Match Report
On paper the standings were lopsided — Tochigi City 1st with 64 points, Minebea Mitsumi 16th with 22, 42 apart. Minebea Mitsumi's recent output outran their position: 11th on form over five rounds, 16th in the table. Against a league average of 1.26 goals per team per game, Tochigi City ran at 2.2 scored and 1.17 conceded, Minebea Mitsumi at 0.83 and 1.6.
Defeat had not touched Tochigi City in 11 games. The five-game form split read 13/15 points for Tochigi City against 4/15 for Minebea Mitsumi.
Half-time and full-time told different stories: Tochigi City led 2-1 at the break, before 5 more goals closed it at 5-3.