Japanese Non-league Football News

FC Gifu took a giant step towards sealing a vital top four JFL finish on Saturday, as two goals in the final quarter-hour rounded off a 3-0 win over Gainare Tottori. This keeps them ahead of fifth-placed Alo's Hokuriku, who kept up their recent run of good form by beating lowly FC Ryukyu 2-0. The opening goal for Alo's came in the first minute and was star striker Hideyuki Ishida's fourteenth of the season.

Second in the scoring charts, however, is Rosso Kumamoto's Yutaka Takahashi, who picked up his twenty-fourth league goal of 2007 in what turned out to be a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Mitsubishi Mizushima for the J2-bound outfit. Elsewhere, midfielder Takashi Harashima was twice on target for Yokogawa Musashino as they beat Ryutsu Keizai University, while Sony Sendai moved up two places as a result of their defeat of FC Kariya.

Sat 17 Nov: Alo's Hokuriku 2-0 FC Ryukyu
Sat 17 Nov: Gainare Tottori 0-3 FC Gifu
Sat 17 Nov: Rosso Kumamoto 1-1 Mitsubishi Mizushima
Sat 17 Nov: Sony Sendai 2-1 FC Kariya
Sat 17 Nov: Yokogawa Musashino 3-2 Ryutsu Keizai University

1. Sagawa Kyubin SC 73 (+45)
2. Rosso Kumamoto 65 (+28)
3. FC Gifu 57 (+14)
4. YKK AP 55 (+14)
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5. Alo's Hokuriku 55 (+12)
6. Honda FC 51 (+19)
7. Yokogawa Musashino 51 (+6)
8. Tochigi SC 46 (+13)
9. JEF Reserves 45 (-)
10. Ryutsu Keizai University 44 (+3)
11. Sagawa Printing 40 (-6)
12. Sony Sendai 40 (-14)
13. Gainare Tottori 39 (-7)
14. TDK SC 38 (+2)
15. Mitsubishi Mizushima 35 (-14)
16. FC Kariya 27 (-22)
17. FC Ryukyu 23 (-45)
18. Arte Takasaki 6 (-48)