V-Varen Nagasaki closed out REGIONAL ROUND Match Week 6 in the MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE by defeating Avispa Fukuoka 1-0 on Sunday, thanks to Thiago Santana’s 76th-minute penalty at PEACE STADIUM Connected by SoftBank.
Thiago Santana almost fired the hosts in front in the opening minute of the game, lashing an effort narrowly wide of the far post after a long ball over the top.
The next clear sight of goal didn’t arrive until the second minute of the second half, when Nagasaki’s Hijiri Onaga dinked a cross in from the right flank and Shunya Yoneda headed over from the edge of the six-yard box.
The decisive moment then arrived in the 73rd minute, when Tatsuki Nara fouled Thiago Santana just inside the penalty area. The Brazilian striker held his nerve during a VAR check, before calmly slotting home from 12 yards to make it 1-0 three minutes later.
Fukuoka then had a golden opportunity to level things up with two minutes left on the clock, but after Sonosuke Sato found himself in behind the Nagasaki defence goalkeeper Masaaki Goto saved his first attempt before Sato sent the rebound wide.
Tsubasa Kasayanagi then almost doubled Nagasaki’s lead in the final minute of regular time, making a mazy run down the left flank to create a shooting chance, but finding Fukuoka goalkeeper Yuma Obata equal to his attempt and repelling it at the near post.
There was almost incredibly late drama as Fukuoka won a free-kick right on the edge of the box in the 11th minute of additional time, but Yu Hashimoto’s effort curled agonisingly over the bar and onto the roof of the net, leaving Nagasaki to celebrate their third win of the season.
V-Varen Nagasaki vs Avispa Fukuoka - Game Highlights | MW6
