March 16, 2003
Nabisco Cup First Round Matches
With one week left until the regular league season kicks off, it still seemed that many clubs were poorly organised and still scraping off the winter rust. Severeal big clubs, including Jubilo Iwata, went down to surprising defeats at the hands of relative upstarts. Unless the top-level clubs get their acts together quickly, it could be a very interesting season indeed.
Lets begin with a look at the results of the matches;
| Date | Home | . | Visitor | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 15 |  | 0-1 |  | Komaba Stadium |
| Mar 15 |  | 4-2 |  | Kobe Unieversiade |
| Mar 15 |  | 4-1 |  | Sendai Stadium |
| Mar 15 |  | 2-2 |  | Komazawa Stadium |
| Mar 15 |  | 1-0 |  | Oita "Big Eye" |
| Mar 15 |  | 1-2 |  | Ichihara Seaside |
4 - 2 
Vissel Kobe have stormed out of the gate with two consecutive wins, and although theif victory over Tokyo Verdy last week was a close match won thanks to a few fortunate breaks, there was no dismissing their victory over Jubilo Iwata this weekend as a mere fluke. The team played extremely well as a unit, with perhaps better coordination and team play than any other team has shown yet this year.
4 - 2 Vissel looked solid on defence as they did last week, despite conceding two goals to Jubilo as the match defeloped into a wild horse-race in the latter stages of the second half. After playing a very defensive match for the first 45 minutes, both teams began to throw themselves into attack in the second half. But it was Kobe's counterattacking play that won the day. Jubilo had their usual share of possession at midfield, but Kobe's lightning-fact counters cut the deep midfield and defence of Jubilo to ribbons, with Brazilian ace Oseas tallying a hat trick and midfielder Harison added one more on a tremendous overhead kick, to send Jubilo down to a 4-2 defeat. Kobe now stand at the top of Group A, while Jubilo slips to second, ahead of Tokyo Verdy only on the second tie-breaking factor -- goals scored.
0 - 1 
Speaking of Tokyo, they rebounded from last week's loss to steal a 1-0 win from the Urawa Reds in hostile Komaba Stadium. The match promised to be a contest between ace strikers Patrick Mboma, Emerson and Edmundo, but turned out to be a rather dull affair with both teams demonstrating a good deal of early-season rust. The much-heralded Edi-Eme strike force misfired all afternoon, but so did Verdy's so-called "black panther". Both teams clearly have quality players on their rosters, and perhaps when they meet later in the season, the matchup can live up to its bililng. But unfortunately, poor passing and an excess of individualistic effort caused both offences to break down shy of the opponent's goal. In the end, Tokyo won the contest on an early goal from Atsuhiro Miura.
0 - 1 
1 - 2 
Cerezo Osaka came back from a self-inflicted 1-0 half time disadvantage to capture their first win of the season. Cerezo has looked reasonably sharp on offence since their return to the tob-flight, and put on an impressive show despite falling to cross-town rivals Gamba Osaka last week. However, their defence still looks shaky at times, and a defensive miscue was nearly their demise this week as well. In the first half, defender Yasushi Kita blocked a blistering JEF cross into his own net, putting Ichihara up 1-0 at the break.
1 - 2 But the flaming pinks came out with a surge of attacking football in the second half which hints that they could be a very exciting team to watch this year (albeit probably not a real contender). Goals by Takanori Nunobe and Baron gave Cerezo the victory, but the margin could have been even larger if not for some fine last-ditch defending by the JEF back line. Cerezo are now even on points with Gamba at the top of Group C, though they have played one match more than their two group rivals.
0 - 1 
Nagoya Grampus won their first match of the season, after waiting out a bye week on March 8. But although the team seemed a comfortable winner in the first J1 contest ever played in Oita "Big Eye" Stadium, they cannot really take much pride in their achievement. Like many other top clubs, they looked decidedly sluggish, poorly coordinated and lackadaisical against an outclassed Oita Trinita club. Nagoya got an early lead after a well-timed run by Keiji Yoshimura and a pinpoint cross by Chikara Fujimoto produced a bullet-like header that flew past keeper Hayato Okanaka before he could even shift his feet. But thereafter Nagoya's play left much to be desired. Oita pressed gamely for an equaliser, and although the Nagoya defence seemed to have them well under control, Grampus failed to use the opportunity to build meaningful counterattacks. The players looked complacent and perhaps a bit out of shape following their winter vacation. In any event, Nagoya now move to second place in their group, on inferior goal difference.
0 - 1 Elsewhere
Yukihiko Sato got a bit of revenge on his former club, scoring the opening goal for the Yokohama Marinos, but FC Tokyo fought back and ended up claiming a 2-2 draw.Meanwhile, Vegalta Sendai fared better against Kashiwa Reysol on their home ground than they did last week in Kashiwa, collecting four goals including a brace by young striker Hisato Sato to defeat Reysol 4-1
For a full roundup of the match results and standings in the Nabisco Cup tournament, Click Here.
J2 Season Kicks Off
While the J1 season has been contorted due to conflicts with national team activities and Asian club competitions, the scedule for the J2 season has not been altered in a similar way. Thus, the kick-off of J2 matches on March 15 marks the start of a long, 44-game campaign that will see clubs in action almost continuously until late November, apart from a breif break during the summer. The J.League's second division has been improving steadily in quality, as well as attracting impressive levels of fan support. Based on the opening matches of the season, it looks like this trend will continue in 2003.
| Date | Home | . | Visitor | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Mar | Consadole Sapporo | 1-3 | Yokohama FC | Sapporo Dome |
| 15 Mar | Ventforet Kofu | 1-1 | Sagan Tosu | Kose Stadium |
| 15 Mar | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 2-2 | Kawasaki Frontale | Hiroshima Big Arch |
| 15 Mar | Shonan Bellmare | 2-0 | Montedio Yamagata | Hiratsuka Stadium |
| 15 Mar | Avispa Fukuoka | 1-2 | Mito Hollyhock | Hakata-no-Mori |
| 16 Mar | Omiya Ardija | vs | Albirex Niigata | Saitama Stadium |
1 - 3 
Consadole Sapporo enter the season as one of two teams demoted from the J1 last season. Unfortunately, their hopes of bouncing back to the J1 in a single season, as they did the last time they were relegated (2000), hit a pothole as soon as they left the starting gate. Consadole suffered a humiliating 3-1 defeat before 23,000 of their home supporters, to Yokohama FC, the team that finished dead last in 2002. Of course, Yokohama FC are by no means the same team that they were last year. The return of former coach Pierre Littbarsky and the addition of several veteran playres has boosted the team in both confidence and talent. All the same, Consadole fans cannot be too happy about this result.
1 - 3 The match got off to a furious start, with FC Yokohama scoring a mere three minutes after the opening whistle, and Sapporo equalising two minutes later. Then, as half time approached with the score still deadlocked at 1-1, an unlikely hero emerged for FC. The widely maligned Shoji Jo joined Yokohama at the start of the year with hopes of trying to resuccitate his flat-lining career. Jo has been virtually incapable of finding the net for the past three seasons, and many (including the RSN) have written him off as a star that flamed out while still young. One match is certainly nothing to base a season's forecasts on, but in this particular match, Jo played with an urgency and sharpness that he hasnt shown since leaving JEF United, in the late 1990s. In the 32 minute, Jo cut for the near post as midfielder Kirk vanderVeen took a free kick from the right sideline. Jo slipped in front of his defender, trapped the ball with his chest and lofted the volley with his right foot, looping it over the keeper and into the back of the net.
Consadole struggled to equalise in the second half, and put FC Yokohama under quite a bit of pressure, but failed to finish off their opportunities. As time ran down, a Yokohama counterattack sent Masami Sato away for the final goal of the match.
1 - 4 
Consadole was not the only team to be humbled in front of a large home crowd. Omiya Ardija kicked off its 2003 campaign at Saitama Stadium in front of over 20,000 supporters, though a large contingent of them appeared to be Albirex fans who made the trip down from icy Niigata. Seeing as this match represented the "orange derby", the entire stadium was a mass of orange enthusiasm, and it was a bit hard to tell who was supporting whom. However, based on the decibel levels of their cheers, the Albirex fan club could count quite a few people in attendance.
1 - 4 Omiya started the match quite well, getting out to an early lead on a header by veteran Kazushi Isoyama and outplaying Albirex for the entire first half. But just before half time, striker Hisashi Kurosaki was sent off for his second bookable offence, on a bizarre call in which the referee judged that he was too close to the opponents taking a free kick. The RSN has belaboured the poor quality of officiating in the J.League many times before, and this match was certainly a case in point. Mr. Takayama, a first-year official who is just 28 years of age and clearly does not yet know the meaning of discretion, wielded his yellow plastic square with unseemly abandon, penalising both teams for the silliest of infractions (Kurosaki's first yellow came when he casually threw the ball over his opponent's head after conceding a free kick).
Unfortunately, this changed the character of the match entirely. Although Ardija held off their opponent for the remainder of the first half and about ten minutes of the second, Niigata's extra man took a toll, as incessant attacking runs and lots of long balls wore down the defenders' stamina. After Niigata equalised, in the 60 minute, the floodgates burst and two more goals followed in quick succession. The team's 19-year-old keeper Eiji Kawashima put on a fairly impressive performance in net, but Albirex' man advantage over 55 minutes of the match was too much to overcome, and in the dying moments of the match, Mr. Takayama added insult to injury by red-carding Masahito Harasaki, as well (this time on a somewhat more flagrant offence, but one which could easily been handled with a yellow). Now that they had two extra players, Albirex quickly added one more tally before the final whistle sounded.
2 - 2 
Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Kawasaki Frontale are two of our top picks for promotion this season, so it was fitting that the two teams faced each other in the first match of the year, and battled to a stirring, 2-2 draw. The hero of the match for Kawasaki was former Kashima Antlers defender Augusto, who scored a goal in injury time to clinch the draw, but both teams put on a show that made many of the Nabisco Cup matches look tame by comparison.
2 - 2 Frontale got off to the early lead on a strike by Kazuki Ganaha, but both teams had chances aplenty in the first half, and Sanfrecce were back level before the half time break. Midway through the second half, Tomislav Erceg gave Sanfrecce the lead on a pretty finish, inthe 77 minute. But just before the final whistle, Augusto forged into attack from his volante position and fired home the equaliser to give both teams a point on their road towards possible promotion.
Elsewhere
Ventforet Kofu got off to a good start in their first match of the season, with young Juninho sparkling like a rough diamond on offence and his supporting cast looking more adept and professional than any Kofu team before. But after taking a lead in the 48 minute, tragedy struck as Yosuke Ikehata was dismissed for a second bookable offence. Predictably, this call changed the nature of the match completely, and after dominating for the first 70 minutes, Kofu gave up the equaliser and had to content themselves with a 1-1 draw.Avispa Fukuoka looked even more pathetic than we had anticipated, losing a 2-1 decision at home to the weakest club in the league, Mito Hollyhock.
Shonan Bellmare started their campaing in good style, defeating Montedio Yamagata 2-0 on goals by veteran Hiroyuki Shirai and former Jubilo Iwata reserve midfielder Koji Sakamoto.
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