Japanese Non-league Football News

The Kansai League Division 1 is already showing signs of being a two-horse race, only a couple of rounds in to the 2007 season. Champions Banditonce Kobe continue to rule the roost - on goal difference at least, at this early stage - following their 4-0 drubbing of promoted side FC Glaspo Kashiwara, but right behind them are last year's runners up FC Mi-o Biwako Kusatsu. The team from Shiga prefecture picked up a comfortable 3-0 win over the Osakans of Ain Food to keep pace with Banditonce.

It's Glaspo who rather unsurprisingly prop up the table for the time being, but the decline in recent seasons of Kobe FC 1970 seems to be continuing. Defeated at home by Ain, the side who were until the rise of Banditonce one of the top teams in the region lost again on Sunday, this time to AS Laranja Kyoto and as such they are yet to get off the mark. The final game of the round saw Sanyo Electric Sumoto fall to a shock defeat at promoted side FC Kyoto 1993.



FC Mi-o, fresh from hitting the top of the table

Sat 21 Apr: AS Laranja Kyoto 1-0 Kobe FC 1970
Sat 21 Apr: FC Glaspo Kashiwara 0-4 Banditonce Kobe
Sat 21 Apr: FC Kyoto 1993 1-0 Sanyo Electric Sumoto

Sun 22 Apr: Ain Food 0-3 FC Mi-o Biwako Kusatsu

1. Banditonce Kobe 6 (+9)
2. FC Mi-o Biwako Kusatsu 6 (+7)
3. Sanyo Electric Sumoto 3 (+1)
4. Ain Food 3 (-1)
5. AS Laranja Kyoto 3 (-1)
6. FC Kyoto 3 (-4)
7. Kobe FC 1970 0 (-3)
8. FC Glaspo Kashiwara 0 (-8)