YOKOHAMA — Yokohama F Marinos missed the chance to stretch their lead at the top of the J-League first division on Sunday as they were held 0-0 at home against Consadole Sapporo.
Yokohama had a goal ruled out by VAR at Nissan Stadium as they stayed five points clear of second-place Kawasaki Frontale with five games left for both sides.
F Marinos came close to the opener in the 17th minute when former Sapporo striker Anderson Lopes met Kota Mizunuma’s early cross from the right — with his shoulder instead of his head — before the effort was denied by the bar.
Sapporo had their chance five minutes later after Gabriel Xavier spread the ball to the left to release Lucas Fernandes, who cut in and curled a low effort just wide of the far post.
Sapporo refused to give up their usual attacking style and tried to play out from the back but almost paid the price three minutes later, requiring keeper Takanori Sugeno to deny Mizunuma’s shot from the edge of the area.
Sapporo defender Daihachi Okamura’s header forced Yokohama keeper Yohei Takaoka into a diving save late in the first half before the home side thought they had taken the lead in the 56th minute, only to be ruled out.
A free-kick from the left was half-cleared by Sapporo’s Takuro Kaneko, and Lopes guided the loose ball high into the net, but the goal was chalked off after Joel Chima Fujita was penalized for stepping on Kaneko’s ankle right after the clearance.
Midfielder Kaneko almost put the visitors ahead in the 77th minute when he cut in from the right and fired a powerful effort, but Takaoka made another diving save to keep the tie scoreless.
“The opponent played a very aggressive brand of football, so it was a difficult afternoon,” said F Marinos manager Kevin Muscat, praising his players after winning three and drawing two matches in a hectic schedule since Sept. 3.
He also had a slight dig at VAR after a foul on their striker Takuma Nishimura, who was in contention for Japan’s call-up for the World Cup in Qatar until he suffered ankle ligament damage against Avispa Fukuoka on Sept. 10, with the foul being left unpunished.
“Some decisions during that period haven’t gone our way. Today VAR was working, a couple of games ago VAR wasn’t working here when Takuma tore his ligament, so sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t,” he said.”
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