REGIONAL ROUND Match Week 7 in the MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE was played in full on Wednesday night, with Kashima Antlers reasserting their dominance at the top of the East table, Gamba Osaka moving into first place in the West, and Mito Hollyhock picking up their first win inside 90 minutes.
Kashima cruised to a 3-0 triumph over FC Machida Zelvia at MUFG Stadium, extending their winning run to six games.
Yuma Suzuki put Kashima in the driving seat with a close-range finish in just the 5th minute, before Kento Misao doubled his side’s advantage one minute before half-time.
Cavric then added the gloss for Kashima when he slotted home in the first minute of second-half additional time.
Meanwhile, G-Osaka ensured they are sitting pretty in the West despite conceding a late equaliser away to Vissel Kobe, winning 5-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
Ren Komatsu had given Kobe the lead after six minutes, tucking in after a free-kick into the area, but Deniz Hummet bundled in to restore parity in the 23rd minute and Ryoya Yamashita turned the tie in G-Osaka’s favour when he buried a rebound with seven minutes remaining.
Jean Patric then headed in Kento Hamasaki’s floated cross from deep in the 94th minute to send the game to a penalty shoot-out, but with Matheus Thuler missing Kobe’s first attempt and G-Osaka perfect from the spot, the visitors picked up a big two points.
Mito were also celebrating, after Keisuke Tada’s 62nd-minute strike secured a 1-0 victory over Yokohama F･Marinos - the club’s first three points in the top flight.
There were also regulation-time wins for FC TOKYO, Kyoto Sanga F.C., and Nagoya Grampus.
FC TOKYO edged JEF United Chiba 2-1 thanks to goals from Alexander Scholz and Ryunosuke Sato - Takuya Yasui on the scoresheet for Chiba - Masaya Okugawa and Henrique Trevisan both struck to help Kyoto bounce back from an early concession to Thiago Santana to beat V-Varen Nagasaki by the same score, and Yuya Yamagishi and Yudai Kimura were on target as Nagoya defeated Sanfrecce Hiroshima - that game also ending 2-1, with Akito Suzuki finding the net for Hiroshima.
In the day’s other games, Yasuto Wakizaka and Erison earned Kawasaki Frontale a 2-0 win over Tokyo Verdy, Werik Popo and Towa Yamane sealed Fagiano Okayama a 2-1 comeback win against Cerezo Osaka, for whom Solomon Sakuragawa had opened the scoring, and the ties between Urawa Reds and Kashiwa Reysol and Avispa Fukuoka and Shimizu S-Pulse both finished 1-1 - Kashiwa and Shimizu emerging triumphant from the resultant penalty shoot-outs.
FC Machida Zelvia vs Kashima Antlers - Game Highlights | MW7
Vissel Kobe vs Gamba Osaka - Game Highlights | MW7
Mito Hollyhock vs Yokohama F•Marinos - Game Highlights | MW7
V-Varen Nagasaki vs Kyoto Sanga F.C. - Game Highlights | MW7
Avispa Fukuoka vs Shimizu S-Pulse - Game Highlights | MW7
Nagoya Grampus vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima - Game Highlights | MW7
JEF United Chiba vs FC TOKYO - Game Highlights | MW7
Urawa Reds vs Kashiwa Reysol - Game Highlights | MW7
Cerezo Osaka vs Fagiano Okayama - Game Highlights | MW7
Tokyo Verdy vs Kawasaki Frontale - Game Highlights | MW7
