Vegalta Sendai beat Tegawajaro Miyazaki 4-2 in J-League 2 on Saturday at Yurtex Stadium. The hosts moved up to sixth place with seven points after four games, while the visitors stayed bottom on two points. And here's the thing — you don't need to dominate possession to win.
Umeki opened the scoring in the ninth minute before Murakoshi doubled the lead just six minutes later. Sendai were two goals ahead and Miyazaki had work to do. Sugiyama picked up a yellow card in the twentieth minute, and by then the visitors looked uncomfortable.
Nakajima came on as a substitute and immediately made himself known. He scored in the twenty-second minute and then added another in the twenty-seventh. Three goals in quick succession and Sendai were pulling away. The match was effectively over at that stage.
Miyazaki refused to give up. Watanabe pulled one back in the sixty-seventh minute and gave the visitors a glimmer of hope. But Sendai held firm until Asakura scored a late consolation in the ninety-third minute. Two goals for the visitors, but the result never really looked in doubt.
The statistics told their own story. Sendai had forty per cent possession but eleven shots on target. Miyazaki dominated the ball with sixty per cent but managed only two shots on target. To be fair — it's not always about who controls the game.
Sendai's win ended a poor run that included losses to Tachigi City and Fujienda MYFC. They had drawn with Oita Trinita and beaten Vanraure Hachinohe recently. This result puts them back in contention for a higher finish. Miyazaki remain in a difficult position with two draws and two defeats from four games.