Japanese Non-league Football News

Honda FC moved ever closer to confirming the JFL title for this season on Saturday with a 2-1 at FC Kariya. All the goals cam in the first half, Kazuhiro Yoshimura's 36th-minute winner meaning that Honda are six points ahead of their nearest challengers with just three more games remaining. And there can be no doubt that those nearest challengers are Sagawa Kyubin Tokyo, for whom star striker Tetsuya Okubo was on target four times as his side crushed Ryutsu Keizai University 8-0 away from home - a result that makes even more difficult Rosso Kumamoto's aim of a top-two finish and a J-League place.

The other two fixtures on Saturday were played out further down the rankings, although Alo's Hokuriku moved up one place to sixth as they beat Mitsubishi Mizushima 1-0 with a goal from Kazuma Matsushita. Two second half strikes meanwhile gave Arte Takasaki a good 2-0 victory at Sagawa Printing, enabling the Gunma side to leapfrog Printing, Kariya and also SC Tottori as they push for a mid-table finish.



Ooooh, very smart - FC Kariya before their match with Honda FC

Sat 18 Nov: FC Kariya 1-2 Honda FC
Sat 18 Nov: Mitsubishi Mizushima 0-1 Alo's Hokuriku
Sat 18 Nov: Ryutsu Keizai University 0-8 Sagawa Kyubin Tokyo
Sat 18 Nov: Sagawa Printing 0-2 Arte Takasaki

1 Honda FC 74 (+35)
2 Sagawa Kyubin Tokyo 68 (+52)
3 YKK AP 62 (+34)
4 Sagawa Kyubin Osaka 60 (+32)
5 Rosso Kumamoto 60 (+25)
6 Alo's Hokuriku 53 (+23)
7 Yokogawa Musashino 51 (+16)
8 Tochigi SC 50 (+12)
9 Sony Sendai 37 (-11)
10 JEF Club 32 (-13)
11 Arte Takasaki 32 (-27)
12 FC Kariya 31 (-15)
13 SC Tottori 29 (-1)
14 Sagawa Printing 29 (-24)
15 FC Ryukyu 27 (-18)
16 Ryutsu Keizai University 25 (-32)
17 Mitsubishi Mizushima 24 (-40)
18 Honda Lock 18 (-46)



Kazuma Matsushita, match-winner for Alo’s Hokuriku