It is all getting a bit closer at the bottom. Kyoto Sanga’s crucial 1-0 win against Avispa Fukuoka in midweek has breathed new life into their escape bid. These are the most recent results for the teams downstairs in J2:
Wednesday September 26:
- Kyoto Sanga 1-0 Avispa Fukuoka
Sunday September 23:
- FC Gifu 1-1 Tokyo Verdy
- Kyoto Sanga 0-2 Tochigi SC
- Matsumoto 2-0 Kumamoto
- Sanuki 0-2 Omiya Ardija
Above: Gifu forward Yuya Yamagishi runs at the Tokyo Verdy defence
Now the table looks like this:
- 19. FC Gifu – 33 (-15)
- 20. Kyoto Sanga – 31 (-19)
- 21. Roasso Kumamoto – 27 (-249
- 22. Kamatamare Sanuki – 26 (-39)
Above: Highlights from Sanuki’s defeat against Omiya Ardija last weekend
This weekend’s games:
- Zweigen Kanazawa vs FC Gifu
- Roasso Kumamoto vs Kyoto Sanga
- (Kamatamare Sanuki vs Machida Zelvia has been postponed)
So, it doesn’t take a lot of working out that the game down in Kumamoto – if it goes ahead – is a huge clash. Should Roasso lose, which is distinct possibility as they’ve lost six of their last seven at their Egao Stadium home, they’ll fall seven points behind Kyoto, and at stay at least six points from FC Gifu. The simple fact of the matter is that Roasso simply cannot afford to lose this game. Also working against them is the fact that they’ve never beaten Sanga at home in their J.League history – Kyoto have won six of their seven visits to Kumamoto with Roasso registering a solitary draw in those seven games. Kyoto will have received a huge psychological boost after their gritty win against Fukuoka in midweek, this coming hot on the heels of a seemingly calamitous home defeat against Tochigi SC. This is the last game of the J2 weekend and so the teams will know what their direct competitors have done. Who will handle the pressure better?
FC Gifu felt that the point they attained in their draw against Tokyo Verdy last weekend was a point dropped, but given the other results last weekend, a point doesn’t seem that bad – especially against a team that had Douglas Vieira, Alan Pinheiro and Leandro on the pitch at the end of the game. That draw was Gifu’s first point in eleven (!) games and sets them up with a bit more confidence for their possibly typhoon affected game in Kanazawa this weekend.
Above: Gifu’s Junichi Paulo Tanaka will be facing his former club Zweigen Kanazawa on Sunday – weather permitting.
Kanazawa beat Gifu in the return fixture earlier this year and were deserved winners. You can read a bit more about this game in my full preview, which you can find here.
I’m not sure how Kamatamare Sanuki feel about missing this game against Machida Zelvia, postponed because of Typhoon #24. One the one hand, Sanuki are in a dreadful run of form, taking only one point from the last nine games, and only scoring one goal in that run. On the other hand, it might have been a good time to play Machida after the Tokyo club found that they were ineligible for promotion due to the fact that they haven’t received a J1 license – stadium concerns being at the top of the list for their refusal. Machida might have felt a bit deflated…..or maybe not. Perhaps we’ll never know. What we do know is that Sanuki have a week to rest up before they head to face a suddenly red hot Albirex Niigata (four wins in a row) before hosting Roasso Kumamoto the following week. It will be a critical fortnight in the history of Kamatamare Sanuki.
All the games are subject to the weather being ok. Currently, the path of Typhoon #24 is is set over the Japanese mainland, making landfall in Kyushu (Kumamoto) tonight and hitting the central Japan area (Gifu/Kanazawa) tomorrow afternoon.
As of right now, I’d say it is a 50-50 proposition that these games take place. To follow the weather conditions I’d recommend the following accounts:
- The Japan Meteorological Association’s English page
- Weather news on Twitter (in Japanese): @wni_jp
- NHK World News
We Are Gifu 