J2 Matchday 22
I've started writing a semi-regular J2 update piece for Asian Football Feast, and my next installment is due later today, in which I'll talk about how wonderfully unpredictable the league has been this season, with Matchday 22 a perfect example as none of the top six won.
For the neutral, league leaders FC Tokyo travelling to 19th-placed Toyama and losing 1-0 is a fantastic story, and in truth Toyama do deserve enormous credit for their dogged performance in what was the upset of the year, but we're Gasmen-centric here so neutrals can shove it up their ar$e$, this was without doubt one of the darkest days in our history.
We should be running away with this league, and while the loss to Tochigi was somewhat excusable, as they are definite contenders for promotion and have had good results against the other teams in the top half, this was an unmitigated disaster, a disgraceful performance that will completely remove the fear factor that other teams have had when they've played us so far.
Tatsuya Yazawa was unavailable through suspension, and Roberto Cesar missed his second straight game game with his calf injury, so Tatsuya Suzuki came in for Yaza and started up front, with Lucas, continuing in the XI in The Salad's absence, withdrawn in the hole and Naotake Hanyu moved back to the wing.
All you need to know about how those moves worked out is that Tatsuya was hauled off at half time after a very poor first half that saw him unable to get a sniff of goal, let alone a shot off. Naohiro Ishikawa, who if he was fit should've started on the wing, entered the fray and looked to change things but had too little help from our central midfield, which has looked woeful in the past two games after being a strength of the team during our unbeaten run.
Casual is having a nightmare stretch and should probably be benched, but that definitely won't happen this weekend in the return match against Tochigi as captain Yasuyuki Konno will be away and the manager won't want to be without Casual as well...though he'd better fire a rocket up him because Casual is making a mockery of his nickname with his recent performances (perhaps we should change it to Comatose).
What do you need to know about the game? Toyama defended resolutely after Teruaki Kurobe's 34th minute goal, we were uselessly ineffective, Daisuke Sakata (for Hanyu in the 70th min) and Genki Nagasato (for Sotan Tanabe in the 78th) came on for their debuts, we were shit, the whistle blew and we were a f#cking disgrace.
Look, upsets happen in football, its a funny old game, a game of two halves blah blah f#cking blah how the hell did we lose to these? On a massive weekend of upsets, somehow we stayed top but its impossible to have much confidence that we'll stay there. In my intro to Kitakyushu away, the first of the stretch of four of five away that ended at Toyama I said "if we can tread water and at least stay in the top three during this stretch then our promotion push will be set up nicely." but the pathetic way we rolled over here has me doubting the logic of that.
Ah well, I'm about to start walking to Kumagaya. See ya there.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Toyama v FC Tokyo: Sunday 6pm
J2 Matchday 22 Preview
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After keeping the same XI for ten straight games, Big Bear was forced into a change for Tochigi when The Salad pulled up lame after training the day before the game, with the club since reporting it'll be a three week recovery time for our main striker. There'll definitely be another change for this one, too, with Tatsuya Yazawa becoming the first of our players to be suspended for accruing four yellow cards this season (unfortunate for all of you who had bets on Masato Morishige doing it first).
We'd all expected (and hoped) it'd be Naohiro Ishikawa taking Yazawa's spot in the XI (and hopefully never giving it back), but that was thrown into doubt when Nao wasn't involved in yesterday's 3-2 friendly win over Tokyo Gakugei University (1 x 45 mins then 2 x 35). Tatsuya Suzuki started with the first team, making him the odds-on favourite to take Yaza's role on the flank, but Genki Nagasato could be a flier for the job after he bagged a brace in the second period.
We should see Daisuke Sakata come on for his debut (why on earth did Uesato come on instead of him with 5 mins to go last Sunday?), while Nagasato will at the very least have to come into the 18 after yesterday's performance, especially as there now appears to be huge doubt over Nao's availability, and considering that neither of the backup centre-halves have been in the squad for the past three games.
After suffering through a disappointing loss at Tochigi last Sunday, our fourth defeat of the season, FC Tokyo are on the road again this weekend visiting Toyama, a game that will conclude our run of four-of-five away. The good news is that following this we'll play four-of-five at home in September (well, three of five as one of them is at NEUTRAL Kumagaya - no, I'm not going to stop going on about it) as we conclude the season with nine of sixteen at 'home' (two at Kokuritsu, one at Kumagaya).
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As you all know we out-shot Tochigi 22-8 last weekend, but stats like that mean jacks##t if we're going to give away goals, as the unfortunate Hideto Takahashi was culpable of early in the game, and if the opposition goalkeeper is standing on his head for the entire game, to borrow an ice hockey term. Hiroyuki Takeda was named man of the match by Weekly Soccer Magazine, and kept us at bay until Tatsuya Suzuki's too-little-too-late goal deep into stoppage time.
After keeping the same XI for ten straight games, Big Bear was forced into a change for Tochigi when The Salad pulled up lame after training the day before the game, with the club since reporting it'll be a three week recovery time for our main striker. There'll definitely be another change for this one, too, with Tatsuya Yazawa becoming the first of our players to be suspended for accruing four yellow cards this season (unfortunate for all of you who had bets on Masato Morishige doing it first).
We'd all expected (and hoped) it'd be Naohiro Ishikawa taking Yazawa's spot in the XI (and hopefully never giving it back), but that was thrown into doubt when Nao wasn't involved in yesterday's 3-2 friendly win over Tokyo Gakugei University (1 x 45 mins then 2 x 35). Tatsuya Suzuki started with the first team, making him the odds-on favourite to take Yaza's role on the flank, but Genki Nagasato could be a flier for the job after he bagged a brace in the second period.
We should see Daisuke Sakata come on for his debut (why on earth did Uesato come on instead of him with 5 mins to go last Sunday?), while Nagasato will at the very least have to come into the 18 after yesterday's performance, especially as there now appears to be huge doubt over Nao's availability, and considering that neither of the backup centre-halves have been in the squad for the past three games.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Tochigi 2-1 FC Tokyo
THIS IS NOT A MATCH REPORT, I CANNOT BEAR TO LOOK BACK ON THIS GAME.
Is it just me or was this really really painful to watch? I recorded the game and started watching it after I had come back from going out to dinner, in a good mood with a belly full of wine. But the wine soon turned sour in the gut.
FCT started brightly enough, pinging the ball about nicely, but were caught out after a double brain fart from Hideto after he carelessly lost the ball to Paulinho, then after he caught up with him his tackle only succeeded in laying the ball into the path on the onrushing Sabia who finished easily. Can't be too hard on the young lad as he has been good this season but it was the the kind of HBF (horror brain fart) that has cost us so much in the past. After that it was the same old same old lots of possession, pressure but precious few chances.
What else can we say? The second half was more of the same, I nearly threw my cup at the TV when Casual was caught in possession after daydreaming for about 20 seconds for the second time, a piece of play at which my visiting father laughed out loud it was so bad. After that I got so fed up I stated skipping forward with the remote and missed most of the last 20 minutes. It was just too familiar, too predictable and too painful.
This was bad.
We move on though, let's forget about it, we are still top of this league, but please let us get out of it soon for the sake of my fragile sanity.
Is it just me or was this really really painful to watch? I recorded the game and started watching it after I had come back from going out to dinner, in a good mood with a belly full of wine. But the wine soon turned sour in the gut.
FCT started brightly enough, pinging the ball about nicely, but were caught out after a double brain fart from Hideto after he carelessly lost the ball to Paulinho, then after he caught up with him his tackle only succeeded in laying the ball into the path on the onrushing Sabia who finished easily. Can't be too hard on the young lad as he has been good this season but it was the the kind of HBF (horror brain fart) that has cost us so much in the past. After that it was the same old same old lots of possession, pressure but precious few chances.
What else can we say? The second half was more of the same, I nearly threw my cup at the TV when Casual was caught in possession after daydreaming for about 20 seconds for the second time, a piece of play at which my visiting father laughed out loud it was so bad. After that I got so fed up I stated skipping forward with the remote and missed most of the last 20 minutes. It was just too familiar, too predictable and too painful.
This was bad.
We move on though, let's forget about it, we are still top of this league, but please let us get out of it soon for the sake of my fragile sanity.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Tochigi SC v FC Tokyo: Sunday 6pm
J2 Matchday 21 Preview
After gaining revenge for our Matchday 6 loss to Kusatsu last Saturday, FC Tokyo continue on our vigilante tour through J2 as we look to avenge this.....
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| "Avenge my... shattered leg..." Don't worry, Sota, we haven't forgotten. |
That's right, while our first-ever visit to Tochigi SC could have big ramifications at the top of the table, and is the first of two meetings we'll have with them in the next three games, the main purpose of our trip is to see if we can snap the leg of a Tochigi player, preferably Ricardo Lobo, their main striker.
(I'm joking, of course, and as they don't appear to have a mascot we can kidnap, we'll just have to settle for winning on the pitch).
It's been four months since that fateful 'friendly' at Kodaira, and in that time we've bounced back from a horror start to sit on the summit of the second tier after 20 games, while our hosts have been consistently good all season, and have been in the top four all year.
US
We'll be unchanged again, for the 11th straight game, but the whole squad got a runout yesterday at Kodaira as we played two practice games against university opponents.
| Bit worried about the new-look this11.com, this kit is far too pink for my liking... |
The first team played a 2 x 30 minute match against Sendai University, winning 3-1 with goals from Masato Morishige and Naotake Hanyu in the first half and Roberto Cesar in the second.
Roswell took an early bath after the first half, with Lucas replacing him to partner The Salad, while interestingly Naohiro Ishikawa came on for the second half in place of Sotan Tanabe...hinting that Sotan will be the one to make way when Nao is finally fit enough to start?
Yasuyuki Konno, Yohei Kajiyama and then The Salad himself all headed in for an early bath from midway through the second half, with Kenta Mukuhara, Kazumasa Uesato and Tatsuya Suzuki, respectively, replacing them.
Those three then buttered up for a 2 x 45 minute, 4-2 win over Tokyo Gakugei University that was noticable for a couple of reasons.
Monday, August 15, 2011
FC Tokyo 1-0 Kusatsu
J2 Matchday 20
The second half of the 2011 J2 season began on Saturday night with FC Tokyo hosting Kusatsu. An impressive crowd of 20,790, the second-best of the season, poured into the steamy Aji Sta bowl, with many no doubt looking forward to the fireworks show the club had planned (and the football game that would take place either side of it).
The Gasmen put out exactly the same squad as for last weekend's 2-0 away win over FC Gifu, which meant that new boys Genki Nagasato and Daisuke Sakata were not involved, and the home end was confident that revenge could be had for one of our three defeats in the first half of the campaign.
Hopes were high, but hearts were in mouths in the first minute, as a long ball over the top caught Masato Morishige napping and sent Kusatsu's Brazilian striker Alex racing away down the left. The lanky South American dribbled into the box, but slightly mistimed his shot and Hitoshi Shiota parried clear.
After that early scare the game settled into the familiar Aji Sta pattern, with FC Tokyo dominating possession and probing for openings. The visitors kept a relatively high line as we built play from the back, and there appeared to be clear instructions to spread the field and push the fullbacks up, but things tightened up as we got closer to goal, with clear-cut chances hard to come by as Kusatsu defended stoutly.
We had a few chances from free kicks around their box as the half progressed, with one effort from Morishige drawing a brilliant save from Kita in the Kusatsu goal, but the first half ended scoreless and while we had made all the play, we could have few complaints as our finishing wasn't what it should have been, one perfect example a flowing move that ended with Casual taking an unnecessary touch in the box and getting the ball stuck in his feet.
The second half of the 2011 J2 season began on Saturday night with FC Tokyo hosting Kusatsu. An impressive crowd of 20,790, the second-best of the season, poured into the steamy Aji Sta bowl, with many no doubt looking forward to the fireworks show the club had planned (and the football game that would take place either side of it).
The Gasmen put out exactly the same squad as for last weekend's 2-0 away win over FC Gifu, which meant that new boys Genki Nagasato and Daisuke Sakata were not involved, and the home end was confident that revenge could be had for one of our three defeats in the first half of the campaign.
Hopes were high, but hearts were in mouths in the first minute, as a long ball over the top caught Masato Morishige napping and sent Kusatsu's Brazilian striker Alex racing away down the left. The lanky South American dribbled into the box, but slightly mistimed his shot and Hitoshi Shiota parried clear.
After that early scare the game settled into the familiar Aji Sta pattern, with FC Tokyo dominating possession and probing for openings. The visitors kept a relatively high line as we built play from the back, and there appeared to be clear instructions to spread the field and push the fullbacks up, but things tightened up as we got closer to goal, with clear-cut chances hard to come by as Kusatsu defended stoutly.
We had a few chances from free kicks around their box as the half progressed, with one effort from Morishige drawing a brilliant save from Kita in the Kusatsu goal, but the first half ended scoreless and while we had made all the play, we could have few complaints as our finishing wasn't what it should have been, one perfect example a flowing move that ended with Casual taking an unnecessary touch in the box and getting the ball stuck in his feet.
Friday, August 12, 2011
FC Tokyo v Kusatsu: Saturday 6.30pm
J2 Matchday 20 Preview
Its been a very busy week here at On the Gas, with Tokyo Bairn's Match Report on last Sunday's win over FC Gifu, my review of the season so far (Part 1, Part 2) and news on the comings and goings at the club this week, so I'll try and keep this short (but will probably fail!).
Tomorrow FC Tokyo return to Ajinomoto Stadium for the first time in four weeks when we host Kusatsu, one of only three teams to beat us this season.
US
The XI should be the same, no need for a formation graphic (and for some reason the kit in my Gifu preview changed from white to red?!), but the main interest will be in the makeup of our bench, with new boys Genki Nagasato and Daisuke Sakata both in the mix, although we might only see Nagasato this week as he's in season.
Kohei Shimoda's spot in the 18 looks to be in the most threat, and I'd expect him to make way for Nagasato, with Sakata more likely to come into the reckoning for next Sunday's trip to Tochigi SC. Naohiro Ishikawa's return to the squad last weekend meant there was no room for either Jade North or Tomokazu Nagira, as Kenta Mukuhara was the only defender on the bench.
We now have a very deep, but also versatile squad, and those two central defenders might struggle to make the 18 in the coming games, as Yuhei Tokunaga or Hideto Takahashi could fill in at centre half if injury were to strike Yasuyuki Konno or Masato Morishige during a game (touch wood it doesn't).
Its been a very busy week here at On the Gas, with Tokyo Bairn's Match Report on last Sunday's win over FC Gifu, my review of the season so far (Part 1, Part 2) and news on the comings and goings at the club this week, so I'll try and keep this short (but will probably fail!).
Tomorrow FC Tokyo return to Ajinomoto Stadium for the first time in four weeks when we host Kusatsu, one of only three teams to beat us this season.
US
The XI should be the same, no need for a formation graphic (and for some reason the kit in my Gifu preview changed from white to red?!), but the main interest will be in the makeup of our bench, with new boys Genki Nagasato and Daisuke Sakata both in the mix, although we might only see Nagasato this week as he's in season.
Kohei Shimoda's spot in the 18 looks to be in the most threat, and I'd expect him to make way for Nagasato, with Sakata more likely to come into the reckoning for next Sunday's trip to Tochigi SC. Naohiro Ishikawa's return to the squad last weekend meant there was no room for either Jade North or Tomokazu Nagira, as Kenta Mukuhara was the only defender on the bench.
We now have a very deep, but also versatile squad, and those two central defenders might struggle to make the 18 in the coming games, as Yuhei Tokunaga or Hideto Takahashi could fill in at centre half if injury were to strike Yasuyuki Konno or Masato Morishige during a game (touch wood it doesn't).
Halfway Home Part 2
In Part 1 of this FC Tokyo mid-season review, I wrote about the injuries that contributed to our slow start and the players who have taken their chances due to the enforced absences of Sota Hirayama, Takuji Yonemoto, and to a lesser extent, Naohiro Ishikawa, who have made a combined two starts between them in the first half of the season.
Here in Part 2 I'll go through the season month-by-month (with links to On the Gas Match Reports), and reveal the players of the season so far according to Tokyo Bairn and myself, amongst other things, starting with....
March
Just the one league game obviously, and we began the season the same way we did in 2010, with a 1-0 win at home. Tosu were the opponents, and the performance was fairly plodding, but new boy Tatsuya Yazawa settled things in our favour with a bundled effort following up after Hirayama had barrelled into their 'keeper.
The next Friday disaster struck Japan, and the J.League went into recess for six weeks, during which time Hirayama and backup holding midfielder Roberto suffered long-term injuries.
April
The league resumed for us on Sunday, August 24th, with the much-anticipated clash away to fellow promotion favourites Chiba, but it turned into a horror show for us as we were picked-off three times. The final 3-0 scoreline wasn't really a fair indication of how the game went, but they took their chances while we couldn't hit the side of a wool shed.
More important than the result though was the season-ending (most likely) knee injury to Takuji Yonemoto, an absolute tragedy for our brilliant all-energy holding midfielder.
Here in Part 2 I'll go through the season month-by-month (with links to On the Gas Match Reports), and reveal the players of the season so far according to Tokyo Bairn and myself, amongst other things, starting with....
March
Just the one league game obviously, and we began the season the same way we did in 2010, with a 1-0 win at home. Tosu were the opponents, and the performance was fairly plodding, but new boy Tatsuya Yazawa settled things in our favour with a bundled effort following up after Hirayama had barrelled into their 'keeper.
The next Friday disaster struck Japan, and the J.League went into recess for six weeks, during which time Hirayama and backup holding midfielder Roberto suffered long-term injuries.
April
The league resumed for us on Sunday, August 24th, with the much-anticipated clash away to fellow promotion favourites Chiba, but it turned into a horror show for us as we were picked-off three times. The final 3-0 scoreline wasn't really a fair indication of how the game went, but they took their chances while we couldn't hit the side of a wool shed.
More important than the result though was the season-ending (most likely) knee injury to Takuji Yonemoto, an absolute tragedy for our brilliant all-energy holding midfielder.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
One Out, Two In
There's been some significant personnel moves made by the club in the past couple of days, so lets begin with the departure of a true fan favourite, before assessing the impact our two new arrivals could have in the second half of the season.
The Little Wizard Departs
In a move that took many Tokyo supporters by surprise, the club announced on Tuesday that our richly talented winger Yohei Otake would go on loan to J1 Cerezo Osaka until the end of January next year.
Despite being a darling of the Aji Sta faithful since making his debut in 2008, The Little Wizard had made just two starts this year, and should get a chance to play more regularly for the Kansai side as a replacement for Takashi Inui, who departed for Germany earlier this month - in fact Cerezo have even given Otake the number 7 shirt, Inui's old number.
For whatever reason Otake was never able to convince Mr. Okuma that he could be relied on, and appeared to be viewed as a 'luxury' player by the manager, someone who could open a can of beans with his left foot but was a liability going the other way.
While we don't know how long a deal had been in the works, if a permanent move was discussed, or if other clubs had enquired about signing him (though there were rumours bouncing around in the past couple of months), the club must've been shopping him around and you have to wonder, if he's a success in Osaka, whether we'll see him in a Tokyo shirt again: I would guess not as long as Okuma is in charge.
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| The women are rough in Osaka. |
The Little Wizard Departs
In a move that took many Tokyo supporters by surprise, the club announced on Tuesday that our richly talented winger Yohei Otake would go on loan to J1 Cerezo Osaka until the end of January next year.
Despite being a darling of the Aji Sta faithful since making his debut in 2008, The Little Wizard had made just two starts this year, and should get a chance to play more regularly for the Kansai side as a replacement for Takashi Inui, who departed for Germany earlier this month - in fact Cerezo have even given Otake the number 7 shirt, Inui's old number.
For whatever reason Otake was never able to convince Mr. Okuma that he could be relied on, and appeared to be viewed as a 'luxury' player by the manager, someone who could open a can of beans with his left foot but was a liability going the other way.
While we don't know how long a deal had been in the works, if a permanent move was discussed, or if other clubs had enquired about signing him (though there were rumours bouncing around in the past couple of months), the club must've been shopping him around and you have to wonder, if he's a success in Osaka, whether we'll see him in a Tokyo shirt again: I would guess not as long as Okuma is in charge.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
FC Gifu 0-2 FC Tokyo
Really the main thing about this tie is that it saw us move back up to the top of the table, with Tokushima having gone down at home to the rising yellow and red force of Kita Kyushu. Apart from that, maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t really enjoy this one, probably as I was expecting another steamroller of a performance against the league minnows F.C Guffu, whom we had trounced 4-0 at home a few weeks back.
The only change FCT made was to bring back the rested and fully fit Hokuto to replace Abe, the line up now being very familiar indeed. The game started off fairly low key and even, until Tokunaga rasped home a powerful low drive from outside the box in the 17th minute, having been set up nicely by Takahashi. After that the gasmen began to stretch the home side a bit across the pitch and create a few more openings, one of which resulted in a penalty when Yazawa was tripped. It was actually a reasonably taken effort by Salada but the keeper did well down to his left to palm it away. We didn’t have to wait too long for the second though, a burst of pace and by the aforementioned leafy one left him straight through, and Yazawa was there to prod home the rebound after Cesar’s shot had been blocked by the keeper’s legs.
In the second half Tokyo looked a bit flat and Guffu started to look not quite so guff, stringing passes together and being unlucky to clip the top of the crossbar on two occasions from long range efforts. FCT were guilty of arsenaling around their penalty box on a few occasions, and it took the introduction of Ishikawa and Lucas to liven things up for us. Lucas had two carefully placed efforts go just wide, once after he had been set up by a classic Nao run up the right before he cut it back. That was about it though, and I was glad to hear the final whistle.
So back to the top of the league, an away win in the heat. We can’t win every game even against the poorer teams emphatically and it is clear that Guffu had improved since we drubbed them. It’s just that I want out of this league quick. It is rubbish. We don’t belong here. Halfway home.
The only change FCT made was to bring back the rested and fully fit Hokuto to replace Abe, the line up now being very familiar indeed. The game started off fairly low key and even, until Tokunaga rasped home a powerful low drive from outside the box in the 17th minute, having been set up nicely by Takahashi. After that the gasmen began to stretch the home side a bit across the pitch and create a few more openings, one of which resulted in a penalty when Yazawa was tripped. It was actually a reasonably taken effort by Salada but the keeper did well down to his left to palm it away. We didn’t have to wait too long for the second though, a burst of pace and by the aforementioned leafy one left him straight through, and Yazawa was there to prod home the rebound after Cesar’s shot had been blocked by the keeper’s legs.
In the second half Tokyo looked a bit flat and Guffu started to look not quite so guff, stringing passes together and being unlucky to clip the top of the crossbar on two occasions from long range efforts. FCT were guilty of arsenaling around their penalty box on a few occasions, and it took the introduction of Ishikawa and Lucas to liven things up for us. Lucas had two carefully placed efforts go just wide, once after he had been set up by a classic Nao run up the right before he cut it back. That was about it though, and I was glad to hear the final whistle.
So back to the top of the league, an away win in the heat. We can’t win every game even against the poorer teams emphatically and it is clear that Guffu had improved since we drubbed them. It’s just that I want out of this league quick. It is rubbish. We don’t belong here. Halfway home.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Halfway Home? Part 1
I'd like to start Part 1 of this mid-season recap with a question to all FC Tokyo fans (don't worry, it's not a tough one, and your answer will be the same as mine was). OK, ready? Here we go: Before the season started, did you think FC Tokyo would be top of J2 at the halfway point? You did, right? Of course you did, we all did. And we were all right, thanks in part to Sunday's 2-0 away win over FC Gifu (but mostly to Kitakyushu, who stunned Tokushima on Friday night).
But if I'd asked you the same question after Matchday 2, when we lost 3-0 away to Chiba, or after Matchday 6's horror 2-1 loss at Kusatsu (we lost to Kusatsu!), after which we had scored just three goals in six games, would your answer have been the same? Maybe, maybe not (mine would've been different).
Now I wasn't one of the people who thought we'd win every game, or score 100 goals - I'm on record as saying several times I didn't think promotion would be a piece of cake for us - but even I've been surprised by how difficult/tricky/unpredictable J2 is this season, and while this is called 'Halfway Home (to J1)' I'm not counting any chickens that we will go up, as there'll be many more twists and turns until the first weekend in December.
It took us a looooong time to get going, and a lot has gone on since the first weekend in March, but we've reached the halfway point in first, so in Part 1 we'll look some of the big incidents that contributed to our slow start, and the players who have stepped in to cover for our injured stars....
The Injuries
No one's going to feel sorry for us, and I don't expect them to as we've got the deepest squad in the league, but we've had to overcome an awful lot injury-wise this season, suffering long-term injuries to several key players.
The hammer blows started in the enforced break after the earthquake and tsunami, when our main striker Sota Hirayama had his leg broken in a 'friendly' against Tochigi SC, a game that also marked the last appearance for the holding midfielder Roberto, who we saw for a grand total of four minutes as a sub in the season opener, injured his knee in training and returned to Brazil at the start of May.
But if I'd asked you the same question after Matchday 2, when we lost 3-0 away to Chiba, or after Matchday 6's horror 2-1 loss at Kusatsu (we lost to Kusatsu!), after which we had scored just three goals in six games, would your answer have been the same? Maybe, maybe not (mine would've been different).
Now I wasn't one of the people who thought we'd win every game, or score 100 goals - I'm on record as saying several times I didn't think promotion would be a piece of cake for us - but even I've been surprised by how difficult/tricky/unpredictable J2 is this season, and while this is called 'Halfway Home (to J1)' I'm not counting any chickens that we will go up, as there'll be many more twists and turns until the first weekend in December.
It took us a looooong time to get going, and a lot has gone on since the first weekend in March, but we've reached the halfway point in first, so in Part 1 we'll look some of the big incidents that contributed to our slow start, and the players who have stepped in to cover for our injured stars....
The Injuries
No one's going to feel sorry for us, and I don't expect them to as we've got the deepest squad in the league, but we've had to overcome an awful lot injury-wise this season, suffering long-term injuries to several key players.
The hammer blows started in the enforced break after the earthquake and tsunami, when our main striker Sota Hirayama had his leg broken in a 'friendly' against Tochigi SC, a game that also marked the last appearance for the holding midfielder Roberto, who we saw for a grand total of four minutes as a sub in the season opener, injured his knee in training and returned to Brazil at the start of May.
Friday, August 5, 2011
FC Gifu v FC Tokyo: Sunday, 6pm
J2 Matchday 19 Preview
This game, our second against FC Gifu in three weeks, marks the halfway point of the 2011 J2 season. Its certainly been a very interesting year to date, with its fair share of highs and lows, but I'll be doing a seperate 'halfway home' piece next week, so for now lets focus on our first-ever trip to bottom club Gifu, originally scheduled to be played in Matchday 3.
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Yesterday's training match against Chuo University, which we won 6-2 over four 30 minute quarters, saw a few spanners thrown into what I thought would be our XI for this game. As expected, Hokuto Nakamura returned and played the first two quarters, so he's almost certain to return at left back in place of Takumi Abe, but things get a bit cloudy after that.
Worryingly, Hideto Takahashi was carted off 17 minutes into the second quarter and is now in serious doubt for Sunday, while surprisingly, Lucas started up front alongside Naotake Hanyu, in place of Roberto Cesar.
On the Lucas front, he's probably fit enough to start games and get through 60-odd minutes now, and while Big Bear may have just been giving him a proper run out with Hanyu yesterday, there's a good chance he could make his first appearance in the XI since his return here.
This game, our second against FC Gifu in three weeks, marks the halfway point of the 2011 J2 season. Its certainly been a very interesting year to date, with its fair share of highs and lows, but I'll be doing a seperate 'halfway home' piece next week, so for now lets focus on our first-ever trip to bottom club Gifu, originally scheduled to be played in Matchday 3.
US
Yesterday's training match against Chuo University, which we won 6-2 over four 30 minute quarters, saw a few spanners thrown into what I thought would be our XI for this game. As expected, Hokuto Nakamura returned and played the first two quarters, so he's almost certain to return at left back in place of Takumi Abe, but things get a bit cloudy after that.
Worryingly, Hideto Takahashi was carted off 17 minutes into the second quarter and is now in serious doubt for Sunday, while surprisingly, Lucas started up front alongside Naotake Hanyu, in place of Roberto Cesar.
Kazumasa Uesato would seem to be the ready-made replacement for Takahashi, but then we thought Uesato's chance would come a lot earlier, so while he was the one who stepped into the holding role yesterday, who knows what Mr. Okuma will do if Takahashi is indeed unavailable (PLEASE DO NOT PLAY YUHEI TOKUNAGA IN CENTRAL MIDFIELD EVER AGAIN, SIR).
On the Lucas front, he's probably fit enough to start games and get through 60-odd minutes now, and while Big Bear may have just been giving him a proper run out with Hanyu yesterday, there's a good chance he could make his first appearance in the XI since his return here.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Kitakyushu 1-0 FC Tokyo
J2 Matchday 18
To (overly) simplify FC Tokyo's visit to Kitakyushu on Saturday, I give you the two biggest incidents, the first coming in the 22nd minute:
Yohei Kajiyama, who must have won penalty janken against Roberto Cesar and Tatsuya Yazawa, had his spot-kick saved as Yuya Sato guessed right in the Kitakyushu goal.
And now the second, in the 59th:
I mentioned in my preview last Friday that we hadn't conceeded in five games, equalling the club record, and while I feel sorry for Hitoshi Shiota that he wasn't able to set a new record here, you have to tip your hat to Tomoki Ikemoto, because that was an absolute peach of a strike.
In my preview I also pointed to Kitakyushu's improved defence as being one of the two big reasons for their massive improvement in this, just their second J2 season, and that was clear throughout here, as they scrapped and battled, and did just enough to keep us out. Our finishing was not what it was in the recent demolition jobs against Gifu and Kumamoto, but you just know things would've turned out much different if Casual had been able to slot away his pen...
To (overly) simplify FC Tokyo's visit to Kitakyushu on Saturday, I give you the two biggest incidents, the first coming in the 22nd minute:
Yohei Kajiyama, who must have won penalty janken against Roberto Cesar and Tatsuya Yazawa, had his spot-kick saved as Yuya Sato guessed right in the Kitakyushu goal.
And now the second, in the 59th:
I mentioned in my preview last Friday that we hadn't conceeded in five games, equalling the club record, and while I feel sorry for Hitoshi Shiota that he wasn't able to set a new record here, you have to tip your hat to Tomoki Ikemoto, because that was an absolute peach of a strike.
In my preview I also pointed to Kitakyushu's improved defence as being one of the two big reasons for their massive improvement in this, just their second J2 season, and that was clear throughout here, as they scrapped and battled, and did just enough to keep us out. Our finishing was not what it was in the recent demolition jobs against Gifu and Kumamoto, but you just know things would've turned out much different if Casual had been able to slot away his pen...
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