Iwata 1 Yokohama 0

YOKOHAMA-Takashi Fukunishi punched home a controversial winner in the final minute to end a scoreless stalemate as Jubilo Iwata knocked off the defending champion Yokohama F Marinos 1-0 in the opening round of the 2005 J.League season.

In the 89th minute, midfielder Fukunishi was embroiled in an airborne battle with Marinos keeper Tatsuya Enomoto and defender Yuji Nakazawa that resulted in Fukunishi punching in the ball with his right fist.

The replay clearly showed he had his hand on it, but referee Masayoshi Okada ruled it as a goal.

The Marinos' players furiously objected, but to no avail. Okada ruled that the goal stands and Yokohama was dealt a crushing loss in their home opener at Nissan Stadium.

``I can't remember the situation well,'' Fukunishi said afterward. ``The ball hit somewhere on my body.''

Marinos head coach Takeshi Okada felt it was a bad call, but was gracious in defeat.

``That must be handball,'' Takeshi Okada said at a postgame news conference. But you know, even referees are humans who sometimes make mistakes.

``The goal itself was not the reason that we lost. The reason we lost was because we couldn't score in a few decisive chances.''

For Yamamoto, this was his first league win since he took over the helm at Jubilo in November to stop a four-game losing streak to the F Marinos.

``Our players had their best performance against the defending champions,'' Yamamoto said. ``It's an encouraging way to start the season.''

The game between the favorite title contenders started with a fierce midfield battle.

Both teams were unable to carry the ball deep into the opponents side and were pressed hard in the midfield in the first half.

After halftime, the Marinos' hard-working midfielder Dutra took control of the pace of the game.

The Brazilian dynamo flashed around on the left side for both offense and defense, creating chances by delivering crosses into center.

Dutra delivered one such cross to midfielder Daisuke Oku, who was positioned in the penalty box, but Oku failed to finish as his shot was blocked by a Jubilo defender in the 68th minute.

Five minutes later, Dutra received a long ball fed by defender Eisuke Nakanishi and he speedily entered the box, but his shot went straight to goalkeeper Yohei Sato.

Jubilo got the momentum back in the final 10 minutes with in-synch forward Choi Yong Soo and substitute Toshiya Fujita, who came on in the 62nd minute to spell Masashi Nakayama.

Japan international Fujita created chances twice in the box with Choi to threaten the F Marinos, but the Yokohama defenders fended off the dangers in front of goal.

''Although Choi and Fujita had not much time to work together in training, they showed some good combinations out there today,'' Yamamoto said. ``I can confirm our players have great potentials.''

``I had a feeling the game would end in a draw,'' Nakayama said. ``But we gained three points from the F Marinos in the long run.''

Both clubs will play in the Asian Champions League on Wednesday.

The F Marinos will host China's Shandong Luneng at Mitsuzawa Stadium while Jubilo will meet China's Shenzhen Jianlibao after traveling there Sunday.

It was a tough loss for the defending champions, but Okada is not worried about his F Marinos crew.

``We suffered a loss, but it's just the first game in a long season,'' Okada said. ``It's not a big problem.''

Elsewhere, Kyodo News reported that newly promoted Omiya Ardija had a fantastic day in their top flight debut by surprising heavily favored Gamba Osaka 2-0.

Naoto Sakurai put Omiya in front with just eight minutes remaining and substitute Hiroshi Morita sealed the win with the second in the dying seconds at Expo '70 Stadium.

The Urawa Reds' hopes of winning their first J.League title suffered an early hiccup as they were defeated 1-0 at home by the four-time champion Kashima Antlers.

Seiichiro Maki headed a last-gasp winner as JEF United Chiba came from two goals down tie Nagoya Grampus Eight 2-2, while visiting Tokyo Verdy 1969 got off to a winning start after downing 10-man Oita Trinita 2-1.

Atsushi Yoneyama opened the scoring before Verdy striker Washington doubled the lead to add to the two goals he scored to help Ossie Ardiles' men beat Yokohama in the Xerox Super Cup last week. Magno Alves replied for Oita.

Shimizu S-Pulse were unable to give new manager Kenta Hasegawa three points in his first game in charge after a 1-1 draw at home with Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Lucas scored twice as F.C. Tokyo thrashed Albirex Niigata 4-0 in Saturday's evening match.(IHT/Asahi: March 7,2005)