Sho Inagaki lined up a long-range volley and hit it perfectly, blasting it into the back of the net for a goal to remember. It is also an award-winning goal now, after the Nagoya Grampus man won July Goal of the Month honors for his marvelous strike.
Inagaki’s goal came from a corner kick, as the ball was played long to him in the center of the pitch. The midfielder could have brought the ball down or played it to a teammate, but despite the absurd difficulty of hitting it on the full volley, he did just that and scored a goal for the ages.
Inagaki’s goal gave Nagoya a 2-1 second half lead and proved vital as his side played Vissel Kobe to a 3-3 draw.
Top goal in J2 went to Ken Yamura, who raced in and smashed the ball into the back of the net on his first touch with a defender all over him to lead Fujieda MYFC to victory.
Takuya Sugai scored the best goal in J3, hitting an absolute rocket from 30 yards for the opening goal in a victory for his Azul Claro Numazu side.