Episode 246 - J1 Matchday 29

Neil Debnam and Alan Gibson guest this week to round up of all the action from J1 Matchday 29, as the season enters the stretch run (but now has to take a two weeks off due to the international break).

We begin with the leaders Kawasaki and their hard-fought draw away at Kashima on Sunday, with a chat about J.League refereeing thrown in at no extra charge, while we also round up the thrilling first leg of the ACL semi final last Wednesday that saw Antlers fight back from two goals down to take a slender lead to Suwon for the return leg (to 20:50). We then turn our attention to Hiroshima, whose season appears to be crumbling under their feet after a stunning home battering at the hands of lowly Kashiwa (to 27:50).

Wins for FC Tokyo (yes, really!) and Yokohama are then discussed, followed by the draw between Sendai and Urawa (to 42:25), before we turn our attention to the two big #RelegationDogfight six-pointers from the matchday, with a focus on strugglers Tosu and Kobe (to 52:50).

Then its derby time, with Gamba triumphing in the Osaka edition, and Shimizu caning their Shizuoka rivals Iwata, before we crystal ball how the relegation picture will pan out (to 1:07:40), and finish with a quick chat on the Japan squad for their friendlies against Panama and Uruguay.

Follow my guests on twitter and the web:

Alan - @JSoccerMagazine

JSoccer.com

Neil - @frontalerabbit

Neil's Frontale Rabbit blog