[J2 Round 7] Chiba's winning streak is finally stopped! Kofu wins with a winning goal in the 7th minute

Round 7 (held on March 29th and 30th) match results

One match of Round 7 was played on March 29th, and the remaining nine matches were played on the 30th, with the results as follows. The top teams, JEF United Ichihara Chiba, RB Omiya Ardija, and V-Varen Nagasaki, lost, and while Chiba and Omiya maintained their positions, Nagasaki lost third place to Jubilo Iwata. Lower-ranked teams Renofa Yamaguchi FC, Iwaki FC, and Ehime FC all suffered consecutive losses, while relegated teams Sagan Tosu and Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, who were starting to improve, also suffered losses. Iwata and Roasso Kumamoto were the only two teams to win consecutive matches in this round.

Held on March 29th

・Sapporo 0-1 Kofu

Held on March 30th

・Kumamoto 3-1 Tosu
・Akita 1-0 Yamaguchi
・Mito 4-1 Iwaki FC
・Toyama 0-1 Sendai
・Fujieda 3-2 Nagasaki
・Imabari 2-2 Yamagata
・Iwata 1-0 Chiba
・Ehime 0-1 Oita
・Tokushima 1-0 Omiya

Chiba suffers first loss of the season due to two offsides

Chiba has been on a six-game winning streak since the start of this season, maintaining their lead in the league with unstoppable momentum. Last season, they finished in seventh place, failing to even crack the top ranks, but they are currently on the verge of achieving their goal of promotion to J1 League. This marks the third year under manager Yoshiyuki Kobayashi. The work they've built over the past two years is finally bearing fruit. This week, they face Iwata away, and it will be interesting to see if they can extend their winning streak to seven. Iwata, on the other hand, has won their last two games and is currently in fourth place as of Round 6. They defeated J3 leaders FC Osaka in the Levain Cup on March 26th, and are enjoying a three-game winning streak in official matches. Both teams share an attacking style, making this a challenging opponent for Chiba. They will need to be especially wary of Jordi Cruks, who has the most assists in the league with four.

Chiba applied high pressure from the beginning and went on the offensive. In the fourth minute, Yokoyama Akiyuki, noticing a mistake in the opponent's build-up, intercepted a pass in the penalty area. Shinada Manato connected with it, and Goya Hiroto finally shot. The ball was caught by the opposing goalkeeper, but Chiba had the first shot of the match. Just when it seemed like the game would be completely Chiba's pace, they conceded the opening goal just two minutes later. A long kick quickly took the lead, and the goal was scored before the defense could fully recover. Wanting to catch up, Chiba launched short counterattacks and other aggressive attacks, but they were unable to score and went into halftime trailing by one goal.

In the second half, Chiba continued to push forward with even more momentum. Goya scored in the 65th minute and Matsuda Riku in the 81st minute, but both were ruled offside and the goals were disregarded. They launched a fierce attack in an attempt to bring the game back to square one, but were unable to break through the opponent's goal until the very end, and the match ended 1-0. Chiba suffered their first loss of the season, ending their winning streak at six. However, with second-placed Omiya also losing this match, they remain three points behind in the lead. Will they lose their form now, or will they be able to recover? It will be interesting to see how Chiba performs in the next match.

Kofu scores the winning goal in the seventh minute! Their second win since the opening match

Kofu achieved a stunning victory in the 2022 Emperor's Cup, winning for the first time. This earned them a spot in the ACL, where supporters from other clubs gathered at the National Stadium to cheer them on, creating a buzz. Naturally, there were high hopes for promotion to J1 next season, but the often-disturbing J2 league is no easy feat. This season, attention will be focused on how they overcome their defensive issues, which were an issue last season, in order to achieve promotion. Kofu has struggled to earn three points since the opening game, but they'll need a win against Sapporo this week to get back on track as soon as possible.

The match started with a fierce battle, but Kofu quickly took the lead in the seventh minute. Hiratsuka Yuto crossed from a left corner kick, and Araki Sho responded with a low, sharp shot. Sapporo then held onto the ball and attempted a counterattack, but Kofu maintained their defensive strength and launched counterattacks, aiming for an additional goal. However, the goal remained unchanged, and Kofu went into the second half with a one-goal lead. In the 11th minute of the second half, Sapporo had a chance, but goalkeeper Kawada Kohei made a fine save. Both teams continued to take aggressive shots, but the score remained unchanged. The match was particularly heated in added time, but the game ended as it was. Kofu recorded their second victory since the opening match. Sapporo had 12 shots in the match, while Kofu had 16. These numbers show just how intense the match was. Kofu held on to their one-goal lead against Sapporo's fierce attack until the end, likely due to smooth progress in correcting their defensive issues, which had been an issue for them.

*The information in this article is current as of the time of publication.