Japanese Non-league Football News

FC Gifu and Shizuoka FC continue to race ahead at the top of the Tokai League Division 1, with comfortable wins over Fujieda City Hall and Sagawa Kyubin Chukyo helping them both to stay ahead of third-placed Yazaki Valente. Fujieda's single consolation goal - a header just before half-time that pulled the score back to 1-3 - was incidentally only the second that title hopefuls Gifu have conceded all season. But Yazaki have now won five of their last six matches following their 3-0 defeat of Maruyasu Industry and are evidently a cut above the rest of the competition. At the bottom of the table, Chukyo University jumped out of the drop zone with their first win since the opening day of the season, as they thumped relegation favourites ACM Central 7-2.



Fujieda City Hall grab an unlikely goal against FC Gifu

Sat 08 Jun: Fujieda City Hall 1-5 FC Gifu
Sat 08 Jun: Shizuoka FC 6-1 Sagawa Kyubin Chukyo
Sat 08 Jun: Yazaki Valente 3-0 Maruyasu Industry

Sun 09 Jul: Chukyo University 7-2 ACM Central

1 FC Gifu 25 (+22)
2 Shizuoka FC 22 (+23)
3 Yazaki Valente 18 (+4)
4 Sagawa Kyubin Chukyo 12 (-5)
5 Maruyasu Industry 10 (-4)
6 Chukyo University 8 (-3)
7 Fujieda City Hall 6 (-16)
8 ACM Central 1 (-21)

It's not often that a team scores four times away from home, wins the game and ends up dropping down a place, but that's exactly what happened to Furukawa Battery in the Tohoku League Division 2 (South) on Sunday. Their rivals for the title, Marisol Matsushima, beat Kureha Chemicals 8-1 to reclaim top spot on goal difference, although Furukawa still have a game in hand as the season enters its second half. Confirmed in third place are Northern Peaks Koriyama, 6-0 winners over Shichigahama SC.



FC Perada Fukushima attack the Furukawa Battery goal

Sun 09 Jul: FC Perada Fukushima 2-4 Furukawa Battery
Sun 09 Jul: Kureha Chemicals 1-8 Marisol Matsushima
Sun 09 Jul: Shichigahama SC 0-6 Northern Peaks Koriyama

1 Marisol Matsushima 18 (+21)
2 Furukawa Battery 18 (+17)
3 Northern Peaks Koriyama 12 (+9)
4 Kanai Club 6 (+1)
5 FC Perada Fukushima 4 (-11)
6 Shichigahama SC 4 (-15)
7 Kureha Chemicals 0 (-22)

2006 is turning into a real disaster for Grulla Morioka, who now lie three points behind TDK Akita having played a game more. Their second defeat of the year came at the hands of NEC Tokin on Sunday, while TDK were hammering Morioka Zebra 8-1. Lower down the table, NEC jumped up to third after their win, while FC Primeiro were slipping to something of a surprise defeat at home to underachieving Wiese Shiogama. Sendai Nakata Club's defeat of Nippon Steel Kamaishi was their first win of the year and given that they have three games in hand over Nippon Steel and four over Zebra, they must be in with a good chance of avoiding being relegated straight back to Division 2.



TDK in blue give Morioka Zebra a footballing lesson

Sun 09 Jul: FC Primeiro 0-2 Wiese Shiogama
Sun 09 Jul: Morioka Zebra 1-8 TDK Akita
Sun 09 Jul: NEC Tokin 1-0 Grulla Morioka
Sun 09 Jul: Sendai Nakata Club 3-0 Nippon Steel Kamaishi

1 TDK Akita 24 (+35)
2 Grulla Morioka 21 (+10)
3 NEC Tokin 16 (+6)
4 FC Primeiro 16 (-6)
5 Wiese Shiogama 9 (-4)
6 Morioka Zebra 5 (-15)
7 Sendai Nakata Club 3 (-5)
8 Nippon Steel Kamaishi 1 (-21)

It was New Wave Kitakyushu's turn for a week off in the Kyushu League this Sunday - and they slipped down two vital places as a result, as Nippon Steel Oita beat Okinawa Kariyushi and Volca Kagoshima overwhelmed Kaiho Bank SC to leave New Wave in fourth, but with a game in hand over their rivals. V Varen Nagasaki still continue to rule the roost after their comfortable derby win over Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki in which they were three goals up after only five minutes. Potentially significant action, too, at the bottom of the division, where Nanakuma Tombies moved up a place thanks to a 1-0 win at Osumi NIFS United to increase their chances of avoiding the drop and to heap the pressure on Kaiho Bank and Mitsubishi Nagasaki.



Seima Nagata of Volca Kagoshima celebrates his birthday by being pelted with flour and eggs following the team’s win over Kaiho Bank. Nice

Sun 09 Jul: Nippon Steel Oita 4-0 Okinawa Kariyushi
Sun 09 Jul: Osumi NIFS United 0-1 Nanakuma Tombies
Sun 09 Jul: V Varen Nagasaki 5-0 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki
Sun 09 Jul: Volca Kagoshima 7-1 Kaiho Bank SC

1 V Varen Nagasaki 31 (+23)
2 Nippon Steel Oita 28 (+24)
3 Volca Kagoshima 27 (+18)
4 New Wave Kitakyushu 26 (+16)
5 Okinawa Kariyushi 21 (+5)
6 Osumi NIFS United 8 (-17)
7 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki 6 (-16)
8 Nanakuma Tombies 5 (-32)
9 Kaiho Bank SC 4 (-21)

Norbritz Hokkaido continue to dominate the Hokkaido League this season, an 8-0 crushing of ACSC Asahikawa maintaining the 2005 champions' three-point advantage at the top of the table. Still in second place behind them are Sapporo Football Group, 3-1 winners at Blackpecker Hakodate, while Barefoot Hokkaido beat Tokachi Fairsky to stay third. mManwhile putting an end to a run of three straight defeats were Thank FC, who defeated Toyota Motors Hokkaido.



Blackpecker Hakodate defend against Sapporo Football Group

Sun 09 Jul: ACSC Asahikawa 0-8 Norbritz Hokkaido
Sun 09 Jul: Barefoot Hokkaido 1-0 Tokachi Fairsky
Sun 09 Jul: Blackpecker Hakodate 1-3 Sapporo Football Group
Sun 09 Jul: Toyota Motors Hokkaido 0-3 Thank FC

1 Norbritz Hokkaido 19 (+23)
2 Sapporo Football Group 16 (+11)
3 Barefoot Hokkaido 14 (+2)
4 Blackpecker Hakodate 12 (-)
5 Toyota Motors Hokkaido 11 (-7)
6 Thank FC 10 (+4)
7 Tokachi Fairsky 5 (-13)
8 ACSC Asahikawa 4 (-20)



A veeeeeeery far view of Toyota Motors against Thank FC

There are new leaders in the Kansai League Division 2 following FC Kyoto BAMB 1993's failure to hold on to a 3-1 half-time lead against Riseisha FC. Technonet Osaka take over from BAMB in top spot with one game remaining, as they put five past bottom place Kobe FC Senior C. While Kobe FC are odds-on to fill the automatic relegation place, Kihoku Football Group boosted their chances of having to play off to stay in the Regional League with a 5-1 win at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kobe, while rivals Kohga School were losing by the same margin at Hermano Osaka.



Mitsubishi Kobe prior to their shock home defeat by Kihoku

Sat 08 Jul: Hermano Osaka 5-1 Kohga School
Sat 08 Jul: Kobe FC Senior C 3-5 Technonet Osaka
Sat 08 Jul: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kobe 1-5 Kihoku Football Group

Sun 09 Jul: FC Kyoto BAMB 1993 3-3 Riseisha FC

1 Technonet Osaka 32 (+14)
2 FC Kyoto BAMB 1993 31 (+29)
3 Hermano Osaka 22 (+10)
4 Riseisha FC 19 (+6)
5 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kobe 17 (-6)
6 Kihoku Football Group 11 (-25)
7 Kohga School 9 (-12)
8 Kobe FC Senior C 5 (-16)

With only a game now to go in the Kansai League Division 1 season, Banditonce Kobe made sure of retaining their title on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Ain Food, which put them out of sight despite their nearest challengers FC Mi-o Biwako Kusatsu's Sunday success against Sanyo Electric Sumoto. At the bottom, AS Laranja Kyoto gave themselves a great chance of avoiding finishing in one of the two relegation places as they beat Takada FC 4-1; the other side involved in the battle to avoid the drop, Kyoto Shiko Club, suffered disaster as they lost out to Kobe FC 1970 by the odd goal in nine.



2006 Kansai League champions Banditonce Kobe before their game with Ain Food

Sat 08 Jul: Banditonce Kobe 3-1 Ain Food
Sat 08 Jul: Kobe FC 1970 5-4 Kyoto Shiko Club
Sat 08 Jul: Takada FC 1-4 AS Laranja Kyoto

Sun 09 Jul: FC Mi-o Biwako Kusatsu 2-1 Sanyo Electric Sumoto

1 Banditonce Kobe 32 (+23)
2 FC Mi-o Biwako Kusatsu 28 (+17)
3 Kobe FC 1970 22 (-2)
4 Ain Food 16 (-1)
5 Sanyo Electric Sumoto 16 (-2)
6 AS Laranja Kyoto 13 (-10)
7 Kyoto Shiko Club 12 (-6)
8 Takada FC 11 (-19)

All to play for at the top and bottom of the Hokushinetsu League Division 2, with just two rounds to go in the 2006 season. One team will be automatically promoted and relegated, while the teams in second and seventh places will participate in play-offs. It still looks like Valiente Toyama to take the title, but they're making heavy weather of it thanks to a home draw with their neighbours from Toyama Shinjo Club. Just two points behind Valiente are FC Kanazu, TOP Niigata and Maruoka Phoenix, the latter being this round's big losers in the battle to go up thanks to their potentially vital defeat by FC Kanazu. TOP beat FC Antelope 2-1 to maintain their hopes of a quick return to Division 1. The bottom two were in action against each other and Nissei Resin threw themselves a lifeline in the fight to survive the drop with an astonishing 8-0 thrashing of LionPower Komatsu - all the more remarkable as it is their first win of the season.



Part of the crowd of 830 at the Valiente - Shinjo derby match

Sun 09 Jul: Maruoka Phoenix 0-1 FC Kanazu
Sun 09 Jul: Nissei Resin 8-0 LionPower Komatsu
Sun 09 Jul: TOP Niigata 2-1 FC Antelope
Sun 09 Jul: Valiente Toyama 1-1 Toyama Shinjo Club

1 Valiente Toyama 21 (+8)
2 FC Kanazu 19 (+6)
3 TOP Niigata 19 (+5)
4 Maruoka Phoenix 19 (+3)
5 FC Antelope 15 (-3)
6 Toyama Shinjo Club 15 (-7)
7 LionPower Komatsu 13 (-14)
8 Nissei Resin 9 (+2)

Just two rounds to go in the Hokushinetsu League Division 1 and the title race shows no sings of slowing down. Leaders Japan Soccer College were under a huge amount of pressure going into Sunday's match at Zweigen Kanazawa, knowing it was one their trickiest matches of the season - and also that their closest challengers, Nagano Elsa and Matsumoto Yamaga Club had comparatively easy fixtures. And although JSC came away from Zweigen with a 3-3 draw, Nagano crushed Fervorosa 6-0 to jump back up to the top of the table, while Matsumoto easily saw off Teihens FC. With Niigata University of Management and Ueda Gentian drawing their relegation battle 1-1 in the other match, there are therefore now just two points separating the top three sides. A nailbiting climax to the year seems unavoidable.



Fervorosa in attack mode for once against Nagano Elsa

Sun 09 Jul: Fervorosa 0-6 Nagano Elsa
Sun 09 Jul: Niigata University of Management 1-1 Ueda Gentian
Sun 09 Jul: Teihens FC 0-4 Matsumoto Yamaga Club
Sun 09 Jul: Zweigen Kanazawa 3-3 Japan Soccer College

1 Nagano Elsa 30 (+43)
2 Japan Soccer College 29 (+30)
3 Matsumoto Yamaga Club 28 (+22)
4 Zweigen Kanazawa 21 (+23)
5 Fervorosa 11 (-8)
6 Niigata University of Management 8 (-33)
7 Ueda Gentian 7 (-28)
8 Teihens FC 2 (-49)



Niigata University of Management do battle with Ueda Gentian

The game of the day in the JFL on Sunday saw Rosso Kumamoto come from behind to beat erstwhile leaders YKK AP, with a late winner from former Cerezo Osaka striker Daisuke Yoneyama giving the victory to the Kyushu-based outfit. This puts Rosso up to third, the highest-placed non-corporate club in the league, at just the time when they have applied for associate membership of the J-League itself. Tochigi SC are of course hoping to make the same step but could only manage a 0-0 draw at FC Ryukyu to remain in sixth place, while Ryukyu - despite having the best average home crowd of any Japanese non-league side - are now just a point above the relegation play-off places after what has been so far a highly disappointing season. Fighting to avoid the possibility of dropping back to the Regional Leagues are also Mitsubishi Mizushima, who picked up a creditable point at home to leaders Honda FC; Honda Lock, who went down to a single Tetsuya Okubo goal against Sagawa Kyubin Tokyo to slip back down to the foot of the table; and Ryutsu Keizai University, whose 3-0 win over Arte Takasaki not only pushes them out of the bottom two but is without a doubt their result of the season.



Just before a good 0-0 draw with Honda FC, it’s Mitsubishi Mizushima

Sun 09 Jul: FC Ryukyu 0-0 Tochigi SC
Sun 09 Jul: Honda Lock 0-1 Sagawa Kyubin Tokyo
Sun 09 Jul: JEF Club 1-2 Alo's Hokuriku
Sun 09 Jul: Mitsubishi Mizushima 0-0 Honda FC
Sun 09 Jul: Rosso Kumamoto 2-1 YKK AP
Sun 09 Jul: Ryutsu Keizai University 3-0 Arte Takasaki

1 Honda FC 41 (+17)
2 Sagawa Kyubin Osaka 39 (+21)
3 Rosso Kumamoto 37 (+15)
4 Yokogawa Musashino 36 (+11)
5 YKK AP 35 (+21)
6 Tochigi SC 35 (+13)
7 Sagawa Kyubin Tokyo 33 (+27)
8 Alo's Hokuriku 32 (+15)
9 Sony Sendai 29 (+6)
10 SC Tottori 22 (+4)
11 Arte Takasaki 22 (-9)
12 JEF Club 16 (-9)
13 Sagawa Printing 16 (-17)
14 FC Kariya 15 (-17)
15 FC Ryukyu 11 (-13)
16 Ryutsu Keizai University 11 (-20)
17 Mitsubishi Mizushima 10 (-32)
18 Honda Lock 9 (-33)



Honda Lock and Sagawa Kyubin Tokyo in action