Fukushima Claim First Win! Ehime and Kagoshima Stay Unbeaten [Summary: MEIJI YASUDA J3 Matchweek 5]

Nine Matchweek 5 fixtures in the MEIJI YASUDA J3 LEAGUE were played on 5 September, with Ehime moving top of the table after beating Kitakyushu.

Ehime took an early two-goal lead at home to Kitakyushu through Shota Tamura in the seventh minute and Shuhei Kamimura in the 13th. Kitakyushu fought back to level the scores, but Yoshiki Fujimoto restored Ehime's lead in the 86th minute before Ryota Abe added a fourth in the 90+6th minute to seal a 4-2 victory. Ehime remain unbeaten this season and move top of the table.

Kagoshima also maintained their unbeaten start as Juanma Delgado struck a dramatic winner in the 90+5th minute to secure a 2-1 home victory over Ryukyu. The win lifted Kagoshima to second. Previous leaders Gifu, meanwhile, conceded in the 23rd minute and were unable to find an equaliser as they lost 1-0 to Kanazawa. It was Gifu's first defeat of the season, dropping them to third.

Shiga cruised to a 3-0 away victory over Sanuki, with Atsushi Nabeta among the scorers. The win took them to nine points and moved them up to fourth. Tochigi SC also claimed a comfortable victory, beating Kochi 2-0 thanks to goals from Yasutaka Yanagi and Yoshihito Kondo.

Sagamihara fell behind in the fourth minute but equalised through Akito Tanahashi in the 48th minute to earn a 1-1 draw with Nagano. Yamaguchi, meanwhile, cruised to a 3-0 victory over Tottori, with Shunsuke Yamamoto among the scorers.

Matsumoto and FC Osaka played out a goalless draw, while Fukushima claimed their first win of the season with a 3-1 victory over Gunma, with Naoki Suzu among the scorers.

MEIJI YASUDA J3 LEAGUE Standings

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