Japanese Non-league Football News

Just one game in the Tohoku League Division 2 (South) over the weekend, but since Marysol Matsushima lost for the first and so far only time this year against Furukawa Battery, they have gone on to rattle in thirteen goals in just two matches. An 8-1 thrashing of Kureha Chemicals two weeks ago was followed up by Sunday's 5-0 triumph over Yamagata's Kanai Club. This extends Marysol's lead to three points, but Furukawa have two games in hand.

Sun 23 Jul: Kanai Club 0-5 Marysol Matsushima

1 Marysol Matsushima 21 (+26)
2 Furukawa Battery 18 (+17)
3 Northern Peaks Koriyama 12 (+9)
4 Kanai Club 6 (-4)
5 FC Perada Fukushima 4 (-11)
6 Shichigahama SC 4 (-15)
7 Kureha Chemicals 0 (-22)

New leaders in the Tokai League Division 2, Kasugai Club took advantage of Honda Suzuka's shock home defeat by Mind House TC in order to move to the top on goal difference. Indeed, through beating third-placed Konica Minolta Toyokawa, Kasugai have established a six-point gap that should see the current top two achieve automatic promotion come the end of the season, which for most clubs is in four games' time. At the bottom of the division it was a terrible week for Morishin's FC, who dropped two places as a result of conceding a late Nagoya Club goal to lose 3-2, together with Fuyo Club's 4-0 pasting of FC Kawasaki - all of which means that the two teams who won promotion from the prefectural leagues at the end of 2005 currently occupy the automatic relegation positions.



Nagoya Club in yellow overcome a somewhat directionless Morishin’s

Sun 23 Jul: Fuyo Club 4-0 FC Kawasaki
Sun 23 Jul: Honda Suzuka 2-3 Mind House TC
Sun 23 Jul: Konica Minolta Toyokawa 0-1 Kasugai Club
Sun 23 Jul: Nagoya Club 3-2 Morishin's FC

1 Kasugai Club 22 (+10)
2 Honda Suzuka 22 (+8)
3 Konica Minolta Toyokawa 16 (+5)
4 Mind House TC 16 (+4)
5 Fuyo Club 14 (-2)
6 Nagoya Club 12 (-3)
7 Morishin's FC 11 (-)
8 FC Kawasaki 3 (-22)

Shizuoka FC may have two games in hand, but the march of FC Gifu to the Tokai League title appears relentless after their 8-0 drubbing of Chukyo University on Sunday. Former Arte Takasaki striker Atsushi Katagiri chipped in with a hat-trick and with only three more rounds of matches to go, Gifu's dominance over the division seems complete. Elsewhere, Fujieda City Hall picked up their first home win of the year in astonishing style over whipping boys ACM Central, achieving the same result as Gifu to leapfrog over Chukyo and out of the relegation zone. Yazaki Valente managed to close the gap between themselves and second-placed Shizuoka thanks to a 4-1 win over Sagawa Kyubin Chukyo.



Ex-Tokushima Vortis defender Takayuki Komine gives it some welly for Gifu

Sat 22 Jul: Fujieda City Hall 8-0 ACM Central
Sat 22 Jul: Yazaki Valente 4-1 Sagawa Kyubin Chukyo

Sun 23 Jul: Chukyo University 0-8 FC Gifu

1 FC Gifu 31 (+34)
2 Shizuoka FC 22 (+23)
3 Yazaki Valente 21 (+3)
4 Sagawa Kyubin Chukyo 15 (-6)
5 Maruyama Industry 13 (-3)
6 Fujieda City Hall 9 (-10)
7 Chukyo University 8 (-12)
8 ACM Central 1 (-29)

Following their win the previous weekend in the East Japan Football Tournament, TDK Akita returned on Sunday to the more important business of winning the Tohoku League Division 1 title. Taking on newly promoted side Sendai Nakata Club - who have found the going tough in their first season at regional level - TDK actually made distinctly heavy weather of the inevitable victory, recording only a 2-1 win. The three points nevertheless increases their lead over Grulla Morioka to six, ahead of this coming weekend's showdown between the Tohoku League's Big Two.



TDK and Sendai Nakata line up before kick-off

Sun 23 Jul: TDK Akita 2-1 Sendai Nakata Club

1 TDK Akita 27 (+36)
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 (-6)
8 Nippon Steel Kamaishi 1 (-21)