Mountain men maul Sapporo's frequent fliers

I once had my photo taken with Takeda Shingen. It wasn't the real Takeda Shingen - he died in 1573, according to Wikipedia - but rather a friendly local dressed as the legendary "daimyo" for Kōfu's annual Takeda Shingen festival. I was especially impressed with the moustache our modern Takeda Shingen had drawn on in thick black texta for historical accuracy.

Yamanashi-ken may be isolated, but it's a friendly place full of students and young families - not to mention several Takeda Shingen impersonators - so I was looking forward to making the train trip out passed Fuji-san and on to capital Kōfu. Unfortunately the apocalyptic rain  lashing Shimizu Station as I awaited the Limited Express (one assumes the "limited" refers to how infrequently the train runs) suggested a wet afternoon was in store. 

Lo and behold, the clouds parted just long enough in Kōfu to enjoy an action-packed afternoon in the congenial company of Ken Matsushima, editor of The Rising Sun News and all-round encyclopaedia on the Japanese game, as we sat down to enjoy Ventforet Kōfu's clash with Consadole Sapporo in J2.

A crowd of 11,252 packed into Kose Sports Park for Ventforet's home opener with the Hokkaido outfit - slightly less than the 13,734 fans the home side averaged in J2 last season - but no doubt the menacing clouds that hung low over the mountains kept some fans at home and in front of their TV screens.

The swirling wind blowing down off the Southern Alps made life difficult for both keepers, and no doubt it contributed to Ventforet's opener. Yohei Onishi surprised everyone - including himself - when his attempted cross from a free-kick flew straight into the top corner of Yuya Sato's goal.

If there was any doubt about Onishi's finishing ability, he dispelled it soon after with a well-taken strike, as the lively front man steadied himself following a swift counter-attack, before thumping a skidding drive across Sato and into the far corner of the goal. 

The goals were slightly harsh on a Sapporo side that looked well up for this hard-fought encounter, and following a sustained period of pressure after the restart, they pulled one goal back when defender Hiroyuki Nishijima flicked a header home on the hour mark.

Nevertheless it was the hosts who finished the stronger, and they should have added to their lead late on, only for some wayward finishing from Korean striker Kim Shin-Young and Brazilian front man Maranhao to let them down.

They may hail from one of the most isolated regions in the country, but Kōfu fans can be forgiven for dreaming of a return to the top flight, where they stunned many under the guidance of popular coach Takeshi Oki by managing to stay up in 2006.

The "swarm defence" is long gone and so too is Oki - incredibly he was dismissed when Ventforet suffered relegation in 2007 - but with fans as passionate as the Kōfu faithful, I have no doubt the mountain men will be in the mix when it comes to promotion this season.