J1 Round 9 review: Kashiwa take top spot. FC Tokyo keep coming.

A proper result for Kashiwa. Fujio, Yamauchi and Kubo put them three up before Segawa added another from the bench. Kobe had a late response, but Kashiwa had already done the important work.

For me, the biggest selection point wasnt even a goalscorer. Maekawa came back in ahead of Gonda, which makes Kobe's goalkeeper situation considerably less comfortable for Sorare. That changes the pick before any discussion of clean-sheet potential. A good fixture only helps if your keeper is in goal.

Ceará opened the scoring and Yuma Suzuki finally got his first league goal of the season. Kashima were more clinical, with Hirose supplying the opener and Misao helping create the second.

Gamba had moments, including Usami hitting the woodwork. But moments arent much use if nobody finishes them. The clean sheet mattered for Kashima as much as the goals. Id keep Kashima finishing their chances separate from Gamba failing to take theirs when judging how much changed.

Nagakura broke the deadlock after 63 minutes, with Anzai and Sato adding the other goals. The first half was competitive, but Tokyo were much more convincing once the game opened up.

Its the wider picture that interests me. Another win, another clean sheet, and an attack that is now giving them something to work with at the other end.

Kyoto made this awkward for Machida, with their pressure repeatedly disrupting the visitors. Then Akimoto came off the bench and scored in the 86th minute after Ogawa's header was saved. Akimoto supplied the finish, but Ogawa was involved in making the chance. Thats useful context before treating the substitute as the obvious next starter.

For Kyoto, thats a frustrating combination: a competitive performance, no points, and their main attacking threat forced off early.

Maejima gave Fukuoka an early lead, Shirai equalised after the break, and substitute Yu Hashimoto supplied the winner. Fukuoka needed this far more than they needed a tidy performance.

Okayama improved in the second half, but their start left too much work to do. The difficult schedule is useful context. It doesnt make the first half any less disappointing.

Neither side found the finish they needed. For Cerezo, the attacking question remains more interesting than the point: changing the striker didnt produce a goal this time.

Machín put Javi Hernández's substitution down to the early booking and the Kondo matchup. A tactical explanation.

Yasui's early free-kick gave JEF the lead, but they couldnt finish the game. Yasuda came off the bench and equalised in the fifth minute of added time.

JEF had chances to make it safer across the 90 minutes. Thats what makes the late goal hurt. They needed this one.

Shimizu failed to register a first-half shot. Yoshida made three changes at the break, Mito went ahead through Kato, and then Fujii helped drag the visitors back into it.

Fujii equalised, then Sugai won it in added time. Great changes after a pretty grim first half, and both matter when looking at Shimizu.

Soma's first match brought a switch to 4-4-2, Kim Hyun-woo starting and Yuta Arai at left-back. Verdy made the first half competitive, but Hiroshima's half-time changes shifted the balance.

Matsumoto scored just after the restart, Suzuki added the second. Gaul wanted more energy, less yellow-card risk in defence and a different forward. He changed it and got his response, which is good management for me. The response matters more than the substitution count. Id take the changing attacking roles into the next preview, with the team improved and the minutes still open.

Haruya Fujii scored early from Morishima's corner. Wakizaka quickly equalised, but substitute Yamagishi supplied the winner. Nagoya ended their four-match losing run and gave themselves a bit of breathing room.

Kawasaki didnt impose themselves physically or in possession. Losing to a side that had been struggling this badly makes the performance harder to excuse.