Just to mention that all the J1 and J2 data in the left-hand panel of this page is up to date following the weekend's matches. Also, links to Shin Kanazawa, Naoya Saeki and Tomoya Uchida's blogs have been added to the Links section on the right.

Sun 29 Jun, Satellite League B Group Game 2

Vegalta Sendai 2-1 Omiya Ardija

1-0 Hida 5'
1-1 Ichikawa 24'
2-1 Hosokawa 55'

GK Aratani
DF Nishimura
DF Murayama (Aoki 67')
DF Niwa (Kawahara 61')
DF Tsukamoto
MF Uchida (Kawanabe 45')
MF Kanazawa
MF Kataoka
MF Hashimoto
FW Ichikawa
FW Morita (Tokita 61')

Sub not used

GK Nobuhisa Kobayashi

This leaves the Group B standings as follows:

1. Sendai 8 (-)
2. Yamagata 7 (+5)
3. Omiya 3 (+2)
4. Niigata 1 (-1)
5. Verdy 0 (-4)

In the meantime, a couple of gaps in the Satellite League schedule have been filled in, with the calendar currently reading as follows:

Sun 10 Aug H v Verdy
Sun 17 Aug H v Niigata
Sun 14 Sep H v Sendai
Sun 28 Sep A v Yamagata

tbc H v Yamagata
tba A v Niigata

Sat 28 Jun, J1 Game 14

Omiya Ardija 2-0 Tokyo Verdy

1-0 Denis Marques 4'
2-0 Denis Marques 56'

GK Ezumi (7)
DF Tanaka (7)
DF Leandro (7) (Kataoka 87')
DF Tomita (7)
DF Hato (7)
MF Daigo Kobayashi (8)
MF Saeki (8)
MF Saito (8)
MF Fujimoto (7) (Uchida 71') (6)
FW Yoshihara (6) (Tokita 60') (6)
FW Denis Marques (9)

Subs not used

GK Aratani
DF Murayama
MF Kanazawa
FW Morita

Cards

None!



Denis whoops it up with Tanaka and Saito

Omiya Ardija's topsy turvy season took a turn for the better after the three points from Saturday's 2-0 win over Tokyo Verdy took the Squirrels up to the dizzy heights of seventh place - amazingly just four points off top spot, with nearly half the season completed. And it was a deserved triumph against a team that rarely stopped moaning for long enough to get on with the business of trying to win the match. The main culprits were the Brazilian trio of Diego, Leandro and Hulk, the latter in particular giving a world-class - one might almost say Washingtonian - display of child-like petulance.

But an Ardija side lacking skipper Yoshiyuki Kobayashi in midfield opened the scoring early through a "daisy cutter" from Denis Marques. He saw Verdy keeper Yoichi Doi out of position and let fly from 25 yards: 1-0 to the Squirrels. After such a dramatic opening, the rest of the first half was somewhat uneventful, although Omiya had a lucky escape when former Ardija defender Yukio Tsuchiya almost pulled the Green Machine level, heading against the post after being unmarked from a corner.

The Squirrels nevertheless made it 2-0 after the break through Denis the menace. Omiya's star man tormented the Verdy back line all game and got his second after a nice set-up from Chikara Fujimoto left him with the relatively easy chance of side-footing diagonally past Doi from inside the area. Subsequently there were few real problems for Ardija and Daigo Kobayashi, Naoya Saeki and Masato Saito all put in impressive displays in midfield. However, as has been the case in many games this season Denis Marques was simply in a different class.

After a break of more than a month, Omiya Ardija's J1 schedule picks up again on Saturday with a match against Tokyo Verdy. Both teams are among the group of sides tightly bunched around the middle of the standings, where even a couple of points is enough to make significant difference. As such it is important that the Squirrels use games such as this to build upon results like the astonishing 3-2 win over Kawasaki Frontale that rounded off the first phase of their 2008 league campaign in such style.

That match seemed to encapsulate the idiosyncracies of Omiya's football, showing Yasuhiro Higuchi's team at their very best and at their very worst. In the opening period, adopting a defensive stance in the face of the threat posed by Fronta forwards Juninho and Chong Tese, Ardija could scarcely pass the ball over the halfway line and Kawasaki were two up at half time without ever having played particularly well themselves.

But immediately after the re-start Omiya took the game to their opponents, a brilliant interchange of passing between Kota Yoshihara and Denis Marques freeing up an admittedly offside Kohei Tokita for his first ever goal as a pro player. The Squirrels consistently pushed Frontale back and deservedly pulled level when Denis Marques' typically mazy run found some space in the penalty area and he then sneaked a low shot into the bottom left-hand corner.

Nothing, however, could have prepared Ardija supporters for the winner, snatched three minutes from time when Yoshiyuki Kobayashi wrote his name into the history books by arching a quickly-taken free kick over backpedalling Kawasaki keeper Eiji Kawashima from inside the Squirrels' half of the pitch. The journey along the ridiculous - sublime continuum was completed at the precisely the point that ball and Kawashima collided in the back of the net.

Since that time, Omiya have slipped unnoticed out of this season's Nabisco Cup competition, throwing away a win at home to Oita Trinita, sneaking a lucky draw with Albirex Niigata and losing the return at Oita in a match most notable for the fact that it marked the first team debut of rookie defender Taishi Tsukamoto. A trio of training matches have produced an unremarkable set of results, but the real action starts - somewhat unfortunately, at Kumagaya - on Saturday.

There are many things to hope for as there are many areas in which the team can improve, in spite of what has to be considered a remarkably successful start to his J1 coaching career by Higuchi. Leandro and Daisuke Tomita have looked less solid in the middle of defence than was the case last year; neither Yusuke Murayama nor Terukazu Tanaka have made a good case for themselves to have a long-term run in the team at right back. Yasuhiro Hato, a decent crosser of the ball, rarely seems to let himself get forward enough to offer a desperately-needed threat from the wing.

In midfield, Masato Saito is perhaps the best partner for Yoshiyuki Kobayashi but the major disappointments continue to be wide men Daigo Kobayashi and Chikara Fujimoto, who spend their time on the pitch in an apparent state of permanent frustration. An appalling lack of confidence for both players has not hindered their footballing imaginations, but their ability execute good ideas seems a things of the past.

Up front, Denis Marques has rightly regained a place in the starting line-up. The Brazilian may not be the fastest in the world and many of his tricks fail to come off, but once or twice in a match he can be more or less guaranteed to create something out of nothing, either for himself or for a team-mate. His regular partner is Yoshihara, no striker although with a reasonable track record of success when played out on the wing, whilst almost unbelievably Hiroshi Morita has netted a couple of key goals after coming on as a late substitute.

So there are many questions for Higuchi to resolve. Saturday's game with Verdy will be the first opportunity to see if Ardija can come up with the answers. Can they go on to consolidate and climb yet higher up the table? Or will Omiya's fourth year as a J1 club become yet another battle to avoid relegation?

All the J1 and J2 information in the left-hand panel is now up-to-date after Wednesday night's games.

The votes are all in, they've been counted and it can now - at last - be confirmed that the GGOA Player of the Year So Far is none other than keeper Koji Ezumi. The 29-year-old earned this sought-after title after a string of fine performances against the likes of high-flying Nagoya Grampus 8. It is also notable how less confident the Ardija back line is when second string Hiroki Aratani appears in goal.

Ezumi's main rival for the award was top scorer Denis Marques, whose personal highlight occurred in the 4-2 win at JEF United, when he twice burst down the Ardija right to fire home in spectacular fashion. Captain Yoshiyuki Kobayashi and dark horse reserve defender Takuro Nishimura have to be content with a shared third place, while Leandro and Pedro Junior received, if we're being honest, no votes at all. So, congratulations Koji!

Friendly, Sun 22 Jun

Omiya Ardija 3-1 Yokogawa Musashino

1-0 Tokita 16'
2-0 Kawahara 24'
3-0 Uchida 44'
3-1 [second half, scorer unknown]

Line-up unknown

4 x 30mins friendly, Sat 21 Jun

Kawasaki Frontale 1-1 Omiya Ardija

Omiya goal - Morita 119'

First and second quarters

GK Ezumi
DF Tanaka
DF Leandro (Kataoka 54')
DF Tomita
DF Hato
MF Daigo Kobayashi
MF Yoshiyuki Kobayashi (Saito 30')
MF Saeki (Uchida 44')
MF Fujimoto (Hashimoto 44')
FW Yoshihara
FW Denis Marques

Third and fourth quarters

GK Aratani
DF Tsukamoto (Nishimura 90')
DF Kataoka
DF Niwa (Kawahara 90')
DF Murayama
MF Kanazawa
MF Saito (Aoki 80')
MF Uchida (Tokita 90')
MF Hashimoto (Kawanabe 90')
FW Ichikawa
FW Morita

3 x 30mins friendly, Thu 19 Jun

Thespa Kusatsu 2-3 Omiya Ardija

1st Kusatsu goal - Sato
2nd Kusatsu goal - Tomita

1st Omiya goal - Morita 29'
2nd Omiya goal - Yoshihara 39'
3rd Omiya goal - Ichikawa 72'

GK Ezumi (Kobayashi 30') (Shimizu 60')
DF Murayama (Tsukamoto 30' ) (Nishimura 60')
DF Leandro (Kataoka 30') (Kawahara 60')
DF Tomita (Niwa 30')
DF Hato (Tanaka 30') (Tsukamoto 60')
MF Daigo Kobayashi (Tokita 30') (Kawanabe 60')
MF Yoshiyuki Kobayashi (Kanazawa 30') (Aoki 60')
MF Saeki (Saito 30') (Kanazawa 60')
MF Fujimoto (Hashimoto 30') (Uchida 60')
FW Morita (Yoshihara 30') (Tokita 60')
FW Denis (Ichikawa 30')

Very interesting article about the development of tactics on The Guardian website, here. How would Ardija function playing a 4-6-0 formation - or did they try and fail exactly that last season?

With one third of the J-League season complete, GGOA here offers Squirrels fans a chance to vote for their Player of the Year so far. Have any of the Brazilian trio - muscular defender Leandro, tricky starlet Pedro Junior or top scorer Denis Marques - stood out?

Perhaps midfield general Yoshiyuki Kobayashi, fresh from his stunning winner at Kawasaki Frontale, reportedly the longest-range goal ever scored by a Japanese player? Goalkeeper Koji Ezumi certainly caught the eye with several superb performances, while defender Takuro Nishimura may be a dark horse, with his toothy grin and jovial personality.

Whoever your favourite might be, scroll down the page and use the box in the bottom right-hand corner to vote now!

All the J1 and J2 information in the left-hand column is up to date as of the midweek J2 matches now.

I'm a bit behind with videos, but the Squirrels' second-half fightback in the 3-2 thriller at Kawasaki frontale can now be seen on Youtube, here.

The Weekly Soccer Digest magazine last week published a survey of J1 coach. team and player performances so far this season, with seventh-placed Ardija scoring a B grade overall and new coach Yasuhiro Higuchi hitting the high spots with a shiny A. Here's what the players managed...

Goalkeepers overall C

Aratani D
Ezumi B

Defence overall C

Leandro A
Hato B
Tomita B
Murayama C
Tanaka C

Midfield overall B

Kataoka B
Saeki B
Daigo Kobayashi B
Fujimoto A
Saito B
Kanazawa B
Tokita B
Yoshiyuki Kobayashi A
Uchida C

Forwards overall B

Yoshihara B
Denis Marques A
Pedro Junior C
Morita B

Sun 08 Jun, Nabisco Cup Game 6

Oita Trinita 1-0 Omiya Ardija

1-0 Suzuki 73'

GK Aratani
DF Murayama
DF Tomita
DF Niwa
DF Tsukamoto
MF Hashimoto
MF Saeki
MF Kataoka (Ichikawa 79')
MF Kanazawa (Tokita 61')
FW Daigo Kobayashi (Yoshiyuki Kobayashi 71')
FW Morita

Subs not used

GK Ezumi
DF Tanaka
MF Kawanabe
MF Aoki

Cards

Y Niwa 35'
Y Morita 50'

Sat 31 May, Nabisco Cup game #5

Omiya Ardija 1-1 Albirex Niigata

0-1 Marcio Richardes 39'
1-1 Morita 78'

GK Ezumi (7)
DF Tanaka (6)
DF Leandro (6)
DF Tomita (6)
DF Hato (6)
MF Daigo Kobayashi (6)
MF Saito (6) (Tokita 65') (6)
MF Kataoka (4) (Yoshiyuki Kobayashi 45') (6)
MF Fujimoto (5)
FW Morita (5) (Ichikawa 85')
FW Denis Marques (6)

Subs not used

GK Aratani
DF Murayama
MF Saeki
MF Kanazawa

Cards

Y + Y = R Denis Marques 19' + 89'
Y Leandro 67'

This season's Nabisco Cup competition continued to peter out for the Squirrels in horrible weather in far away Kumagaya, with a horrible first half performance to match against Albirex Niigata. Coach Yasuhiro Higuchi restored to the starting line-up Masato Saito and Yosuke Kataoka in the middle of midfield and Hiroshi Morita up front - and his team were sluggish from the start, creating hardly any opportunities

Kataoka and Morita in particular were both guilty of a catalogue of errors and the Swans took the lead six minutes before the break, when Marcio Richardes converted from close range. In terms of entertainment, this was tough going even for Ardija's supporters. But as often appears to be the case the Squirrels were better in the second half. After several near misses, Omiya equalised through Morita, of all people, who headed in unmarked from six yards out.

Niigata were the more likely to grab what would have been the winner in the latter stages, but overall a draw was probably a fair result. Meanwhile Denis Marques picked up two innocuous yellow cards and a game's suspension - although the final Nabisco Cup match at Oita Trinita this weekend is hardly crucial. Pedro Junior continues to struggle with injury and also seems unlikely to feature in Kyushu.