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J.League, Week 14
Antlers Book Their Ticket

Kickoff	Home	.	Away
15:00		4-0
15:00		2-1
15:00		1-0
15:00		5-1
15:00		2-1(ET)
15:00		2-3(ET)
19:00		1-1
19:00		1-0

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4 - 0

Jubilo still was in the picture at the start of the week. but with a four-point gap to make up, they needed to hope the Antlers would stumble down the stretch. That possibility was never in evidence on Saturday, as the Antler herd pranced onto the field and proceeded to trample visiting Verdy Tokyo. Verdy have made a late-season charge, which moved them out of the shadow of what seemed like certain relegation. Much of the spark has been provided by the signing of striker Edmundo "The Animal", but this week the Animal was tamed by a smothering Antlers defence which barely allowed the Brazilian to see the goal, much less shoot at it. Veteran defender Yutaka Akita drew the task of marking Edmundo, and spend most of the afternoon draped over the striker's back like a 300-pound overcoat. Thus, perhaps the most telling statistic of the match was the shot count, which showed just four shots on goal for Verdy, and just one of those by Edmundo.

But as good as the defending might have been, it was at the offensive end where Kashima shone brightest. Atsushi Yanagisawa scored two of the Antlers goals in this match, but though he had a very good day individually, it seemed that the entire team was involved in the attack, leaving Verdy penned up in their own end for much of the match. The first goal was set up by the other member of the Antlers strike force Takayuki Suzuki, who pounced on a back pass by a Verdy defender and fired off a quick shot. Although the keeper managed to parry his blast, the Antlers' left volante Koji Nakata swooped in to pick up the rebound, and sent the ball screaming inside the left post to put the Antlers on top after just 10 minutes.

Midway through the first half, the Antlers doubled their lead on a play set up by another Antlers midfielder. Mitsuo Ogasawara picked up the ball about 35 meters from goal and spotted Yanagisawa just about to make his cut. Ogasawara threaded a pinpoint lead pass that put the Antlers' ace striker into the clear at the edge of the box, and Yanagisawa finished it off with a well-placed grounder to the far corner.

Just before the intermission, the Antlers put the match out of reach as another Ogasawara pass put Suzuki behind his defender less than five meters from goal. Verdy's Yuji Nakazawa was reduced to pulling Suzuki down from behind rather than concede a point-blank shot, and Yanagisawa calmly collected the PK.

With a three-goal cushion, the Antlers turned the second half into something of an anticlimax, with the four defenders staying rooted in the defensive zone and the rest of the team playing keep-away with their frustrated Verdy opponents at midfield. However, just a minute from full time, the Antlers added one last tally on a corner kick from the right side. The ball was cleared by the Verdy defence, but Bismarck picked it up at the top of the circle and sent a spinning grounder through the pack which just managed to sneak inside the right post. Juat a minute later, the crowd erupted and Kashima fans began celebrating their fifth Stage Title in the past six seasons.

1 - 0

In the second half, Jubilo came out with a bit more spark, but they had difficulty producing any shots against a very aggressive Sanfrecce defence. Finally, midway through the second half, Jubilo managed to break the deadlock on a corner kick from the left side. Midfielder Daisuke Oku took the kick and sent a curling line drive to the center of the goal mouth. Tadashi Fukunishi made a prodigious leap to clear his defender and head the ball into the far corner. The win clinched Jubilo the best record of any team over the two stages, but despite this accomplishment, they will need to find a lot more crispness than they have shown in recent matches if they hope to clinch their third championship crown in five years.

2 - 1

Team	Points	Goal Difference
Vissel Kobe	31	-11
Tokyo Verdy	27	-16
Avispa Fukuoka	27	-19
Yokohama Marinos	26	-13
**Cerezo Osaka	18	-31

Yokohama Marinos went into their match one point adrift of Avispa and Verdy, though they had the comfort of knowing that both opponents faced high-quality opposition. The Marinos faced arguably the easiest opponent, in Gamba Osaka, but they did not get off to a particularly impressive start. Just 16 minutes into the match, defender Shin Asahina broke down the right side and sent a high cross that found striker Nino Bule directly in front of the net. The Croatian forward, who reportedly will not be back at Gamba next year, rose out of the pack to head home the first goal of the match.

The Marinos struggled to equalise, but Gamba was able to hold its lead until midway through the second half, when fortune finally smiled on Yokohama. In the 68 minute, Marinos won a free kick just a meter from the right corner of the penalty area. Midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura took the kick and sent a low line drive that somehow managed to elude the keeper and slip inside the near post..

Their confidence boosted by the equalizer, Marinos began to pressure the Gamba defence more consistently, and just ten minutes later, they won a corner kick on the right side. Once again, Nakamura took a kick, and his cross glanced off the head of Yoshiharu Ueno at the near post to give Yokohama the margin of victory.

2 - 3

But despite their strong start, Avispa collapsed in the second half. As S-Pulse came out after the break, they received a spark from a newly minted Japanese citizen. Aresandoro Santos -- the player formerly known as Alex, got his team back into the match in the 66 minute with a perfect feed to veteran Masaaki Sawanobori, directly in front of net. Sawanobori finished off with a soft shot into the low left corner. Then, just two minutes from full time, Alex took a long pass down the left flank and sent it floating in front of the goal mouth with a feather-touch pass. Shimizu's tall Brazilian striker, Baron, licked his lips with delight before nodding the ball into the nylon.

S-Pulse went into the extra time period with all the momentum, and it didnt take long for them to finish off their floundering opponent. Six minutes into extra time, Alex collected his third assist of the afternoon with a perfect lead pass to Kohei Hiramatsu on the right flank. Hiramatsu had acres of space and all the time he needed to set up his shot. He finished with a low shot to the near post that eluded the keeper and gave Shimizu a golden goal victory.

With these results, Yokohama leapfrogs its two opponents to take a two-point lead in the struggle to avoid the final relegation spot. Considering goal difference, the Marinos need only a draw in their final match against Vissel Kobe in order to escape relegation. Avispa and Verdy, meanwhile, find themselves even on both points and goal difference. If the season ended today, Verdy would stay up on the basis of having four more goals scored this season than Avispa. Thus, even though Kashima have clinched the league crown the final week of the season will still provide some degree of drama as three matches will all have a bearing on the relegation fight.

Team	Points	Goal Difference
Yokohama Marinos	29	-13
Tokyo Verdy	27	-20
Avispa Fukuoka	27	-20
**Cerezo Osaka	21	-30

Elsewhere

At Nagoya, Brazilian striker Ueslei collected a second-half hat trick to propel Nagoya Grampus over JEF United by a margin of 5-1, and to move him into second place in the league scoring table.

Kashiwa Reysol managed a closely-fought 1-0 victory over Consadole Sapporo, but that will not cushion the blow for coach Steve Perryman. The outspoken Englishman took over from the well-liked Akira Nishino at mid-season promising to restore the fortunes of the underperforming squad, but his team will finish well out of the running, and could end up ranked as low as eighth, depending on the outcome of next week's matches.

Finally, FC Tokyo and Vissel Kobe struggled to a 1-1 draw at Tokyo Stadium, giving Vissel one point, and a safe passage out of the relegation zone. So, with one match left to play, this is how the league table looks

0 - 1

Team	Points	Goal Difference
1	Kyoto Purple Sanga	84	+32
2	Montedio Yamagata	80	+23
3	Vegalta Sendai	80	+21
4	Oita Trinita	77	+23

The dark horse in the race, Oita Trinita, were playing the easiest opposition, in 10th place Sagan Tosu, but they needed a victory and losses by both Yamagata and Sendai in order to advance. Montedio Yamagata, who held a slight advantage in goal difference, played at home, against a very tough Kawasaki Frontale team, while the flaming eagles of Vegalta Sendai made the 600km trip to face the J2 division leaders, Kyoto Purple Sanga, along with an amazing 10,000 of their fans (who completely drowned out the paltry Kyoto cheering section and made it seem like a home match). As all three matches moved towards injury time, the Oita-vs-Tosu match was deadlocked at a goal apiece, and both the Yamagata-vs-Kawasaki match and the Kyoto-vs-Sendai match were scoreless!

Knowing that they probably would need three points to advance, Vegalta threw caution to the wind, sending even their keeper into attack in the waning moments. For a second it seemed to pay off, as striker Marcos Souza Ribeiro took a long lead pass, broke past a defender and fired the ball into the net in the 89 minute, but the referee had blown a foul against Kyoto proir to the pass, and much to the dismay of the thundering crowd of Vegalta supporters. By this time, most of the crowd had heard that Montedio's match had remained scoreless after 90 minutes and gone to extra time, and their shouts of anger at having been robbed of victory shook the rafters of Kyoto's Nishigyoku stadium. But Sendai were not to be denied. As the game moved into injury time, the team once again threw all eleven players into offense, and this time a high lob pass as headed by former Antlers defender Ricardo Ribeiro to midfield general Nobuyuki Zaizen. Time seemed to stand still for an instant, as Zaizen swung at the ball with a wheelhouse kick, and sent it spinning into the top of the net. Then the crowd exploded and the players all collapsed on the field in tears of joy. Sendai are going to the J1!!!!

While the joyous celebration in Kyoto rocked on -- the players climbing into the stands to dance and celebrate with their fans -- the day ended on a sad note for the valiant band from Yamagata. The small-town team which had nearly gone all the way to the big show were able to see the Sendai-Kyoto result on the scoreboard as they warmed up for extra time, and a morbid hush fell over Yamagata stadium. Heartbroken, it seemed to take every ounce of energy the players had left to drag themselves out onto the field for extra time. Their spirits shattered, Montedio Yamagata could hardly put one foot in front of the other, and Kawasaki mercifully ended their suffering with a golden goal after barely a minute of extra time.

And so, the season ends for the J2 teams, with Kyoto Purple Sanga and Vegalta Sendai winning promotion to the top division. But considering the tremendous fan support they have generated in their fierce season-long struggle, teams like Montedio Yamagata, Albirex Niigata and Oita Trinita promise to provide a very exciting and entertaining second-division race next season.

Rumours and Rumblings

J2 to Abandon Extra Time

Joao Carlos Bids Another Team Farewell

Urawa Reds Want Hashiratani as Head Coach

Old Coach is Ooft Remembered in Omiya

Consadole Are Another Hashiratani Suitor

As for Okada himself, he seems to be taking the fall for Consadole's bargain-basement philosophy, but the fact is, Okada's ability to get the most out of borderline players was the main reason why the team has done as well as it has. Although Okada said he was leaving Sapporo because he wanted to "take a rest", some rumours have already linked him to the job at FC Tokyo, though the very capable and relatively well-liked Kiyoshi Okuma has not yet been informed that his job is in danger. . . . . . . . . keep your eye on the revolving door, and tune in next week for another episode of "As the Coaching World Turns".

Yanagisawa & Antlers Nearing a Deal with Perugia

Ono The Younger Signs for Saarbrucken