Nagoya Grampus, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, and Kawasaki Frontale were the big winners as REGIONAL ROUND Match Week 12 of the MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE concluded on Saturday, as each strengthened their positions near the top of their respective tables.
Nagoya climbed to second place in the West rankings, courtesy of a 2-0 win away to Shimizu S-Pulse.
Yudai Kimura opened the scoring for Nagoya with a header in the last minute of the first half, before Shungo Sugiura added a second when he tucked in from close range with two minutes remaining.
Hiroshima moved into fourth in hugely dramatic style at EDION PEACE WING HIROSHIMA, scoring twice in the closing minutes to come from behind and defeat Cerezo Osaka 2-1.
Thiago Andrade put visitors C-Osaka ahead when he fired in after 12 minutes, but Hiroshima pulled level in the 86th minute when substitute Dion Cools put in to his own net.
Kosuke Kinoshita then completed the turnaround in the third minute of stoppage time, converting from the penalty spot after a handball in the area.
There was also drama as Kawasaki-F recovered from a late concession to beat JEF United Chiba 2-1, taking them into fourth in the East.
Yuki Yamamoto’s calm finish had put Kawasaki-F in control of proceedings after just six minutes at Uvance Todoroki Stadium by Fujitsu, but when Rikuto Ishio slotted in an equaliser for Chiba with five minutes remaining it looked as though the game was headed for a penalty shoot-out.
Marcinho had other ideas though, with the Brazilian guiding the ball into the bottom corner in the 89th minute to ensure Kawasaki-F wrapped up the win in regulation time.
Yokohama F･Marinos were also celebrating, after they dealt Urawa Reds a seventh consecutive defeat (including penalty shoot-outs) with a 3-2 win at Saitama Stadium 2002.
Riku Yamane broke the deadlock for Yokohama F･M when he rifled in after 21 minutes, before Takuro Kaneko headed in an equaliser for Urawa seven minutes later.
Another header from Kota Watanabe in the 62nd minute and crisp Jun Amano strike 17 minutes later put Yokohama F･M 3-1 up though, and despite Jeisson Quinones’ own goal in the last minute, the visitors held on for the victory.
In the day’s other games in the West, Fagiano Okayama beat Avispa Fukuoka 2-0 thanks to a goal in each half from Kosuke Shirai and Towa Yamane, while Gamba Osaka defeated V-Varen Nagasaki 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Matheus Jesus struck first after 78 minutes for Nagasaki, but Deniz Hummet equalised two minutes later and G-Osaka sealed the two points after scoring all six of their kicks in the penalty shoot-out.
Shimizu S-Pulse vs Nagoya Grampus - Game Highlights | MW12
Urawa Reds vs Yokohama F•Marinos - Game Highlights | MW12
Kawasaki Frontale vs JEF United Chiba - Game Highlights | MW12
Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs Cerezo Osaka - Game Highlights | MW12
Fagiano Okayama vs Avispa Fukuoka - Game Highlights | MW12
V-Varen Nagasaki vs Gamba Osaka - Game Highlights | MW12
