Match-day 22 of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League took place on the 14th of September and table leader, Kawasaki Frontale’s pounding over Sanfrecce Hiroshima hallmarked their second ten wins in a row this season.

56th minute Leandro Damião stunner broke the deadlock for Kawasaki, while Kaoru Mitoma sealed all three points just before the whistle. With ten games winning streak, Kawasaki now stand on top with 62 points, 15 points above second-placed FC Tokyo. The chaser too, threw confetti, upon thumping Shimizu S-Pulse 3-1 at home through Kyosuke Tagawa, Kensuke Nagai, and Adaílton.

With the recent stagger, Cerezo Osaka barely bagged home victory when wooden spoonist Shonan Bellmare visited last night. The sole goal from Matej Jonjić during injury-time terminated their two games of losing streaks. However, the AFC Champions League qualifiers spot is at risk as Nagoya Grampus gained the impetus through 3-0 (Ryogo Yamasaki, Mateus, and Sho Inagaki) beating against Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. Grampus now stand fourth on the ladder, three points short of Cerezo with a game played less.

Visitors, Kashima Antlers took full advantage of teetering Sagan Tosu through Ryōhei Shirasaki and Tomoya Inukai, as they collected three points at the Ekimae Real Estate Stadium. The draw at the Panasonic Stadium Suita between Gamba Osaka and Yokohama F. Marinos also meant Antlers now stand sixth on the table, overtaking F. Marinos. The visiting team, Yokohama, took the lead in the 26th minute yet, Takashi Usami spot-kick before the half-time whistle shared the spoils for the two.

On a match-day filled with peaceful draws, Vissel Kobe were part of the contingent despite Noriaki Fujimoto lead; drew with Oita Trinita after conceding a late goal. The two forwards of each side - Ataru Esaka (Kashiwa Reysol) and Shinzo Koroki (Urawa Red Diamonds) dazzled with a goal apiece but none was better than the other as they too, drew. Meanwhile, the match between Vegalta Sendai and Yokohama FC ended in a goalless draw after 90 minutes of hustle.