Barry writesS-Pulse 0-1 Niigata
--------------------------------- Ishikawa 59
Nihondaira Stadium, Shizuoka
Att. 8710
Line Up
GK Hayashi
DF Yoshida
DF Hiraoka
DF Jong a Pin
DF Lee
MF Sugiyama (71)
MF Muramatsu
MF Hattanda
FW Kawai
FW Omae
FW Nabeta
Subs Used
Kobayashi on for Hattanda (HT)
Takagi on for Kawai (61)
Senuma on for Lee (71)
Report
My ears are still ringing from the woman stood behind me full on SCREAMING each time we went close to scoring. Think the girl in Jurassic Park and you get some idea. With the way things were unfolding on the pitch, it was doing my mood no favours, I can tell you. Maybe a good job we didn't equalise last night, or it would've been goodbye ear drums.
Rather like the away game earlier in the season, we were the only team in it, but lost to a sucker punch. Niigata looked to me like a team happy to play out an end of season mid table clash, but the problem for them is that they're most likely going down to J2. Especially for the first and last 15 minutes of the second half we we all over them. We even hit the bar, but the last ball just never seemed to find the right man, or rather the man with the space to trouble the keeper. It's important to remember (and hard to forget) that we played 120 minutes just four days before. It all adds up.
Hey, look on the bright side. Urawa got battered so we're still only a point off 3rd. Three games to go, and everything to play for. 10 days off now because of a World Cup qualifying weekend, and the next game sees us home to Gamba Osaka. Around this time last year they sold out the away end as they were in with a (slender) chance of the title. This year they're on the brink of J2, and will be fighting for their lives. Should make for a lively game, and I hope we rise to the occasion.
Videos
Some Niigata video, the first few seconds of which shows their goal.
2 comments:
We left a good opportunity to get the third place... I think there will be no more place for another loss after that if we want to go the the ACL.
Looked a lot like the Finals' first half. Nearly one team on the field but can't score a goal... that's really a problem.
Yeah, just one of those games unfortunately. So soon after the cup final's 120 minutes can't have helped. Confidence must have been pretty fragile and all the time we weren't scoring it must have got worse.
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