Soccer: Lowly Jubilo stun Marinos as Kawasaki close on leaders

Rookie Yosuke Furukawa came off the bench to hit the winner as visiting bottom side Jubilo Iwata stunned leaders Yokohama F Marinos 1-0 on Wednesday to blow the J-League first-division title race wide open in the season's final rounds.

Second-place Kawasaki Frontale eased past Kyoto Sanga 3-1 at home to move up to 60 points, two behind leaders Marinos with two rounds remaining for both title chasers.

Marinos had led two-time defending champions Kawasaki by eight points before suffering their first home defeat of the season to relegation-threatened Gamba Osaka on Saturday at Nissan Stadium.

Despite dominating again, Kevin Muscat's side suffered another shock defeat at home -- this time against a Jubilo side without a win from their last seven games.

For the first time this season, Marinos failed to score in consecutive games and also suffered their first two-match losing streak.

Nineteen-year-old dribbler Furukawa came on in the 65th minute and grabbed the precious goal on a counter four minutes later, receiving a pass from the left from Ko Matsubara inside the box before striking on the turn to find the bottom corner via a tiny deflection off Eduardo.

"I couldn't hear the noise the moment it went in. It was as if time stopped," said a jubilant Furukawa. "It was a wonderful moment in my football career so far."

Joel Chima Fujita and Takuma Nishimura failed to get their shots past Jubilo keeper Ryuki Miura in the first half before Nishimura had his goal-bound header from a corner cleared off the line by Yuto Suzuki in the 56th minute.

While the home side laid siege to Iwata's box, there were warning signs as the visitors twice broke clear to threaten the opposite end before Furukawa inflicted the damage with a clinical finish in the upset of the season.

Jubilo remain bottom on 28 points, six points from safety with three games left to play.

Kawasaki had a comfortable win over 14th-place Kyoto as Shogo Taniguchi's header and Kento Tachibanada's acrobatic finish, both following a corner, gave the hosts a 2-0 halftime lead.

Marcinho bagged their third before Paulinho got one back for the visitors at Todoroki Stadium as Kawasaki kept their title hopes alive.

World Cup hopeful Yuya Osako scored the winner as Vissel Kobe held off Shonan Bellmare 1-0 at home for their fifth straight win.

Ryoma Watanabe scored a hat-trick as FC Tokyo hammered Cerezo Osaka 4-0 at home, while Urawa Reds secured a late 1-1 home draw against Consadole Sapporo.

© Kyodo News