Omiya Ardia Ventus saw off Albirex Niigata 2:1 in WE League Regular Season round three on Saturday. The hosts took all three points at home, moving them off the bottom of the table after three matches. It was a narrow victory, but one that felt earned by the end.
Kanami Shimobori opened the scoring for Albirex in the twelfth minute, catching the home side off guard. Omiya responded well, with Hanon Nishio bringing them level in the fifty-fifth. By then the game had settled into something more even, though neither side could quite pull away.
Megu Hamada turned the match with a goal of her own in the sixty-fifth. And here's the thing — it wasn't just the strike that mattered, but the timing. Albirex had been pushing for a response but found themselves chasing the game instead. Omiya held their nerve and kept going.
Substitutions began in earnest after the hour mark, with Ema Yokoyama replaced at fifty-eight. The home side made three changes at seventy-one, bringing on Yume Takikawa and Nahomi Kawasumi alongside Shimobori's departure. More came at seventy-seven and seventy-eight, then a final pair at eighty-one as both managers looked to see out the result.
Omiya sit tenth now with three points from three games, while Albirex move up to sixth on four. The gap between them is small, but the confidence from today matters more than the numbers. To be fair, neither side was spectacular, but the hosts dug in when it counted.