[Diomed]

J.LEAGUE/Lay out the silverware
04/28/2007

If you weren't able to get your fill at last weekend's J.League smorgasbord, never fear, there's plenty more to sink your teeth into in Round 8. In charge of saying grace will be Yokohama FC, whose prayers to prevent a sixth-straight defeat are likely to go unheeded against Shimizu. For appetizers, a little-known Kofu midfielder will be out to make history by continuing to score on every shot, while the main course consists of three teams vying to go to the top of the table above Gamba on Saturday. Dessert comes Sunday when the four-time league champion Kashima Antlers host last year's winners, the Urawa Reds.

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¢¢Yokohama FC (18) vs. Shimizu S-Pulse (6)

It will come as a great relief to the S-Pulse that their next match following two losses is against the worst team in the league. Yokohama is in panic mode. Coach Takuya Takagi is desperate to inject some new blood into his aging, ailing squad, but hasn't got the capital to bring in a big-name player. So he's stooped to scouting satellite leagues for cheap, inexperienced help.

¢¢Oita Trinita (16) vs. Gamba Osaka (1)

This could be another lop-sided affair if Trinita play as poorly as they did in their 5-0 loss to the F Marinos in Round 7. With a week to work on patching up the gaping holes in their defense, Trinita may be able to keep Gamba from running up a basketball score against them, but little else--Oita hasn't scored in three matches.

¢¢Omiya Ardija (17) vs. Ventforet Kofu (14)

Ventforet's impressive comeback against Reysol last weekend should be enough to spur them on to their first back-to-back wins of the season against Omiya, who are still finding it next to impossible to score. Ventforet is undefeated in three and are cashing in on goals from midfielder Takehito Shigehara and supersub Kazunari Hosaka, who's scored three goals on three shots in only 23 minutes played.

¢¢Kashiwa Reysol (5) vs. Nagoya Grampus Eight (2)

Nagoya rebounded from two defeats with a 2-0 win over Vissel last weekend and can solidify its position in the top three with an away win over the Sun Kings. Reysol have won both games handily at Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Stadium this season without conceding a goal.

¢¢Vissel Kobe (12) vs. F.C. Tokyo (15)

Kobe hasn't lost when attacker Yoshito Okubo has scored this season, so it's a shame he's suspended for Saturday's match against the Gasmen. Still, they may not need him against Tokyo, whose only wins this season have come against the two worst teams in the league, Omiya and Yokohama FC.

¢¢Albirex Niigata (6) vs. Yokohama F Marinos (9)

The F Marinos have been an impossible team to gauge this season. Their best performance of the season was a 2-0 win over Shimizu in the Nabisco Cup, but they followed that with two league losses and a pitiful 1-1 cup draw with Ardija. After two scoreless matches, they promptly went out and ripped five past Oita in Round 7. Albirex, meanwhile, have been one of the most consistent teams in the league, winning three, drawing three and losing only once, 2-0 to the then red-hot Grampus Eight.

¢¢Jubilo Iwata (8) vs. Sanfrecce Hiroshima (11)

National team keeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi took a beating in the tabloids this week for allowing five goals against Gamba on the weekend, his worst outing since 1995 when he leaked five against JEF United Ichihara when he was with the Yokohama Marinos.

Kawaguchi called the 5-2 loss the worst game he's played in: "I've been around soccer a long time," the 31-year-old said, "but that was the worst match I've been involved in."

Jubilo have had zero success against top-of-the table teams this year and have only done enough to scrape past the others.

Sanfrecce strikers Hisato Sato and Ueslei, held goalless in Round 7, can hear opportunity knocking.

¢¢Kawasaki Frontale (3) vs. JEF United Chiba (13)

Frontale are in full stride after their morale-boosting win against Urawa last Saturday and a commanding AFC Champions League victory over the Chunnam Dragons on Wednesday. Striker Kazuki Ganaha has been suspended for violating the league's anti-doping code, but Jong Tae Se, who scored twice against the Dragons, looks to be a capable replacement.

¢¢Kashima Antlers (10) vs. Urawa Reds (4)

In-form striker Atsushi Yanagisawa is out of the Kashima lineup again, this time for three months with a broken left foot suffered last weekend. In the absence of any other goalscorer--nobody aside from Yanagisawa has scored for slow-burning Kashima in the last three matches--it is hard to see where a victory will come from this weekend against the league champs. If Brazilian forward Marquinhos doesn't pick up the mantle quick, Kashima could find themselves in serious trouble in the following months.

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-...704280079.html