J3 November Review

Kanazawa Inaugural J3 Champions! Nagano Advance to J2 Playoff.

Machida and Tottori fall short of promotion

This was the inaugural season of the Meiji Yasuda J3 League. Round 1 was back on March 9th, Round 33 finished up on November 23rd. All the clubs were striving toward their own goals during the final 4 rounds in November.

Zweigen Kanazawa took the coveted inaugural championship. They have been sitting at the top of the table since Round 25 in September and finished November with 4 consecutive wins. Their last defeat was back in Round 20 in August and they have 12 wins and 1 draw from their final 13 games in an unstoppable run at the top of the table. The win in Round 32 gave them the title and the J-League board of directors have already given them the go ahead to promote to J2 next season.

They had the best defensive record conceding only 20 goals, and the equal 3rd best attack with 56 goals, a good balance of attack and defence. The team's leading goal scorer was midfielder Shohei Kiyohara with 9 goals, and forward Shoma Mizunaga managed 8 goals even though he only joined the club midway through the season. Defender Kosuke Ota and midfielder Kazuhiro Sato both managed 7 goals a piece, which highlighted the quality of this side, so many players able to consistently score goals.

Finishing in 2nd place was AC Nagano Parceiro. They moved into second place after Round 27, and chased Kanazawa hard during November with 3 wins and a draw, but were unable to close the gap. They managed to lock in 2nd place and will face the 21st placed J2 team, Kamatamare Sanuki, in a play off for J2. Their leading goal scorer is Yuji Unozawa with 16 goals. He played for Kashiwa Reysol back in 2004 when J1/J2 promotion play-off games were first introduced, and scored a goal in the second leg. Now 10 years later it will be interesting to see what effect he will have on the first J2/J3 promotion play-off.

3rd placed FC Machida Zelvia and 4th placed Gainare Tottori will have to wait to next season to have another shot at promotion to J2. Machida with inaugural J3 Golden Boot winner Koji Suzuki who scored 19 goals, they were leading the table mid-season, but fell back to 2nd after a string of poor results between Rounds 22 and 25, they only took 3 points from 1 win and 3 loses. Another lose in Round 27 saw them drop to 3rd, and even 4 wins during November was not enough for them to move up the ladder. Tottori managed the 11 draws this season, the 2nd most in the league, and by the middle of the season an insurmountable gap had opened up between the top teams. A lose to Kanazawa early in November erased any small chance of them finishing in the top 2, and they failed to lift for the end of the season and finished with 1 win, 1 lose, and 2 draws in November.

Morioka played like they were challenging for the title

Grulla Morioka finished in 5th place. Grulla Morioka were the only team that came into J3 from a lower regional league, and many people expected them to struggle this season, but thanks to 12 goals from Ryota Doi, 4th on the goal scorers list, they were able to be potential challengers to the title. They finished on a down note with 1 win, 2 loses, and a draw in November, but they'll be able to use the self belief they've established this season to build towards next season. 6th placed SC Sagamihara strengthened their squad early in the season with former Japan representative Naohiro Takahara, but he was unable to make as big an impact as expected after being forced into retirement through injury. However, they managed to finish the season strongly with 3 wins and 1 lose in November to give them confidence for next season.

7th placed Fukushima United FC under the tutelage of manager Keisuke Kurihara in 2014 worked their way up the table in October, but 1 win and 3 loses in November was a sour note. Although they will be happy with their final game of the season after they downed Ryukyu in exciting circumstances. 8th placed Blaublitz Akita had 1 win, 1 draw, and 2 loses in November. They had a really difficult time earlier in the season with 6 consecutive loses between Rounds 14 and 19. Manager George Yanoshiro asked the team to work on maintaining ball possession, and managed to dominate Tottori with 3 wins from 3 in head-to-head this season.

9th placed FC Ryukyu lost their final 3 games to finish with 1 win from their 4 games in November. They were unable to continue their early form into the second half of the season after they were only team to win their opening 2 games of the season. They had the handicap of long distance travel to all their away games, but they'll be more comfortable with the hectic travel schedule next season. The J-League U-22s finished in 10th. They had 1 win, 1 draw, and 2 loses in November, and finished the season with 9 wins, but 18 loses was the 2nd worst record in the league. There were many games where the team fell to pieces early in the game and were unable to recover. It's difficult to judge the team since their playing roster changed from game to game, but the team provided some valuable experience for many young players who will be able to return to their clubs and force their way into the starting line up. The players shouldn't forget that playing in J3 is an opportunity to hone their skills and get some good competitive experience.

Fujieda MYFC in 11th and YSCC Yokohama in 12th both had difficult seasons. Fujieda lost to Yokohama in Round 32 and finished November with 1 draw, 3 loses, and no wins. However one positive asset for the team is forward Tsugutoshi Oishi who finished 2nd on the goal scorers list with 17 goals. Yokohama had 1 win and 3 loses in November, and only managed 4 wins all season to finish bottom. Their Round 32 win over Fujieda was the only time they managed to win with a clean sheet to give themselves a performance to build on for next season.


Next season Kataller Toyama will be demoting from J2, and Renofa Yamaguchi FC will be promoting from the JFL to add some changes for the 2nd season of the J3. Each team dealt with their own ups and downs, how will they line up next season? Let's hope that the J3 will build on this season to create an even more exciting season in 2015.

Source: http://www.j3league.jp/special/m-report/201411.html

Round 33 vs Ryukyu: Match Review

Fukushima 2 (58' Ohara, 90+2' Tokisaki)
Ryukyu 1 (90+1' Urashima)

Venue: Toho Minna no Stadium
Attendance: 1,929

Both teams were very conservative and sluggish in a quiet first half, but the match sprang to life in the second half. After some sustained pressure from Fukushima they won a corner in the 58th minute and defender Takahiro Ohara scored to put them in to the lead.

Ryukyu quickly made some attacking substitutions and pushed forward for an equaliser. In the 91st minute Ryukyu defender Daichi Okumiya put a cross in to a crowded penalty area which was bundled over the line by Takahiro Urashima to even the scores.

However, it wasn't the final piece of drama for the match as Fukushima refused to give up. Only 1 minute later, 74th minute substitute Rui Tokisaki received a pass in the penalty area to steal a late winner. This game was Tokisaki's final game before retirement, and he managed to score a goal in the dying seconds to give Fukushima the win.

Source: http://match.j3league.jp/match/2014/112303_3.html

Round 33 vs Ryukyu: Match Preview

Both teams will be finishing the season with an eye on next season. Fukushima are in front in the head-to-head results between these clubs this season with 1 win and 1 draw. Both teams are coming off a string of loses, so they'll both be trying to finish the season on a positive note.

Fukushima haven't gained any points in their last 3 games and will be worried by their lack of ability to put the ball in the back of the net. They have really struggled offensively this season, but through a stubborn and determined defence have been able to cause problems for the teams higher up the ladder. In order to stop the run of loses before the end of the season, the attacking players will be strenuously trying to match the effort put in by the defence.

Ryukyu put in a magnificent performance against league leaders Kanazawa in the previous round, but came away from the match without a point. A resolute performance from their offence and the goalkeeper at the heart of their defensive line, an excellent performance even though they ultimately lost the match. Up against an offensively shaky Fukushima, Ryukyu will be feeling confident if they can get on the score sheet early. They will want to play an offensive game with the whole team pushing forward toward the goal. However, they will be feeling a bit uneasy at the back with the absence of defender Daiki Asada who has played 31 games this season and will miss the game after accumulating too many yellow cards. Depending on results either team has the potential to sink further down the table, but the winning team will hold on to 7th place.

Source: http://match.j3league.jp/match/2014/112303_1.html

Round 32 vs Machida: Match Review

Machida 2 (13' Suzuki, 86' Hoshino)
Fukushima 0

Venue: Machida Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 4472

Machida came out attacking from the kick off. A cross from the left found Koji Suzuki in the penalty area with a golden opportunity but he was unable to put it away. They keep up the pressure, and a cross from defender Bae Dae-Won in the 13th minute found Suzuki's head to put them into the lead early in the game, 1-0.

The pace of the game began to slow until the 57th minute when Fukushima forward Yasutaka Kobayashi almost brought Fukushima back into the game with a close range effort. Then in the 61st minute Machida goalkeeper Tomohito Shugyo was injured which gave reserve keeper Kyohei Shimazaki his first appearance of the season in a testing situation.

Then in the 73rd minute Fukushima defender Kento Sugino received a second yellow card to leave Fukushima with 10 men. In the 86th minute Machida defender Hoshino scored a decisive goal for Machida to put Fukushima further behind, 2-0.

Source: http://match.j3league.jp/match/2014/111601_3.html

Round 32 vs Machida: Match Preview

Machida took all three points last previous round with a dominant 4-1 win over Ryukyu. The J3 title also slipped out of their reach when league leaders Kanazawa downed the J-League U-22 team, but they managed to remain 1 point behind 2nd place Nagano. Thre are only 2 games remaining in their fierce battle for promotion. This game against Fukushima is the final home game of the season at Machida City Athletics Centre. Machida beat Fukushima the last time the teams met, but they'll still want to be careful against the team that gave them their first loss of the season, especially if they want to remain in the hunt for promotion. Last week's match against Ryukyu was controlled by ace forward Koji Suzuki, and some well timed substitutions made some worthwhile contributions with some great team play. Can they use this game to provide some much needed momentum into their final game?

They'll be facing a Fukushima team that will have trouble finding motivation. After 3 consecutive defeats Fukushima may pull back to a more defensive formation and hope to breakdown their opposition by maintaining possession. The decisions of the managers may have a bit impact on the result.

Source: http://match.j3league.jp/match/2014/111601_1.html

Round 31 vs Nagano: Match Review

Fukushima  0
Nagano 1 (62' Sato)

Venue: Toho Minna no Stadium
Attendance: 1269

Despite pressing hard from the start of the match Nagano were unable to pinch an early goal. The first half finished up with both teams unable to get on the score sheet. In the 62nd minute a shot from Nagano forward Yoshinori Katsumata was spilt by Fukushima custodian Kei Uemura which was picked up by Yuji Unozawa who passed the ball to Yuki Sato who slotted the ball in to the back of the net to put Nagano ahead. Nagano won the game after repelling Fukushima's late charge. As well as holding on to their number 2 spot on the ladder, they kept alive the small hope of winning the inaugural J3 championship.

Fukushima are very strong and tenacious in defense, but suffer from occasional errors that undo their hard work. They were unable to score after a flurry of late attacks, and were left with their 3rd consecutive defeat.

Source: http://match.j3league.jp/match/2014/110902_3.html

Round 31 vs Nagano: Match Preview

Both teams had a tough fight to gain possession in the previous round, and they both had periods of good build-up, but also periods of scrappy play where they had to go back to basics to try and overcome their opponents.

Fukushima relied heavily on the midfield paring of Akira Ando and Takuto Hashimoto. It will be tough for them maintain as much possession against Nagano as they enjoyed last week against Sagamihara. However they may be able to turn the tables on Nagano if they can dominate possession. If Fukushima stick to the same game plan, Nagano will have some idea of how to create some problems. But Fukushima's solid defense should be able to limit Nagano's chances.

Nagano will be desperately playing for all 3 points. Kanazawa are slowly climbing away from them at the top of the table, and Machida are shadowing right behind them in 3rd. The pressure is building as the clock counts down to the end of the season, but the sense of danger may be just what Nagano need to get results. In their game against Fujieda in the previous round they were unable to control the pace as Fujieda controlled the shape of the game. It wasn't until they went two goals down that their attack came to life to claw back a draw. They have a lot of potential, but will they bring it for a much need win in this round?

Source: http://match.j3league.jp/match/2014/110902_1.html

Round 30 vs Sagamihara: Match Review

Sagamihara 1 (74' Matsumoto)
Fukushima 0

Stadium: Sagamihara Gion Stadium
Attendance: 7860

Sagamihara spent most of the match on the defensive until Kohei Hattori was replaced by Yuki Matsumoto in the 59th minute. It was a well timed substitution that changed the flow of the game. In the 74th minute midfielder Yuya Sano floated a long ball forward that put Matsumoto through 1-on-1 with the Fukushima keeper which he coolly slotted home to give Sagamihara the lead.

In response Fukushima brought on several attacking players to try and force an equaliser. Fukushima had a chance to equalise on a corner in additional time, but Sagamihara brought all their players behind the ball, and Fukushima were unable to steal an late equaliser.

A crowd of 7860 turned up to Sagamihara Gion Stadium to see the home team get their first win in 6 games.

Source: http://match.j3league.jp/match/2014/110203_3.html