REGIONAL ROUND Match Week 18 in the MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE concluded with a glut of goals on Sunday, as Cerezo Osaka made sure of a runners-up finish in the West with a 3-2 win over Fagiano Okayama and Yokohama F･Marinos stunned Tokyo Verdy with a 6-0 thrashing.
Yumeki Yokoyama gave C-Osaka the lead with a fierce strike in the eighth minute at JFE Harenokuni Stadium, then doubled the visitors’ advantage when dinking into the net 11 minutes into the second half.
Leo Gaucho pulled one back for Okayama in the 71st minute, tucking in from inside the six-yard box, but Satoki Uejo re-established C-Osaka’s two-goal advantage when he swept past Okayama goalkeeper Taro Hamada 10 minutes later.
There was still time for Leo Gaucho to register again in the final minute of regular time, but that wasn’t enough to deny C-Osaka the three points they needed to leapfrog Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Nagoya Grampus into second place.
Meanwhile in the East, Yokohama F･M climbed to seventh after a clinical showing away to Tokyo-V.
A crisp Tomoki Kondo finish on the counter got Yokohama F･M up and running after 25 minutes, with Kaina Tanimura converting 11 minutes later and Yuri Araujo making it 3-0 when he drove home in the second minute of first-half stoppage time.
Tanimura extended the away side’s lead with a header just 12 seconds into the second half, before Yuri Araujo got his second 14 minutes later and substitute Tevis added the gloss with a curling effort in the first minute of additional time.
In the day’s other games, Kawasaki Frontale beat Mito Hollyhock 3-1 to make sure of fourth place in the East, while Gamba Osaka came from behind to defeat Shimizu S-Pulse 2-1.
Substitute Kyosuke Mochiyama hit a sensational hat-trick for Kawasaki-F with goals in the 58th, 78th, and 85th minutes at K's denki Stadium Mito, before Patryck fired in a bullet of a consolation for Mito in the 91st minute.
Shimizu’s Masaki Yumiba broke the deadlock for his side with a 58th minute header at MUFG Stadium (National Stadium), but a brace from Harumi Minamino sealed the turnaround for G-Osaka, lifting them to fifth and leaving Shimizu seventh in the West.
Fagiano Okayama vs Cerezo Osaka - Game Highlights | MW18
Tokyo Verdy vs Yokohama F•Marinos - Game Highlights | MW18
Shimizu S-Pulse vs Gamba Osaka - Game Highlights | MW18
Mito Hollyhock vs Kawasaki Frontale - Game Highlights | MW18
