Cerezo Osaka
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Thespa Kusatsu
Cerezo’s last game were postponed due to bad weather, and took place on wednesday instead. Cereso travelled to Ehime, where they quite easily won 2-0. The game were quite even at the start, but Cerezo always looked the more likely team to score. It was still deadlocked at the break though, but only 10 minutes into the 2nd half Cerezo had the lead through a nice goal by defender Maeda. Cerezo kept pushing for the 2nd goal, and Ehime had enough problems just defending. So, 3 quarters into the game Shinji Kagawa, who just returned from U-20 World Cup popped up to give Cerezo a double lead. Ehime made some half-hearted attempts to get one back, but at the end they never stood a chance. Cerezo outshot Ehime 15-9, and it was a pretty convincing away victory. Thespa had Shonan Bellmare at home, and were unlucky to lose 1-0. Thespa surprisingly enough had the most of play, and deserved at least a couple of goals. Thespa outshot Bellmare 17-9, and looked much improved from their recent outings. However, poor finishing let them yet again down. Shonan’s goal came with only 8 minutes left, which was a devastating blow after dominating much of the match.
Cerezo get alot of important players back here, top goalscorer Furuhashi as well as Are in midfield returns from suspension. Kagawa and Morishima are back from U-20 World Cup. Morishima showed in Canada what great potential he got, and if he can follow up on his form he showed there for Cerezo, it looks bright for the Flaming Pinks. The teams met only 5 rounds ago as well, with Cerezo claiming a 2-0 away win. Both goals came late in game, but Cerezo were the most likely team to score all match. Thespa weren’t all bad though, and produced some big chances as well. Cerezo outshot Thespa 16-14, and all in all it was deserved. Cerezo won the first meeting this season as well, with 1-0 at home. That match was extremely dull, with very few chances. Cerezo took an early lead through Kakitani, and that was about the action we saw there. Those are the only 2 meetings between these teams. After a couple of losses, Cerezo now are back on form, with 7 points from their last 3 matches. They look a much stronger side now, with just about everyone back in the team. They only got 3-0-3 on their last 3 home matches though, but must find themselves as favorites here. Thespa’s misery continues, and they haven’t won since may, or in 10 matches.Their away form is a lowly 0-3-3, and are the 2nd worst away team in the league.
I think we’ll see yet another Cerezo win here, as they are simply a much better side than Thespa.
Consadole Sapporo
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Tokyo Verdy 1969
Consadole’s match last weekend against Tokushima were postponed, and is yet to be played.Therefore, Consadole’s last match was against Avispa at home. Consadole scored early in the game, after Soda, their rock in defence, headed home a corner kick to give Consadole the lead. After that, Avispa took more and more over, and it was deserved when they equalized through Tanaka. Consadole chased for their 2nd goal though, and came close on several occasions. With 10 minutes to go, Davi was fouled inside the penalty box, and Nishitani scored on the following PK to handle Consadole the win. Consadole had 17 shots to Avispa 7, so it was fully deserved. Tokyo Verdy had Montedio at home, and can’t be satisfied with the 1-1 draw. Tokyo started the game best, and should have scored a few goals in the 1st half. Montedio went for counter-attacks, and came close on some occasions as well. Tokyo pushed for the opening goal, but in fact it was Montedio that broke the deadlock, with only 15 minutes left. For long it looked like it was going to be the only goal, before Hulk equalized in te 89th minute. Montedio’s goal came against the play, and although they had some big chances, they probably got more than they deserved. Tokyo outshot them 12-7.
Tokyo are still suffering from major injury problems, and for this round Kanazawa is out as well in defence. Up front they don’t have any major problems, but with close to all preferred defenders out, it might become too hard against the league leaders. Consadole won both the 2 previous meetings this season. Their last meeting was only a month ago, and there Consadole picked up a 1-0 away win. Tokyo probably deserved the win though, and created lots of chances only to see the Consadole GK deny them a goal. Consadole’s goal came at the beginning of the 2nd half, but Tokyo outshot them 17-10, so they should have gotten more from this. The first meeting ended with a 4-3 win for Consadole, after they were up 3-0 by the 16th minute. Tokyo fought back, and the game were level again 15 minutes into the 2nd half. After such a recovery, to see Consadole score again only 5 minutes later, must have been a devastating blow. After that nothing much more happened, and Consadole claimed the win. Consadole’ home for is 3-3-0, but they’ve been giving away points against inferior opposition lately, both home and away. They are still on good form though, with only one loss in the last 13. Tokyo as well have been good lately, especially away. On the last 6 away they got an impressive 4-2-0, and 3 consecutive wins. On their last 5 games home and away, they’ve taken 13 points out of 15 possible.
I think we’ll see an interesting game, but I hold Consadole as favorites here.
Mito Hollyhock
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Kyoto Sanga F.C.
Mito didn’t play last round so their last match were against Shonan away. Shonan won quite comfortably 2-0, but Mito started the game pretty good. As usual though, Mito failed to find the net. Shonan took more and more over as time passed by, and it was fully deserved that they took the lead with only 5 minutes to go through their brazilian defender Jean. Shonan put one more behind the Mito goalkeeper, this time by fellow brazilian Adiel,and won fully deserved. Shonan outshot Mito 21-8 and probably should have scored even more goals. Kyoto won 1-0 at home to Sagan last round. Kyoto looked the much stronger team for most of the match, but didn’t score before in the 78th minute. IT didn’t happen much in the first half, but things got better in 2nd. Sagan had a very defensive approach for this game, and it for long look liked they would succeed with it. All in all it was a deserved win for Kyoto, who outshot Sagan 12-7. As a positive sidenote, Kyoto’s prolific goalscorer Andrč returned to action after a couple of months out. He came off the bench right after Kyoto scored their goal, and it won’t be long before he’s back in the first team. He will probably start this game on the bench, but even to have him as a late substitute is a plus.
Kyoto won both the 2 previous meetings this season, 2-0 and 2-1. The last match were only 1 month ago, and Mito actually gave Kyoto a good run for the points. Kyoto took an early lead, but minutes into the 2nd half Mito scored through an own goal to level the score again. Kyoto didn’t need much time to get back into the lead, and it was Paulinho, who with Andrč absent has been on fire lately, scored the decisive goal. A deserved win after all. The first meeting this season was a much easier win for Kyoto, who dominated most of the time.
Mito’s home form is only 1-0-5, and they look doomed to finish last this season. They play some very attractive football at times, but when the results don’t go their way, there’s not much hope for them to improve. Luckily for them, relegation is currently not possible in J2. Mito have now 5 losses in a row. Kyoto on the other hand, have been great lately. on last 12 home and away, they got 9-1-2, and away, they got 4-0-2 on last 6. They have climbed all the way up to 2nd now, and are only 3 points behind Consadole in first, though Consadole got a game in hand. I think Kyoto will continue their fine run here, and win pretty easily.
Montedio Yamagata
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Vegalta Sendai
Montedio travelled to Tokyo where they met Verdy last round. Although the home team was overall the best team, Montedio fought hard for their point. Montedio approached the game with a counter-attacking tactic, and it looked like working pretty good as well. Montedio took the lead late in the 2nd half, only to see Tokyo equalize with 1 minute left. Tokyo outshot Montedio 12-7, and probably deserved to win it as well. Credit to Montedio though. Vegalta’s game were postponed to Sunday, and they took a much needed 1-0 away win at Avispa. It was a very even match with lots of chances, but surprisingly we only saw the single goal. It was the brazilian MF Lopes who proved to be the difference, as he scored with 15 minutes left to give Vegalta the win. Both teams had 13 shots each, and a draw might would have been the ”correct” result.
Montedio get important defender Shogo Kobara back for this game, which has been clearly missed lately. Vegalta won the last meeting 2-0 pretty easily at home. Vegalta took the lead ater only 9 minutes, and by half time they were up 2-0.Montedio never really managed to get back into the game, and Vegalta controlled in the win. The first meeting ended 3-3 in Yamagata after Vegalta had taken the lead on 3 occasions, only to see Montedio equalize every time. Vegalta proved to very effective in front of goal, and scored on what really was their only 3 big chances. Montedio outshot them 16-8 and probably deserved more.
Montedio have only recorded one win in their last 13 matches, and have fallen all the way down to 9th place. Promotion seems a far-fetched goal now, and a mid-table position seems like the most they can hope for now. Home they got 1-2-3 on their last 6. Vegalta have won 4 of the last 5 matches, but have been varying in their performances lately. Their away form is only 2-0-4. All meetings gives us 1-3-2 for Montedio.
I think we’re in for a pretty open match, but I hold Vegalta as favorites due to their superior form.
Sagan Tosu
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Tokushima Vortis
Sagan travelled to Kyoto, where they were beaten 1-0 by the home team. Sagan took a very defensive stance to this game, and their only chances came from counter-attacks. It proved very efective, at least in the first half as Kyoto struggled to break down the Sagan defence. With 12 minutes left though, Kyoto finally broke the deadlock to take the win. A fair result, and Kyoto outshot them 12-7. Tokushima’s match against Consadole were postponed due to weather circumstances. Their last match were against Cerezo Osaka away, where they lost 3-1 to Cerezo away last round after Cerezo scored 2 withing the last 5 minutes. Tokushima must feel gutted to see the point slip away like that, and they played quite good as well, and might should have deserved a point. Cerezo took the lead right before the break, but Tokushima equalized midway through the 2nd. Tokushima actually outshot Cerezo 13-12, but Cerezo’s chances were genereally more dangerous than Tokushima’s.
Their 2 previous meetings this season ended with a 1-0 win for Sagan, and a 1-1 draw in the 2nd. The 1-0 win was Sagan’s first win of the season, after 4 consecutive wins. That Sagan only won 1-0 that is a riddle, as they dominated the game from beginning to end. Tokushima didn’t produce anything at all, and only had 1 shot at goal. Sagan had 16, but poor finishing let them down. The 2nd meeting,which was in May, ended 1-1 after Tokushima equalized in the dying minutes. Sagan took an early lead, and kept it like that for most of the game. Tokushima never looked that dangerous, but scored on one of their few visits with 7 minutes left of the game. Sagan probably deserved more than the single point.
Sagan got 4-0-2 on their last 6 at home, and got 4 wins of the latest 5, home and away. They are stuck in the middle of the table, still some points behind the top teams. If they keep their fine form throughout the rest of the season, we might see them higher in the table at the end. On their best, Sagan can beat anyone. Tokushima on the other hand, is not really setting the world on fire with their football. Away, they still got a decent 2-2-2 on their last 6. but they have only picked 10 points from their last 12 matches, which is not really that much. They currently find themselves in 12th place with only Mito behind them, trailing Thespa and Ehime with 1 and 2 points respectively. All meetings between Sagan and Tokushima gives us 4-2-0 for Sagan.
It’s no doubt this is a game Sagan should win, and probably will as well.
Shonan Bellmare
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Ehime FC
Shonan were lucky to get away from Thespa with all points after Thespa had been the better team for most of the game. Shonan scored with only 8 minutes left, to claim a 1-0 win. Thespa were the superior team this match though, and outshot Shonan 16-7. Good defending and some impressive goalkeeping kept Thespa from scoring.
Ehime played Cerezo at home, where they lost 2-0. Both of Cerezo’s goals came in the 2nd half. Ehime defended well in the first half, but didn’t create much themselves. Cerezo always looked the more likely team to win this one, and it was a deserved victory for the visitors. Cerezo outshot ehime 15-9.
Ehime are missing their top striker Tanaka, who himself have scored 1/3 of Ehime’s goals this season. Shonan won the last meeting 4-0 away, after dominating the game from beginning to end. Shonan scored 2 in each half, to claim a very convincing victory. Shonan outshot Ehime 16-9. The first meeting ended in a 0-0 draw, aftet neither teams looked very fond of attacking. Shonan were marginally the better team though, and probably deserved the win. Shonan got 2 wins in a row now, both away. Their home form is 3-0-3. Ehime away also got 3-0-3, and they’ve won their 2 latest away matches. Without Tanaka, it’s hard to see where the goals will come from, and I think Ehime will struggle here.All previous meetings gives us 3-1-2 for Shonan. Win for Shonan.
Japan J-League 2
21-07-2007, 02:54
