Gamba Osaka beat Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 1-0 with a strike from impact substitute Kazuma Watanabe on matchday 17.
Consadole, which celebrated breaking their 10-match win-less run with a 2-0 win over Sagan Tosu on 16 September, welcomed Jay Bothroyd and Lucas Fernandes back to their starting line-up but missed out on playmaker Chanathip Songkrasin. Visiting Gamba had Japan international Gen Shoji on the bench, and saw the return of Hiroki Fujiharu and Ademilson.
Gamba took the initiative as early as the first minute, Genta Miura missing the goal with his header off a Takashi Usami corner. Kosuke Onose had a chance in the 27th minute, but his shot failed to hit the goal. Consadole responded with two efforts of their own, though neither attempts bear any fruit.
Both teams brought on offensive players in the second half to address the stalemate, Consadole introducing Brazilian duo Douglas Oliveira and Anderson Lopes and Gamba reacting with Yasuhito Endo, Patric and Watanabe. And in the 78th minute, the visitors made the breakthrough. Fujiharu sent over a cross from the left and Watanabe attacked the ball. The forward’s effort was blocked, but he reacted fastest to stab in the rebound.
J1
Consadole Sapporo 0-1 Gamba Osaka
(Watanabe 78′)
Other Matches (19 Sep)
Sagan Tosu v Yokohama FM
Nagoya Grampus v Vissel Kobe
Cerezo Osaka v Kashima Antlers
Shonan Bellmare v Shimizu S-Pulse
Kashiwa Reysol v Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Other Matches (20 Sep)
Oita Trinita v Yokohama FC
FC Tokyo v Vegalta Sendai
Urawa Reds v Kawasaki Frontale
| P | Team | M | W | D | L | GD | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kawasaki Frontale | 17 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 36 | 44 |
| 2 | Cerezo Osaka | 17 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 39 |
| 3 | FC Tokyo | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 32 |
| 4 | Nagoya Grampus | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 27 |
| 5 | Kashima Antlers | 17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 27 |
| 6 | Urawa Reds | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | -4 | 27 |
| 7 | Kashiwa Reysol | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 26 |
| 8 | Gamba Osaka | 15 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 26 |
| 9 | Yokohama F.Marinos | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 24 |
| 10 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 21 |
| 11 | Vissel Kobe | 18 | 4 | 8 | 6 | -4 | 20 |
| 12 | Oita Trinita | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | -6 | 19 |
| 13 | Consadole Sapporo | 17 | 4 | 5 | 9 | -12 | 17 |
| 14 | Yokohama FC | 16 | 5 | 2 | 9 | -12 | 17 |
| 15 | Sagan Tosu | 13 | 3 | 5 | 5 | -3 | 14 |
| 16 | Vegalta Sendai | 15 | 2 | 5 | 8 | -13 | 11 |
| 17 | Shonan Bellmare | 15 | 2 | 3 | 10 | -12 | 9 |
| 18 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 17 | 2 | 3 | 12 | -19 | 9 |
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