Match Report
On the table this was a mismatch: Ehime (1st, 73 pts) held a 20-point advantage over Osaka (11th, 53 pts). Osaka had been under-performing their position — 16th on five-round form against 11th in the table. Per game in the league, Osaka were scoring 1.08 and conceding 1, Ehime 1.55 and 1.26, against a competition average of 1.22 goals per team per game.
KINCHO Stadium in Osaka, capacity 25,000, hosted the game. Half-time and full-time told different stories: it was 1-1 at the break, before 1 more goal closed it at 1-2.