The ninth round of the 2016 MEIJI YASUDA J2 League took place on Saturday with 10 matches played across Japan.

Cerezo Osaka suffered their first loss of the season away at Consadole Sapporo, losing 1-0 thanks to Junichi Inamoto’s first goal for the Sapporo Dome residents since joining in 2015.

Machida Zelda’s Yuki Nakashima scored the game-winning goal in their 1-0 win over V-Varen Nagasaki in the 76th minute, moving the southwestern Tokyo side into first place with 20 points.

A stoppage time strike by Genki Omae gave Shimizu S-Pulse a 2-1 win at Giravanz Kitakyushu. 

Kazuki Hara gave the hosts the lead in the 40th minute, but they were undone just two minutes into the second half by an own goal.

Runoff Yamaguchi moved into seventh place with a 4-2 win against JEF United Chiba thanks in part to Yatsunori Shimaya’s first half brace.

As previously announced, the postponed fixture between Roasso Kumamoto and Yokohama FC will be rescheduled for a later date.