Vissel Kobe strengthened their position at the top of the West table of the MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE as REGIONAL ROUND Match Week 10 got underway on Saturday, climbing to 25 points courtesy of a 3-2 win over Nagoya Grampus.
Gotoku Sakai got the scoring started for the hosts at NOEVIR Stadium Kobe after 27 minutes, but Yudai Kimura headed an equaliser for Nagoya two minutes later and Tsukasa Morishima made it 2-1 to the visitors with a fine strike seven minutes into the second half.
Kobe battled back though, and after Daiju Sasaki’s penalty in the 68th minute levelled the scores, Yoshinori Muto completed the turnaround when he headed in with nine minutes remaining.
Kyoto Sanga F.C. sit second, eight points behind Kobe having played a game fewer, after they cruised to a thumping 5-1 victory against Fagiano Okayama.
After Alex Souza gave Kyoto the lead in the 12th minute, Okayama pulled level thanks to Takaya Kimura’s header 19 minutes later, but two goals in first-half stoppage time from Kyo Sato and Joao Pedro put Kyoto back in control.
Yoshinori Suzuki then made it 4-1 in the 56th minute, before a fine individual effort from Joao Pedro in the first minute of second-half injury time rounded off a dominant win for the hosts.
The Osaka Derby was a far tighter affair, but visitors Cerezo Osaka emerged triumphant over neighbours Gamba Osaka, winning 1-0 thanks to Thiago Andrade’s clipped finish five minutes before half-time.
Bottom side Avispa Fukuoka also won by the same scoreline, as Tomoya Miki’s 62nd-minute finish sealed all three points against V-Varen Nagasaki.
Elsewhere, Sanfrecce Hiroshima won a penalty shoot-out 5-4 against Shimizu S-Pulse after their game finished 1-1. Oh Se Hun had put Shimizu in front in the 71st minute, but Hiroshima's Kosuke Kinoshita equalised three minutes later to send the game to the decider from 12 yards.
Meanwhile in the East, FC TOKYO moved level on 23 points with leaders Kashima Antlers - albeit having played two more games - thanks a 3-1 win over Yokohama F･Marinos.
A goal in each half from Kein Sato and Marcelo Ryan put FC TOKYO 2-0 up, and although Ren Kato pulled one back for Yokohama F･M with 16 minutes remaining, an own goal from Hiroto Asada five minutes later settled the contest in the visitors’ favour.
In the day’s other games, Na Sangho’s solitary strike sealed FC Machida Zelvia a 1-0 win against Kashiwa Reysol, while JEF United Chiba and Mito Hollyhock drew 1-1 - Matheus Leiria finding the net for Mito and Takuya Yasui with Chiba’s reply. Mito then won the resultant penalty shoot-out 3-2.
Vissel Kobe vs Nagoya Grampus - Game Highlights | MW10
Kyoto Sanga F.C. vs Fagiano Okayama - Game Highlights | MW10
Gamba Osaka vs Cerezo Osaka - Game Highlights | MW10
Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs Shimizu S-Pulse - Game Highlights | MW10
Avispa Fukuoka vs V-Varen Nagasaki - Game Highlights | MW10
FC Machida Zelvia vs Kashiwa Reysol - Game Highlights | MW10
Yokohama F•Marinos vs FC TOKYO - Game Highlights | MW10
JEF United Chiba vs Mito Hollyhock - Game Highlights | MW10
