Vissel Kobe, in which the Spanish Andrés Iniesta could not play, still convalescing from ankle discomfort, could not go beyond the draw (1-1) at the bottom of the bottom, Shonan Bellmare, in a match in which he dominated the ball but in which he lacked success in the face of the door to complete the comeback.
The ex-footballer of Barcelona and the Spanish team did not force after playing 20 minutes in the painful defeat in the Cup (0-6) on September 2 against Kawasaki Frontale, the undisputed leader in the Japanese League, which he reached after three games without entering on the team with an ankle injury suffered on August 19.
The match seemed propitious to return to the path of victory after two consecutive draws as they faced the bottom of the competition, but finally Vissel Kobe again added only one point that leaves him, momentarily, in tenth position with 19.
The visitors dominated the ball in the first half with a clear 70% possession, but they did not generate danger beyond a distant shot in the 41st minute from the other Spaniard in the team, Sergi Samper, who went straight to the squad but cleared on serve. from the corner the local goalkeeper, Kosei Tani, with a great stretch.
An outstanding performance that the Vissel Kobe goalkeeper did not perform. A bad clearance due to being badly placed led to Yuto Iwasaku's goal at m.20, but it was annulled for offside. Still, it was a harbinger of what happened at m.50 of the match.
A great triangulation on the left wing of Shonan Bellmare was used by Kazuki Oiwa to finish off a cross from Hirozaku Ishihara at the near post. The visiting goalkeeper, Daiya Maekawa, was out of place again and could do nothing to avoid the 1-0.
A joy that only lasted three minutes for the locals since Vissel Kobe's left winger, Gotoku Sakai, took advantage of a rise in attack to make it 1-1 which in the end, despite the attempts to come back, was definitive.
The clearest opportunity was given by Kyogo Furuhashi with a powerful shot inside the area that, with the local goalkeeper overcome, defender Keisuke Saka managed to clear his head almost over the goal line. Vissel Kobe had another two shots on goal, but again accused the lack of punch.
This tie leaves Vissel Kobe nine points behind Cerezo Osaka trained by the Spanish Miguel Ángel Lotina, who closes the access positions to the Asian Champions League. For its part, Shonan Bellmare does not raise its head and remains far behind in the last position of the table with only five points.