Japanese Non-league Football News

Nangoku Kochi's decline as a force in Shikoku League football was underlined on Sunday as their 2008 season commenced with a disappointing 2-1 defeat at Ehime Shimanami... the title looks set to be contested by reigning champions Tokushima Vortis 2nd - 3-0 winners over promoted Showa Club - and Kamatamare Sanuki, who in an astonishing match attended by 1300 fans came back from 3-2 down to hammer Tokushima Comprille SC 10-3...

Sun 06 Apr: Ehime Shimanami 2-1 Nangoku Kochi
Sun 06 Apr: Sanyo Electric Tokushima 3-1 Ventana AC
Sun 06 Apr: Tokushima Comprille SC 3-10 Kamatamare Sanuki
Sun 06 Apr: Tokushima Vortis 2nd 3-0 Showa Club

The new Kyushu League season got off to an explosive start in the traditional doubel-header weekend of fixtures in Miyazaki. The two teams promoted from the Prefectural Leagues - Kyushu INAX from Saga and Kumamoto's Vainqueur Kumamoto - are surely under no illusions now as to the difficulties that lie ahead of them as they conceded a total of thirty goals between them. Vainqueur came off worst, crushed 12-0 on Saturday by a Honda Lock who alongside V Varen Nagasaki are red hot favourites to occupy to the two play-off places come the end of the year.

Sat 05 Apr: Honda Lock 12-0 Vainqueur Kumamoto
Sat 05 Apr: Nippon Steel Oita 1-0 Kaiho Bank SC
Sat 05 Apr: Okinawa Kariyushi 3-0 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki
Sat 05 Apr: V Varen Nagasaki 7-0 Kyushu INAX
Sat 05 Apr: Volca Kagoshima 1-0 Osumi NIFS United

Sun 06 Apr: Kaiho Bank SC 1-3 V Varen Nagasaki
Sun 06 Apr: Kyushu INAX 1-3 Honda Lock
Sun 06 Apr: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki 2-4 Volca Kagoshima
Sun 06 Apr: Osumi NIFS United 0-5 Nippon Steel Oita
Sun 06 Apr: Vainqueur Kumamoto 3-8 Okinawa Kariyushi

1. Honda Lock 6 (+14)
2. V Varen Nagasaki 6 (+9)
3. Okinawa Kariyushi 6 (+8)
4. Nippon Steel Oita 6 (+6)
5. Volca Kagoshima 6 (+3)
6. Kaiho Bank SC 0 (-3)
7. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki 0 (-5)
8. Osumi NIFS United 0 (-6)
9. Kyushi INAX 0 (-9)
10. Vainqueur Kumamoto 0 (-17)

There are lots of new names amongst the runners and riders in Division 2 of the Kanto League. SAI Ichihara SC are the former Furukawa Electrics Chiba and they began their 2008 season with a 1-0 defeat of Saitama's Yonoshuyukonkai... the spectacularly-named Vertfee Takahara Nasu used to be known more simply as Yaita SC, but the relegated team from Tochigi lost at home to Aries FC Tokyo, who move back up to regional level from the Tokyo Prefectural League... accompanying Aries are FC Korea, who won their Kanto League debut 2-1 at TFSC...

Sun 06 Apr: Hanno Bruder 2-1 Kanagawa Teachers
Sun 06 Apr: SAI Ichihara SC 1-0 Yonoshuyonkai
Sun 06 Apr: TFSC 1-2 FC Korea
Sun 06 Apr: Vertfee Takahara Nasu 0-1 Aries FC Tokyo

The Kanto League Division 1 season kicked off on Saturday, YSCC snatching a last-minute equaliser at home to Toho Titanium... on Sunday, champions FC Machida Zelvia threw down the gauntlet to any prospective challengers by beating promoted side MSDF Atsugi Marcus 4-0... the other newcomers to the division, Ryutsu Keizai University reserve side Club Dragons, went down 2-0 at Hitachi Tochigi Uva...

Sat 05 Apr: YSCC 1-1 Toho Titanium

Sun 06 Apr: FC Machida Zelvia 4-0 MSDF Atsugi Marcus
Sun 06 Apr: Hitachi Tochigi Uva 2-0 Club Dragons
Sun 06 Apr: Luminozo Sayama 1-0 Saitama SC