The Yokohama F Marinos on Sunday discovered the perfect tonic for their considerable ailments this year: a date with Kyoto Purple Sanga.
Koji Yamase bagged a hat trick and Tatsuhiko Kubo returned from goal-scoring obscurity with a first-half opener to give the Marinos their first win in four matches, a 4-0 caning of Sanga in Kyoto.
The win was the first for new manager Takashi Mizunuma, who took over the club on Thursday following the resignation of Takeshi Okada.
Okada quit to take responsibility for a string of poor results that left Yokohama, who many pundits picked to be challenging for the championship this season, in 12th place, 19 points adrift of then league leaders Gamba Osaka.
Under Mizunuma's instructions to play loose and play their own game, the Marinos calmly waited for their chances and gradually picked Sanga apart.
Kubo broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute when he collected a pass from Yamase close to the penalty area, gauged where the keeper was and coolly slotted the ball into the far corner of the net.
It was Kubo's first goal since April 8 and fourth of the season, and it should go a long way to boosting the former national team striker's waning confidence.
Yamase began his goal rush seven minutes into the second half when he pounced on a loose ball inside the box and rammed it home past four defenders and keeper Koji Nishimura.
His second came after Daisuke Oku had a converted penalty kick called back for player movement prior to the kick. Nishimura saved Oku's second attempt, but the rebound squirted back to Yamase, whose shot deflected off Oku before banking off the crossbar and nestling into the net.
The hat trick was completed in the 79th minute, when Yamase raced into the right of the area and pulled the trigger a split second before a backtracking defender could get in the way.
Yamase missed the first 14 matches of the season due to injury but looks to be in the best form of his career, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by national team manager Ivica Osim, who gave Yamase his first cap in Japan's 2-0 win over Yemen earlier this month.
In Sunday's other match, Gamba Osaka battled back from two goals down to eke out a 3-3 tie with Nagoya Grampus Eight in Nagoya.
The draw means that Gamba ceded first place back to the Urawa Reds, who beat Cerezo Osaka on Saturday. Both teams have 43 points, but Urawa enjoys the better goal differential.
The Reds got goals from Satoshi Horinouchi and Yuichiro Nagai before being made to sweat for a 2-1 win by a 10-man Cerezo at Nagai Stadium.
Striker Yoshito Okubo, playing in his 8th match this season for Cerezo since returning from Spain's Real Mallorca, picked up his second yellow card in the 51st minute for an elbowing infraction.
Two-goal performances from Kengo Nakamura and Juninho helped Kawasaki Frontale ease past Omiya Ardija 5-1 to keep the Kawasaki club in third place with the resurgent S-Pulse hot on its heels following a 2-0 blanking of F.C. Tokyo. Cho Jae Jin scored both goals for Shimizu, who stretched its unbeaten streak to six games.
The Kashima Antlers fell further off the pace set by the league leaders when they lost 2-0 at home to Sanfrecce Hiroshima, but remained in fifth place as Oita Trinita managed to collect only a point in a 3-3 draw with Albirex Niigata.
JEF United Chiba, meanwhile, beat Avispa Fukuoka 3-1 for its first win in three matches despite being outshot 15-6, while Ventforet Kofu scrapped to a 1-1 stalemate with Jubilo Iwata.(IHT/Asahi: August 28,2006)
ASAHI WEEKLY