MIYAZAKI (Interstat) — Tegevajaro Miyazaki used goals from Koji Okumura and Ken Tshizanga Matsumoto and held off Blaublitz for a 2-1 home win on Wednesday. Matsumoto scored in the 64th minute, and Kaito Umeda pulled Blaublitz within one in the 85th. The home side survived a tense finish that included a long stretch of stoppage time and late yellow cards.

Watanabe E. was booked in the third minute for Tegevajaro. Suzuki S. received a yellow card in the 40th minute, and Handa K. was booked in the 62nd. Two minutes after Handa’s card, Matsumoto scored the opening goal. Tegevajaro held a two-goal lead before Umeda’s late strike made the final minutes uneasy. The first half ended without a goal, and the match remained scoreless until the 64th minute.

Okumura and Matsumoto each finished with a goal for Tegevajaro Miyazaki. Ren Inoue supplied an assist, and Ryoya Iizumi had the assist on Umeda’s goal for Blaublitz. Umeda scored in 24 minutes of action and was booked. The match was physical, with eight yellow cards issued, five to Blaublitz. Tegevajaro’s Matsumoto Y. and Yamauchi R. were booked late, while Blaublitz’s Mizutani T. and Oishi R. also received yellow cards. Umeda K. completed the Blaublitz bookings in stoppage time. Inoue’s assist came in 88 minutes of action before he was substituted.

The result moved Tegevajaro Miyazaki to 1-0-2 in the competition and 1-1-2 across all competitions. Blaublitz fell to 0-1 in the competition and 0-1 across all competitions. Tegevajaro’s previous results this season included a 1-1 home draw against Iwata, a 1-1 draw at Toyama and a 2-0 loss at Kawasaki Frontale. Tegevajaro has now recorded one win, one loss and two draws overall. Blaublitz is still seeking its first win in the competition and across all competitions this season.

Blaublitz made its first change at halftime, when Hasegawa T. entered. Suzuki S. and Handa K. were replaced in the 66th minute, and Yoshioka M. came on in the 77th. Mizutani T. was withdrawn in the 88th minute. Tegevajaro withdrew Watanabe and Inoue in the 88th minute and brought on Murakoshi K. in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Blaublitz used substitutions in the 46th, 66th, 77th and 88th minutes. Tegevajaro used substitutions in the 88th and 90+4th minutes.

The final stages included a yellow card for Oishi R. in the 86th minute, a yellow card for Matsumoto Y. in the 90th and yellow cards for Umeda K. and Yamauchi R. in the 10th minute of stoppage time. Tegevajaro protected its one-goal cushion after Umeda’s goal. Blaublitz pushed for an equalizer, but Tegevajaro held on through the closing moments.

Blaublitz will next face Imabari, Tokushima, Kataller, Iwaki, Jubilo, Omiya, Vegalta, Tegevajaro, Albirex and Bellmare in its upcoming J2 League schedule. The club will look to recover from the competition loss while Tegevajaro moves on with its first win in the competition.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Tegevajaro Miyazaki 1, Blaublitz 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Tegevajaro Miyazaki with a 79.5 percent probability to win. Tegevajaro Miyazaki had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -0.5. The total score of 3 went under the over/under line of 2.5.