Niigata Albirex beat Kyoto Phoenix 2-0 at home.

In the 25th minute of the first half, forward Yuji Ono (31) and midfielder Danilo Gomez (25) took the lead from the penalty spot. In the 25th minute of the second half, substitute forward Kaito Taniguchi (28) headed the ball past midfielder Eitaro Matsuda (23) from the right. The head coach of the Japanese national team, former head coach of Niigata Prefecture, Hajime Moriyasu (55), visited the team, and the team won its first home game since the match against Yokohama F. Marinos on May 15.

The team’s top scorer Kyoto Hitman got a valuable bonus point. Taniguchi, who scored a goal in the previous game (April 20, 1-0), took the lead by one point in the 25th minute of the second half, and forward Suzuki Takashi (35) and Matsuda, who entered the team, started in the 22nd minute. He used his combination to break through on the right side and finally headed in Matsuda’s cross at the far end. “Three of us had the same goal. Eitaro (Matsuda) gave us a good ball, so we pushed the ball in. I’m happy that this goal led to victory,” he said while reviewing his eighth goal of the season.

On this day, Japan national team head coach Moriyasu inspected the facilities. In the first half, the team encountered high pressure from the opponent and could not play front-court football while increasing possession, but Danilo Gomez, who started on the right wing, boldly chased and won a penalty in the 25th minute of the first half. At halftime, the team regained momentum. Captain DF Yuto Horime (29) said, “This game gave the team courage. It was a great game.” In the second half, Taniguchi sent a final shot in the process of passing the ball as time expired in the enemy half.

The gap with Kyoto was 1 point. If they lost this game, the standings would be overturned, and coach Matsuhashi Rikizo (55) said enthusiastically before the game: “I just want to push them over (by one point).” In a period when the game could not go as planned, everyone tried their best to keep a clean sheet, and they scored twice when they should have scored. Coach Matsuhashi said: “I think this is a very important game, and we really want to use this result as motivation as we keep moving forward.”[小林正]

○…Japan national team coach Yasushi Moriyasu, who served as Niigata’s head coach in 2010 and 2011, watched the game at his former home stadium. Goalkeeper Kyosuke Kojima (27), who aims to return to the Japan national team, kept a clean sheet with his steady saves. Midfielder Yuki Akiyama (23), who has grown into one of the J team’s best midfielders, controlled the game with his passing ability. Although he was unable to be interviewed after the game, he left the field with a smile on his face.

【J1】Niigata beat Kyoto 2-0, Shonan, Iwata, Kawasaki F, Hiroshima, Nagoya, Kobe won/score details