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J.League Week 5 - Seeing Red

Kickoff	Home	.	Away
13:00		2 - 0
13:00		1 - 0
13:00		0-1 (ET)
15:00		2 - 3
15:00		3 - 2
15:00		0 - 0
16:30		1 - 3
19:00		2-1 (ET)

Click on the highlighted icons for a more detailed match report

3 - 2

In the view of this commentator, the player of the match was only on the field for 30 minutes, but the impact he had was impossible to ignore. Yoshito Ohkubo has already made a mark in the Japanese U-20 team, but this week he got his very first start in a Cerezo uniform. Though the 18-year-old midfielder still needs to mature a bit, who watched his performance are surely wondering how long it will be before he forces his way onto the full national team. Ohkubo is not a particularly large midfielder, and though he is quick, he certainly does not have blazing speed. But the moves he makes when in posession of the ball, and the total disdain he shows for opponents mark him out as something truly special.

Five minutes into the match, Ohkubo took a pass at midfield and drove upfield for forty meters, weaving his way through Jubilo defenders as if they were nothing more than plastic pylons in a dribbling exercise. It took three players to finally dispossess him of the ball. However, just three minutes later Noh Jung-Yoon found Ohkubo with a sharp slant pass that the took just outside the area. Although Jubilo's Makoto Tanaka tried to cut him off, Ohkubo crashed through Tanaka's tackle as if the central defender werent even there. As he burst into the clear, he calmly lined up the shot and slotted it inside the far post.

Ohkubo's dominating presence took Jubilo completely out of their game. The team that has dominated the J.League this season were unable to establish any rhythm, and the defensive midfield seemed to have little on their mind other than to avoid further embarassment at the hands of the teenage dynamo. Surely, Cerezo fans will wonder what might have happened if he had played the entire match. However, 30 minutes into the match, Ohkubo made a rookie mistake that ended up costing his team dearly. The match was rough and tumble from the very outset, and Mr. Ohta was starting to lose patience with some of the rough tactics, when Ohkubo suddenly got into an altercation with two Jubilo defenders well off the ball. The cameras showed only Jubilo's Makoto Tanaka walking up to Ohkubo and giving him a fierce head butt. Mr. Ota conferred with the sideline official, though, and determined that Ohkubo had come in on Tanaka with his spikes up to provoke the incident. Since the head butt had been captured on national TV, Ota couldnt simply let the incident pass, so he awarded a red card to both players.

Though Cerezo were clearly deflated to have lost their sparkplug at midfield, their continued hustle gave them another score before the break. Noh Jung-Yoon chased a long pass into the Jubilo end, and managed to just barely beat the defender to the ball and keep it in play. Maintaining his balance, Noh centered the ball to Masaya Nishitani, who was cutting in on goal, allowing him to tap the ball in just ahead of the retreating Jubilo defender

However, the team from Iwata did not establish their current five-match winning streak by letting other teams outmuscle them. After the break, Jubilo came out ready to throw their weight around. The game was played at a frenetic pace, with both teams driving from end to end in quest of another goal. Jubilo got the first break of the second half, however, when defender Kim Do-Kuen failed to clear a ball centered into the penalty area, trying to pass it to a teammate instead. Unfortunately, the pass went right to Hiroshi Nanami, who said thank you very much before sliding the ball past the Cerezo keeper to cut the deficit in half.

Less than ten minutes later, Jubilo equalised on a very well designed set play. Daisuke Oku took a short corner kick, pushing the ball out about four meters from the end line to Toshihiro Hattori. Hattori lined up and sent a cross into the center which found the head of Masashi "Gon" Nakayama. Gon timed his leap well, and nodded the ball just over the reach of the Cerezo keeper to put the two teams level.

If the competitive fires were burning early in this match, the flames were really stoked in the late second half. Althugh Jubilo began to establish control of the momentum, both teams had chances to collect the lead goal. Just as it seemed that the match would go to extra time, the break finally came. Nobuo Kawaguchi, a reserve forward who had been brought on in a midfielder role in the second half, found space down the right sideline on a counterattack. Both Gon and Naohiro Takahara were streaking into the box, and Kawaguchi lobbed the ball in hoping to connect. The centering pass was just a bit too high for Nakayama, but Takahara met it with a diving header that gave Jubilo the victory

Jubilo has now won five straight matches, including victories over some oft their biggest rivals. Though they escaped a scare in this match, they now seem to be well on their way to the first stage title.

2 - 1

The Reds-Tokyo contest got off to a very exciting start, with both teams contesting the match with very physical, but certainly not dirty play. Urawa seemed to have the upper hand in terms of momentum, but was unable to crack the final line of FC Tokyo's defence, whereas Tokyo relied mainly on rapid counterattacks which, though fewer in number, created several dangerous opportunities. About midway through the first half, Adriano picked up a yellow card which seemed fairly innocuous at the time, but would come back to haunt the Reds later in the match.

In the 44 minute, Urawa finally broke the deadlock on a nice bit of play by the two forwards. Tuto picked up the ball at the top right side of the penalty box, managed to turn the corner on his defender, and sent a shot for the far post. The drive eluded the keeper, but bounced off the left upright. However, Adriano rushed in to collect the rebound and tap it home. With a burst of joy, Adriano rushed towards the stands, kissing his jersey and waving at the fans . . . .

. . . and suddenly he noticed the referee gesturing to him to come back to the pitch. As Adriano walked towards the playing field, Mr. Nagata reached into his pocket and pulled out a yellow card. Adriano was being given a second yellow for "excessive celebration".

The Urawa players (to say nothing of their fans) simply couldnt believe it!!! Adriano was nearly in tears pleading that this was simply going too far, and the rest of the Reds players seemed to be in shock. But the referee stuck to his decision. Urawa went in at half time with a one goal lead, but down a man due to what was surely the worst call that this writer has ever seen.

But the sad thing is, the officiating got worse as the second half wore on. First, to cover the legitimate action, FC Tokyo levelled the score shortly after half time as a lob pass from midfielderSatoru Asari found Wagner Lopes in the back of Urawa's defence. Lopes just barely managed to avoid the offside trap and fired a bullet past the Reds keeper. Less than ten minutes later, Tokyo's new forward, Kelly, scored on a nice bit of individual play. Driving into the box, Kelly managed to fake out one defender and then hit a fierce shot on goal. Although Yohei Nishibe managed to parry the shot, the rebound fell right to Kelly, and he sent his second shot right into the roof of the net to put Tokyo in front.

But FC Tokyo's fine offensive plays were upstaged by the referee, who continued making calls that had even the match announcers shaking their heads. The low point of the match came in the 63 minute, as midfielder Shinji Ono followed a ball that had been cleared by a Tokyo player to the sidelines, and seeing that it would be hard to keep in play, allowed it to roll out of bounds. Mr. Nagata awarded a throw-in to Tokyo. Ono, who simply couldnt believe the farce, turned and gave the referee some mocking applause. Nagata pulled out the yellow and booked Ono for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Late in the match, FC Tokyo got an insurance goal on a pretty header by Mitsuhiro Toda, but unfortunately Tokyo's victory seemed a bit hollow in light of the advantage they had been given by the man in zebra stripes.

2 - 1

As the game wore on, the two teams played a see-saw struggle that was dominated mainly by good defensive play on both sides. Nagoya's new volante, Tomoyuki Sakai had a very good match, as did defender Masahiro Koga. On the other side of the ball, youngster Yuichi Nemoto put in the strongest performance yet in place of injured wing back Naoki Soma, and on the strength of this performance, may have secured the job for the rest of the first stage. Unfortunately for Kashima, their offense continued to sputter. Atsushi Yanagisawa remains in the worst goal slump of his career. He continued to do a lot of good things in this match, making nice drives and finding space for both himself and teammates. However, as has been the case throughout this season, he did everything BUT put the ball in the net. For Nagoya, veteran playmaker Dragan "Pixy" Stojkovic created a number of dangerous chances for fellow striker Ueslei, but the Antlers defence was equal to the tast throughout the first half. It wasnt until the 60 minute that Nagoya finally got leve, on a counterattack that caught the Antlers foo far forward. Pixy got the ball in midfield on the break, and sent a perfect lead pass to Ueslei, who cut into the box, reversed direction to get past the retreating Antlers defender, and then slid the ball past keeper Takakuwa to put Nagoya level. Though both teams had their chances, that is how regulation time ended.

In extra time, Kashima pressed harder and harder for the winning goal, bringing in super sub Masashi Motoyama and veteran striker Yoshiyuki Hasegawa. Nagoya opted for a counterattacking strategy, replacing Stojkovic and bringing in defender Keiji Kaimoto and veteran striker Yasuyuki Moriyama. In the end, the latter strategy paid off. With just three minutes left to go in extra time, Okayama found a seam in the Antlers defence, and slipped a through pass to Moriyama, who just barely managed to beat Takakuwa to the near post, giving Nagoya a hard-earned victory and second place in the league table

2-0

Abe started off the scoring in the 41 minute on a free kick from about 40 meters out on the left sideline. Yokohama keeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi was expecting a short lob, and cheated towards the pack of JEF forwards clustered in the center of the box. However, Abe took the shot on net, and placed the ball perfectly, in the high far corner. Kawaguchi was unable to retreat in time, and the ball floated into the corner for the first goal

Midway through the second half, another free kick from Abe would seal the victory for JEF. This time the kick was at somewhat closer range, and again came from the left side of the box. Abe's kick found the head of midfielder Edin "Edo" Mucin. Although Kawaguchi managed to save the header, the rebound fell right at the feet of Megumu Yoshida, who blasted it into the back of the net.

1 - 0

The only goal of the match came against the run of play, as Masakiyo Maezono fed veteran midfielder Hideki Nagai in the left corner. Reysol collapsed well, and sealed off the angles in the penalty area, but Nagai spotted defender Yoshihiro Nishida trailing the play, and passed the ball back out to him at the top of the box. Nishida hit a first-time blast that found the low left corner, to give Verdy the only score of the match

Elsewhere

Avispa Fukuoka held on despite a late charge by Sanfreccee Hiroshima, to win 3 - 2 on the road.

Meanwhile, Vissel Kobe and Consadole Sapporo played to a scoreless draw, in a rather dull match at Kobe Universiade stadium.

Because Nagoya's victory came in extra time, Jubilo Iwata extended its hold on first place to four points. Nagoya Grampus drops back to just a goal difference ahead of Shimizu S-Pulse in second place, while Consadole Sapporo's draw drops them to fourth. Here are the standings after five matches.