Buckinghamshire channel scheduling coverage of a game staged at Wycombe Wanderers' ground between Buckingham Town and a particularly good high school team from Aylesbury. In other words, most right-minded people would agree that it is something to be deeply envied.

A couple of high school teams have made it through to the First Round proper, Yonago Kita HS from rural Tottori now being in with a chance of a Second Round tie against Shonan Bellmare of J1. In the capital, Tokyo Verdy Youth pulled off a surprising 2-1 win over JFL outfit Yokogawa Musashino and could go on to play what would be a mouthwatering clash with local giants FC Tokyo. The biggest of the prefectural finals, however, was in Nagano, where J-League hopefuls Matsumoto Yamaga of the JFL beat Regional League rivals AC Nagano Parceiro 1-0 in front of 6500 fans.



Renofa Yamaguchi give way to wild abandon

J1 Scores & Standings @ Round 21/34

Cerezo 2-0 Omiya
Gamba 2-0 Jubilo
Hiroshima 2-1 Yamagata
Kobe 0-0 FC Tokyo
Marinos 3-0 Niigata
Nagoya 1-0 Kyoto
S-Pulse 2-0 Kawasaki
Sendai 2-1 Shonan
Urawa 1-1 Kashima
 
1. Nagoya 44 (+10)
2. Cerezo 39 (+17)
3. S-Pulse 39 (+13)
----------------
4. Kashima 37 (+13)
- - - - - - - - - -
5. Kawasaki 35 (+6)
6. Gamba 34 (+10)
7. Marinos 34 (+6)
8. Niigata 34 (+5)
9. Hiroshima 32 (-)
10. Urawa 28 (+5)
11. Yamagata 28 (-7)
12. Jubilo 24 (-8)
13. FC Tokyo 21 (-4)
14. Sendai 21 (-7)
15. Kobe 21 (-8)
----------------
16. Omiya 21 (-8)
17. Shonan 14 (-21)
18. Kyoto 11 (-22)
 
J2 Scores & Standings @ Round 24/36

Ehime 2-1 Sapporo
JEF 4-0 Okayama
Kitakyushu 0-2 Kashiwa
Kofu 3-3 Oita
Kusatsu 1-4 Tokushima
Mito 0-0 Tosu
Tochigi 1-2 Kumamoto
Toyama 1-2 Fukuoka
Verdy 2-0 Gifu

Bye: Yokohama FC
 
1. Kashiwa 52 (+28)
2. Kofu 46 (+16)
3. JEF 42 (+22)
-----------------
4. Fukuoka 40 (+21)
5. Kumamoto 37 (-2)
6. Verdy 36 (+7)
7. Tokushima 35 (+2)
8. Tochigi 33 (+7)
9. Tosu 33 (+2)
10. Yokohama FC 30 (+3)
11. Gifu 29 (-11)
12. Sapporo 27 (-3)
13. Ehime 26 (-6)
14. Oita 26 (-7)
15. Kusatsu 23 (-14)
16. Mito 22 (-11)
17. Toyama 20 (-17)
18. Okayama 19 (-17)
19. Kitakyushu 13 (-20)

Emperor's Cup Prefectural Finals

Aichi: Chukyo University 0-0 Aichi Gakuin University (PK 6-5)
Akita: Blaublitz Akita 6-0 FC Akita Cambiare
Aomori: Hachinohe University 0-1 Vanraure Hachinohe 
Chiba: JEF Reserves 0-1 Juntendo University
Ehime: Hisaeda FC 0-4 Ehime FC Shimanami
Fukui: Saurcos Fukui 2-0 Fukui KSC
Fukuoka: Kyushu Mitsubishi Motors 2-3 Fukuoka University of Education
Fukushima: Fukushima United 4-1 Bandits Iwaki
Gifu: FC Gifu Second 1-0 NK Kani
Gunma: Arte Takasaki 6-2 Tonan Maebashi
Hiroshima: Fuji Xerox Hiroshima 1-4 Sagawa Kyubin Chugoku
Hokkaido: Consadole Sapporo Youth 0-2 Sapporo University
Hyogo: Kwansei Gakuin SC 1-2 Kwansei Gakuin University
Ibaraki: Ryutsu Keizai University 3-2 Tsukuba University
Ishikawa: Zweigen Kanazawa 3-1 Teihens FC
Iwate: Grulla Morioka 2-0 FC Ganju Iwate
Kagawa: Kamatamare Sanuki 5-0 Takamatsu University
Kagoshima: National Institute of Fitness & Sports 4-0 Kamimura Gakuen
Kanagawa: YSCC 4-2 SC Sagamihara
Kochi: Kochi University 2-1 Nangoku Kochi
Kumamoto: Lutheran HS 2-2 Kumamoto Gakuen University HS (PK 3-5)
Kyoto: Sagawa Printing 5-0 Doshisha University
Mie: Yokkaichi City University 1-0 Kinki University Technical College
Miyagi: Sony Sendai 4-0 NEC Tokin
Miyazaki: Honda Lock 1-0 Miyazaki Sangyo-keiei University
Nagano: Matsumoto Yamaga 1-0 AC Nagano Parceiro
Nagasaki: V Varen Nagasaki 3-2 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki
Nara: Nara Club 3-0 Diablossa Takada
Niigata: Granscena Niigata 1-1 Japan Soccer College (PK 7-8)
Oita: HOYO Atletico ELAN 1-1 Nippon Steel Oita (PK 4-1)
Okayama: International Pacific University 1-0 RK Classic
Okinawa: FC Ryukyu 4-1 Kaiho Bank SC
Osaka: Osaka University of Health & Sports Sciences 4-0 Ain Food
Saga: Saga University 3-2 Kawasoe Club
Saitama: Heisei International University 1-3 Tokyo International University
Shiga: MIO Biwako Kusatsu 3-1 Tojitsu Shiga FC
Shimane: Dezzolla Shimane 2-0 Volador Matsue
Shizuoka: Honda FC 4-1 Hamamatsu University
Tochigi: Tochigi UVA 4-3 Vertfee Takahara Nasu
Tokushima: Tokushima Vortis Second 5-0 Sanyo Electric Tokushima
Tokyo: Tokyo Verdy Youth 2-1 Yokogawa Musashino
Tottori: SC Tottori Dreams 1-2 Yonago Kita HS
Toyama: Toyama Shinjo Club 1-1 Valiente Toyama (PK 4-3)
Wakayama: Kainan FC 1-2 Arterivo Wakayama
Yamagata: Yamagata University 1-0 Nihon University Yamagata HS
Yamaguchi: Renofa Yamaguchi 4-1 Tokuyama University
Yamanashi: Tamaho Club 0-0 Hikawa Club (PK 4-2)

Just to record that Alberto Zaccheroni will be unveiled - woosh; tadaaaaah! - as the new coach of the Japan national team at a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday. He's 57 and has extensive experience in his native Italy as coach of Bologna, Udinese, Milan, Lazio, Inter, Torino and most recently Juventus. Zaccheroni will reportedly attend training from Thursday onwards, but the forthcoming friendlies against Paraguay on Saturday and Guatemala on Tuesday next week will be overseen by interim boss Hiromi Hara, as previously announced. Hara's squad is as follows:

Goalkeepers

Narazaki (Nagoya)
Kawashima (Lierse)

Defenders

Nakazawa (Marinos)
Tulio (Nagoya)
Komano (Jubilo)
Iwamasa (Kashima)
Kurihara (Marinos)
Nagatomo (Cesena)
Makino (Hiroshima)
Uchida (Schalke)

Midfielders

Hashimoto (Gamba)
Endo (Gamba)
Nakamura (Kawasaki)
Matsui (Grenoble)
Konno (FC Tokyo)
Hasebe (Wolfsburg)
Fujimoto (S-Pulse)
Hosogai (Urawa)
Honda (CSKA Moscow)
Inui (Cerezo)
Kagawa (Dortmund)

Forwards

Okazaki (S-Pulse)
Morimoto (Catania)

My thought about the new Japan's Coach.

I'm a fan of Milan, so I know very well Zaccheroni.
He's a good coach, but he has his pros and cons.
He's a man who needs to work with his squad from the beginning and in this case he can put up results (like with Udinese and AC Milan). When a club took him in mid season (Inter Milan and Juventus), he made a bad work, and sometimes an acceptable one (Lazio).
I don't know what he can do with a National team. It's sure that his classic methods are improper for a National team, so he have to develop something new.
Anyway, he invests large resources on tactic to have a good play and takes advantage of three key-players to build his personal squad (for example, Bierhoof, Boban and Guly in 1998/99 season, when he won his first and only championship).
I think he will plays in this way or something similar:




Maybe he will put Honda behind the two forwards, but this is the probable lineup and main players Uchida, Honda and Okazaki or Morimoto.

Thanks, Harima83. I had heard of Zaccheroni, but not much more than that. It's a surprising choice given that he has no international experience and has never worked outside Italy. To me, di Oliveira would have been the obvious choice, but the JFA indicated that they didn't consider any coaches based in Japan and di Oliveira only expressed an interest a matter of hours before Zaccheroni's appointment was announced. That sounds typical of the amateurish way the JFA go about these appointments. There's some additional comment about all this elsewhere on the WSC site, here.

Just to catch up quickly on the Japanese scene midweek and also to cast an eye over what look like being the most interesting ties in Friday's First Round of the Emperor's Cup. Wednesday saw Mito Hollyhock beat Oita Trinita 2-1 in a lone postponed J2 fixture, together with the restart of the distinctly unloved Nabisco Cup competition. This has now reached the knockout Quarter Final stage, the participants being the four teams to get through from the group phase earlier in the year plus Japan's four 2010 Asian Champions League contestants, who are exempt up to this point in the tournament.

Lucas' goal mid-way through the second half got an good win for Gamba Osaka at Sanfrecce Hiroshima, but the standout match of the evening was up in Ibaraki prefecture. Kashima Antlers against Kawasaki Frontale has become one of Japan's key rivalries in the last couple of years and the return to form of Marquinhos on this occasion won it for the Antlers. In the first half, the Brazilian fired a free kick through a fractured Frontale wall and in the second he set up Shinzo Koroki to make it 2-0 from close range. But Masaru Kurotsu subsequently lamped one in for Kawasaki to set up a decent-looking second leg.

So what about the Emperor's Cup? In tomorrow's First Round ties the remaining non-league teams - one from each of the 47 prefectures, plus an additional university team - compete for the right to take on the professionals on Sunday. Most of the games are local-ish derbies, such as the meeting between Sony Sendai and Fukushima United, who have recently 'fessed up to extreme financial woes. Tamaho Club of the Yamanashi Prefectural League are one of the smallest remaining clubs and can expect a thumping from last year's conquerors of J1 giants Urawa Reds, Nagano's Matsumoto Yamaga.

Two high school sides are still on board, Kumamoto Gakuen University HS playing Saga University and Yonago Kita HS having a tricky meeting with ambitious Regional Leaguers Renofa Yamaguchi. And underlining the variety of types of club who participate in the early stages of the Emperor's Cup, no fewer than five teams form part of the lower echelons of J-League clubs, in the shape of Tokyo Verdy Youth, the Albirex Niigata-affiliated Japan Soccer College, FC Gifu Second and the Shikoku pair of Ehime FC Shimanami and Tokushima Vortis Second.

Nabisco Cup Quarter Finals First Leg

FC Tokyo 1-1 S-Pulse
Hiroshima 0-1 Gamba
Jubilo 2-1 Sendai
Kashima 2-1 Kawasaki

J2 Scores & Standings game in hand

Mito 2-1 Oita

1. Kashiwa 52 (+28)
2. Kofu 46 (+16)
3. JEF 42 (+22)
-----------------
4. Fukuoka 40 (+21)
5. Kumamoto 37 (-2)
6. Verdy 36 (+7)
7. Tokushima 35 (+2)
8. Tochigi 33 (+7)
9. Tosu 33 (+2)
10. Yokohama FC 30 (+3)
11. Gifu 29 (-11)
12. Sapporo 27 (-3)
13. Ehime 26 (-6)
14. Oita 26 (-8)
15. Mito 25 (-10)
16. Kusatsu 23 (-14)
17. Toyama 20 (-17)
18. Okayama 19 (-17)
19. Kitakyushu 13 (-20)

There were lots of goals to be had in the First Round of the Emperor's Cup on Friday, Osaka University of Health & Sports Sciences leading the way with an 8-3 spanking of Prefectural League side Arterivo Wakayama. Several JFL sides also won big, Honda FC and Matsumoto Yamaga putting seven past FC Gifu Second and Tamaho Club respectively, while the Blue Lightning of Blaublitz Akita beat Yamagata University 6-1. Sony Sendai needed extra time to get past Fukushima United, though, and Tochigi UVA were beaten by Tokyo International University.

Only one of the J-League affiliated clubs go through to the Second Round, Ehime FC Shimanami eliminating Fukuoka University of Education, and there will be one high school team after Kumamoto Gakuen University HS edged past Saga University. In truth there weren't many shocks, the tie between Chugoku League sides Sagawa Kyubin Chugoku and Dezzolla Shimane ending in an eyebrow-raising win for Dezzolla, and the biggest surprise was the defeat by Prefectural Leaguers Toyama Shinjo Club of Saurcos Fukui, two steps higher up the pyramid in the Hokushinetsu League Division One.

Sunday's Second Round sees all the J-League clubs piling in to the tournament and the draw is all done beforehand, so that every team will already be aware of potential opponents. The Kumamoto Gakuen schoolboys could have had more glamorous opposition than Sagan Tosu, although Toyama Shinjo have the opportunity to match themselves against current J1 highflyers Cerezo Osaka. Of the other top pro teams, Kashima Antlers play Arte Takasaki from the JFL, Urawa Reds take on Tokyo International University and Nagoya Grampus host a side from neighbouring Chukyo University.



Tokyo Verdy Youth take their loss to Komazawa University pretty well

Emperor's Cup First Round

FC Ryukyu 3-1 Tokushima Vortis Second
Fukuoka University of Education 2-2 Ehime FC Shimanami (PK 3-5)
Fukushima United 2-3 Sony Sendai (AET)
Honda FC 7-2 FC Gifu Second
HOYO Atletico ELAN 1-2 Honda Lock
Juntendo University 5-4 Vanraure Hachinohe (AET)
Kamatamare Sanuki 1-1 Kochi University (PK 5-4)
Kwansei Gakuin University 1-4 MIO Biwako Kusatsu
Matsumoto Yamaga 7-1 Tamaho Club
Osaka University of Health & Sports Sciences 8-3 Arterivo Wakayama
Renofa Yamaguchi 2-0 Yonago Kita HS
Ryutsu Keizai University 0-1 Arte Takasaki
Saga University 2-2 Kumamoto Gakuen University HS (PK 6-7)
Sagawa Kyubin Chugoku 2-3 Dezzolla Shimane
Sagawa Printing 3-1 Nara Club
Sapporo University 2-3 Grulla Morioka
Saurcos Fukui 0-2 Toyama Shinjo Club
Tokyo International University 3-1 Tochigi UVA
Tokyo Verdy Youth 0-1 Komazawa University
V Varen Nagasaki 4-0 International Pacific University
Yamagata University 1-6 Blaublitz Akita
Yokkaichi City University 1-5 Chukyo University
YSCC 0-3 National Institute of Fitness & Sports
Zweigen Kanazawa 3-0 Japan Soccer College

The peak of my footballing career was at the age of ten, when on a few occasions that theoretically were exciting but in fact were filled in the main with disappointment, I captained my primary school team. The disappointing aspect of this came from the fact that we were awful, rarely coming away from matches against such titans of the Manchester suburban scene as Woodheys, Lime Tree or Our Lady of Lourdes with anything other than a heavy defeat. In assembly, our headmaster really did say that it wasn't the winning that counted, but the taking part; my team-mates and I just wanted, one day, to be able to test his theory with a fuller knowledge of the facts.

It is not known whether the principal of Kumamoto Gakuen University HS will use the same line on Monday morning, in an attempt to console those of his charges who were thrashed 10-0 by J2 side Sagan Tosu in the Second Round of the Emperor's Cup this afternoon. That defeat was the heaviest on offer, but elsewhere there were few surprises to be found: Gamba Osaka, Kashima Antlers and Kashiwa Reysol scored six apiece and both Cerezo Osaka and Urawa Reds netted seven, as the great majority of J-League sides asserted their superiority over the non-leaguers and college students.

There were however wobbly moments for J1 strugglers Kyoto Sanga, who needed extra time to beat local JFL side Sagawa Printing, while Yokohama F Marinos trailed to a stunning breakaway strike by Daisuke Fujii of V Varen Nagasaki before eventually turning their possession into goals and running out 3-1 winners. But two J-League sides were eliminated at the hands of semi-pro opposition, as Tokyo Verdy fell in a derby match with Machida Zelvia and Vegalta Sendai suffered the ultimate local humiliation, as they were beaten 1-0 by corporate neighbours Sony Sendai.



Fans of Sony Sendai before their side's giantkilling

Emperor's Cup Second Round

Albirex Niigata 3-0 Zweigen Kanazawa
Consadole Sapporo 4-1 Grulla Morioka
Fagiano Okayama 2-3 Avispa Fukuoka
FC Gifu 2-3 Tochigi SC
FC Tokyo 2-0 Komazawa University
Gamba Osaka 6-2 Osaka University of Health & Sports Sciences
JEF United 3-0 FC Ryukyu
Jubilo Iwata 2-1 Ehime FC Shimanami
Kashima Antlers 6-0 Arte Takasaki
Kashiwa Reysol 6-0 Juntendo University
Kataller Toyama 1-2 Yokohama FC
Kawasaki Frontale 4-0 National Institute of Fitness & Sports
Machida Zelvia 1-0 Tokyo Verdy
MIO Biwako Kusatsu 0-2 Vissel Kobe
Mito Hollyhock 4-2 Sagawa Shiga FC
Montedio Yamagata 3-0 Blaublitz Akita
Nagoya Grampus 3-0 Chukyo University
Oita Trinita 3-2 Honda Lock
Omiya Ardija 4-1 Kamatamare Sanuki
Roasso Kumamoto 2-1 Ehime FC
Sagan Tosu 10-0 Kumamoto Gakuen University HS
Sagawa Printing 2-3 Kyoto Sanga (AET)
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 4-0 Dezzolla Shimane
Shimizu S-Pulse 2-0 Honda FC
Shonan Bellmare 4-0 Renofa Yamaguchi
Thespa Kusatsu 1-3 Giravanz Kitakyushu
Tokushima Vortis 2-1 Gainare Tottori
Toyama Shinjo Club 0-7 Cerezo Osaka
Urawa Reds 7-0 Tokyo International University
Vegalta Sendai 0-1 Sony Sendai (AET)
Ventforet Kofu 1-0 Matsumoto Yamaga
Yokohama F Marinos 3-1 V Varen Nagasaki