HIRATSUKA, Kanagawa Pref. -- Consadole Sapporo will be back in the J. League's top flight next season after securing a top-two finish in the Second Division with a 3-0 win over Shonan Bellmare on Saturday night.
Defender Yoshihiro Natsuka knocked in a header off a Yuzuki Ito corner in the 17th minute and forward Ryuji Bando blasted an Almir rebound into the net from close range in the 69th minute.
In injury time, Brazilian forward Emerson fired his 30th goal of the season to complete the scoring for Sapporo at Hiratsuka Stadium.
Shonan played tenaciously and goalkeeper Yuichi Mizutani made some good saves. But the home players couldn't stop Sapporo's speedy Brazilian trio of Emerson, Biju and Almir.
"It was a 3-0 win today but most of the games we won this season were by one-goal margins. Our players fought hard every single game and this is a result of their hard work," a jubilant Sapporo manager Takeshi Okada said.
Okada, formerly manager of Japan's 1998 World Cup team, dashed across the pitch to thank the fans. Hundreds of Sapporo fans were celebrating, throwing dozens of paper streamers from the stands. Consadole returns to the First Division for the first time since the 1998 season.
Last year, Okada's first season at Sapporo, Consadole failed to win promotion after finishing fifth. But this year Sapporo made it with a 29-4-3 record with four matches remaining.
Consadole, now on 87 points, needs one point to clinch the division title.