Cerezo Osaka 4 - 1 Sagan Tosu

An entertainingly open game and there could have been more goals but for the woodwork and of course the goalkeepers. Spreading the goals around a bit this game with the player of the East Asian Cup tournament Yamaguchi scoring the first after Kakitani's persistence. Sakemoto scored a bit of a fluke goal before Sagan Tosu scored their only goal of the game. Yokoyama got our third and had a fine game in a midfield lacking Simplicio anchored by him and Ogihara allowing Yamaguchi to play further forward. Defender Yamashita scored the fourth which was also a just reward for his recent performances deputising for Moniwa.

Consistency in the league but knocked out of the Nabisco Cup

Zaccheroni was at Kincho for this one as he saw Kakitani put us ahead with a typically cool finish after he was put through superbly by Minamino who did enough to ensure he'll be starting a few more games this season. We looked fairly comfortable despite Yokohama hitting the woodwork on a couple of occasions. Yokoyama came in to fill Ogihara's defensive midfield position and did really well alongside Yamaguchi. Yamashita worked hard in a defence that looked happy to tackle for once. Jin-Hyeon was taken off just after the hour mark after a clash of heads, something similar happened to him a couple of seasons back and he was ruled out for a few weeks, but he should be back for our next game this time. Simplicio picked his spot from outside the box to wrap up the win despite Marquinhos's late header. Looking good in J1 then although we limped out of the Nabisco Cup Quarter finals that hasn't affected our run in the league. Next up is Hiroshima away.

No, no, no! No nicknames on kits please "Bomber"

Yokohama fans brought the noise and someone had a cymbal to accompany the drums

13272 in attendance as a few sections were sold out

 

Last game of the season 2 - 2 and we are still in J1!

We could have been relegated if other results conspired against us and we didn't get at least a point against Frontale. So I spent most of the match looking at the updates from other matches in particular those involving our fellow Kansai strugglers Gamba and Vissel Kobe which reminded me of watching football scores on Ceefax (RIP). Others listened to the radio and the more prepared fans were watching streams from these games. As is turned out we could have lost and still stayed up. This is why the celebrations when our equaliser went in from our players seemed a bit over the top to say the least. When it might have mattered we were losing for long periods. When it got to 2 – 2 we were safe anyway. Overall the league campaign wasn't a particularly impressive one with managerial changes and us, inevitably now it seems, losing another star player to a German club in the summer. Takahiro Ogihara is lined up to sign for Nurnberg this winter too. Gamba and Vissel both lost and go down. This means no derby games for us next season and while I was delighted to see Gamba go down most of our fans were just happy to stay up. In fact most of our fans were/are sympathetic to their plight, but I personally enjoyed seeing their supporters crying! The other team at the wrong end of the table on the last day, Albirex Niigata, spanked the newly crowned and possibly hungover champions Hiroshima 4 – 1 ensuring they stay in J1. Here are the highlights and the rather embarrassing celebration scenes when our second equaliser goes in, seriously it looks like we've won the league instead of just avoiding relegation thanks to the results of other teams. On the positive side Tomonobu Yokoyama chipped in with two goals against his old club. At least his wild celebrations were warranted.

HIghlights, OTT celebrations at 02:45!

More transfers!

Well we sold Kiyotake to Nuremberg for a pittance considering his status but we got a fair price for Bo Kyung from cash rich Cardiff City and their rebranding Malaysian owners. Branqhuino who has been average at best has gone on loan to Montedio Yamagata in J2. Also this week we signed Brazilian midfeilder Heberty on loan from Thespa Kusatsu in J2. He joins fellow newbies Yokoyama, Edamura and Simplicio. Here are a few of Heberty's goals in J2, don't get too excited, remember anyone can look good on a Youtube highlights compilation but here's hoping he can be good enough to help us avoid relegation.