Muramatsu on for Edamura (65) Ljungberg on for Nabeta (74)
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Under the cosh for the first half, much better in the second. Ljungberg had a big impact again, starting moves and also being there on the end of others, but the 15 minutes he was on wasn't enough to create a winner. Nearly, but not quite. Bare in mind he's still some way off full fitness, but his rapid integration bodes well for the future.
Kawasaki were not playing like a team who had lost 9 of their last 10, and might have grabbed a winner. But they had no hope of dealing with Takagi who just won't allow himself to be denied. A surging run down the left, he beat two players before darting into the heart of the penalty area and poking a shot into the bottom corner. Sugiyama could only parry it out to a waiting Brisque. 1-0 to the good guys.
At 1-0 down the home team were really going for it and when Juninho's stab was deflected home by Jong a Pin's leg to level the score it was deserved. A draw was probably fair, and given our injury reduced team, not an altogether bad result. An even better result was Kofu doing Gamba 2-0 - especially because I had a few quid on it. :)
Next up, relegation threatened Niigata in the second leg of our League Cup 2nd round game. We lead 2-1 from the first leg.
Goal!
Ghotbi Says
To be honest, I though the 1st half was very sloppy for both teams. We created a few half chances and a penalty that wasn't called. But I thought the 2nd half we started better and created a nice goal, but our reaction after the goal was poor. Kawasaki created some good opportunities and we were not in control, and they equalised.
But after they equalised, especially after Freddie came on, we controlled the game and had some wonderful chances to win. There are some positives to take out of the game, Nabeta had a good game.
We are playing without some of our key players and without your more experienced players you make mistakes. The important thing is getting Ono and Takahara back and Ljungberg fully fit. Once those three players are back you'll see a different team.
Our fans were wonderful from the beginning to the end, they cheered us on and I'm grateful for them.
DF Tsujio DF Iwashita DF Bosnar (yellow 15) DF Ota
MF Jong-a-Pin (yellow 38) MF Ono MF Brosque
FW Omae FW Takagi FW Nabeta
Subs Used
Edamura on for Takagi (55) Hiraoka on for Bosnar (65) Nagai on for Ljungberg (76)
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Blistering heat, horrible jetlag, but at least we won and made it 4-0 against Saitama's two teams this year. I woke up less than three hours before kick off meaning a mad dash to make it out to Ecopa in time. For a home game, Ecopa's a mission, but it does make a change and means for the big games noone is left without a ticket. All told, less than 22000 is a disappointing gate, but at the end of the day we had 2000 more than could have fit in Nihondaira.
Anyway, we won. On the first half we deserved it. Urawa twice broke through one on one but lacked the quality to make them count. But for our part, Nabeta nearly opened the scoring, Genki would have done had he directed his shot better, and Jong a Pin crashed one shot against the bar, and another was only denied only by an excellent save by Kato.
The second half was much more evenly balanced, but Urawa lack teeth. Escudero kept falling over (diving) and otherwise making a mess of things. He either had a bad game or he's just crap. As time wore on, and especially after we took the lead, Urawa looked more and more desperate and rarely troubled Kaito for all their possession.
Tsujio's excellent trickery down the right wing and dart into the box was enough to give the breakthrough just past the hour. Genki was there to take it down and poke it home in one movement. Freddie had a good game. His vision is excellent and the only problem was his surrounding players not always anticipating him. We've seen this happen with Ono though, so give it time while everyone gets up to speed with the Swede's lightening decision making.
Next week we play Kawasaki who have just won their first game after nine defeats. Fingers crossed it's a mere blip in their otherwise disastrous season. :)
ADDITIONAL: It's worth mentioning this was a game without our captain or top scorer. That's all.
Pictures
The long road to Ecopa They said it was for "children only" :( Ole!
New look S-Pulse
You should be in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back, or neck problems, motion sickness, or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure. Expectant mothers should not ride.
Brosque on for Nagai (46) Ljungberg on for Ono (65) Sugiyama on for Tsujio (74)
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Sorry, you're on your own. I'm 6000 miles away from Ecopa so have no idea how we did (apart from the obvious). I know Nagai got subbed at half time which cannot be good for any hopes of a future with us. It just hasn't happened for him. Ljungberg came on for Ono just after our goal, but like I said, I didn't see it so am waiting to hear from friends on how he did.
Onwards and upwards. Back to Ecopa next weekend for Urawa.
Barry writes:
