Consadole Sapporo hosted Omiya Ardija at the Sapporo arena on Friday evening, and the visitors took all three points with a comfortable 4:1 victory. This result came in the 3rd round of the J-League 2 regular season. Omiya started brightly and punished Sapporo for a sloppy opening, though the hosts did manage to grab an early lead. By then, the home side looked vulnerable against the league leaders.
Carlinhos Junior opened the scoring in the 9th minute, giving his team a brief sense of control. Omiya responded calmly and Y. Toyokawa equalised shortly before half-time in the 31st minute. To be fair, Sapporo’s defensive shape was disjointed during those first 30 minutes.
The momentum shifted again immediately after the break when Caprini scored in the 49th minute. Before that, Y. Toyokawa had seen a yellow card in the 48th minute for a challenge near the edge of the box. T. Pruetong picked up a booking 5 minutes later as Omiya began to control the tempo. And here's the thing, Sapporo failed to respond to going behind again so quickly. The visitors held a high line and caught the home defence off guard, which is a tactic that often backfires.
Managers made changes on the 60th minute mark, bringing on fresh legs to chase the game. T. Izumi added a fourth goal for Omiya in the 78th minute, effectively killing off any hope of a comeback. A final goal arrived in the 90+5 minute, though the scorer was not listed in the data. The visitors turned to the kids in the final stages, which is a common move when protecting a lead.
The numbers on the board tell a strange story, with both sides recording exactly 81 attacks. Possession was almost even at 51 percent for Sapporo and 49 percent for Omiya. It was a case where chances went begging for the home side despite having the ball.
Omiya remains top of the table with 10 points from 4 matches, keeping their perfect record alive. Sapporo sits in 17th place with only 3 points after 3 defeats in their last 4 outings. The gap between the sides is now significant, and the home fans will be weighing up a move for new players. The visitors have one foot in the next round of their ambitions, while the hosts pay for a sloppy opening.