Tegijaro Miyazaki and Consadole Sapporo played out a five-goal affair at the Football Stadium Ichigo Miyazaki Sintomi on Saturday, with A. Bakayoko's stoppage-time strike securing a 3:2 victory for the hosts. The result lifts Miyazaki to 11 points from eight matches, while Sapporo remain rooted to 19th place with just five points to their name.
And here's the thing about this one — the early exchanges set a frantic tone. K. Murakoshi gave Miyazaki the lead in the eighth minute, and K. Okumura doubled the advantage before the interval. Sapporo had no answer to that opening salvo, and by the half-hour mark they were camped in the final third without finding a way through.
The second half brought a flurry of changes at the 46th minute, with three players each side stepping on to the pitch. Park Min-Gyu, S. Omori and T. Arano were among those introduced, along with L. Osaki and later Y. Iesaka and M. Ano. The substitutions shifted the rhythm, though neither manager could convert their changes into clear-cut opportunities.
K. Kuroki pulled one back for Sapporo in the 78th minute, and suddenly the match felt wide open. S. Toyama responded almost immediately, but just when you thought the points were shared, Bakayoko found the net in the 90th minute plus three. To be fair, the late drama suited the visitors in theory, but the timing worked against them.
The statistics tell a story of parity without penetration. Both sides registered 95 attacks and four corners each, yet neither managed to create a big chance. Miyazaki shot more frequently — five on target to two — while Sapporo held 55 per cent of possession but could not sustain pressure in the crucial moments.
What matters now is the gap in the table. Miyazaki sit 10th with a reasonable foundation after three wins, two draws and three defeats. Sapporo, five points behind the relegation zone and with five losses in eight games, have nothing to lose but a great deal to find.
