It's a blog (in English mostly) all about football...in Japan with the J-League and Cerezo Osaka, in the English Premier League with Spurs and anywhere else the football takes us.
Love didn't conquer all, although he did score the first after a ridiculous penalty decision. So, however unlikely it seems, we made it through!Sakemoto was dropped and our formation was altered but ultimately I don't think that made a huge difference as two nice finishes from two players we expect to produce the goods got us the points we needed to squeeze through to the knockout stage. Jin-Hyeon gave us a scare as he fell very awkwardly but played on and he and the rest of the defense proved too strong for Shandong to get back in the game. Enjoy the video and happy days! Marcelo Lippi's Guangzhou Evergrande awaits us in early May. A Kansai Derby awaits us tomorrow back in J1.
This was sold out as I believe was last season's fixture at Ajinomoto Stadium. Last time we came away with three points, despite a goal from Hasegawa (now of Cerezo), Minamino and Kakitani scored in November last year. Sadly it was not to be today as our defence was easily breached. I feel Sakemoto will bear the brunt of Popovic's (who brought Hasegawa with him from FC Tokyo this year) wrath again after a poor defensive display. Both FC Tokyo goals came from his side of the defense as well another great chance to score sandwiched in between the two goals. We had chances but nothing is going consistently well for Kakitani or Forlan so far this season as they don't look like a strike partnership capable of rescuing us from our defensive frailties. Time will tell, there are glimpses of a footballing understanding between them interspersed with shrugs and complaints. If we can't defend we need to score more, pretty simple. We can't even use the excuse of being in the ACL as we have a pretty big squad compared to previous years with lots of opportunity for rotation of which we have seen very little. Two massive games coming up (with us in poor form) in China against Shandong Luneng to determine who will qualify from our ACL group followed by a trip to current league leaders Vissel Kobe for Kansai bragging rights.
Jun Ando started in defense today, another of our new signings this season from Kyoto Purple Sanga. We had a couple of half chances before disarray at the back let Pohang Steelers take the lead. Forlan got booked before Minamino got a straight red for a dangerous tackle whether or not it was intentional. Popovic soon lost it berating the fourth official and then the ref which led to his ejection. Forlan looked miffed on the bench after being taken off for the second half as Someya stepped in to shield the back four. The energetic Nagai was also brought on to replace Kakitani and Kusukami made his regular sub appearance coming on for Hasegawa who didn't cope well against Pohang. We didn't do too badly with 10 men but inevitably Pohang finished the game with a goal on the counter. No boos at the end, perhaps the red helped in this aspect, our fans were in good voice throughout. It didn't turn out to be a must win game either as Buriram's surprise win over Shandong has all 3 teams below Pohang level on 5 points. One game in China is left that could still see us progress to the knockout stages.
How annoying was that game? We were outplayed at home, had no cohesion and couldn't cope with Shandong at all. First goal was offside but if we want to prove we belong in competitions like this, or are title contenders, some days you have to beat the opposition and the ref. Vagner Love cost Shandong 12 million Euros and he scored two on the night. The Shandong players were on a 3 million yen win bonus for this match too. Playing two up top leaves us vulnerable and requires both Yamaguchi and Ogihara to be on the top of their game but they were overrun on Tuesday. Aria again looked like he hasn't added much to our squad but hopefully just needs more time. At least Popovic seems to recognise the quality of Kusukami whose stepover was as important to assist Kakitani's strike as Nicols's pass. Oh the timewasting. I haven't felt so annoyed at a team in such a long time purely because that level of timewasting, by their keeper in particular, is an anachronism in today's game but the ref couldn't assert any kind authority. Another worrying performance, going to Shandong will be tough if play like this again. We can still get out the group so the booing from our fans was unwarranted, the team need to get used to playing the way Popovic wants and that will take some time, more patience is needed.
Glad we got the points obviously but this was a poor quality game at the Pocari Sweat Stadium. Thanks to a great free kick from Yamaguchi and an own goal by Chiyotanda we came away from Tokushima with 3 points. This was Tokushima's first home game in J1 and they may struggle to stay up based on this performance. Cerezo will also need to find another gear when we come up against better teams. Fans were treated to an Awa Odori show at halftime showcasing Tokushima's famous festival of dance. Serbian Gojko Kacar started his first game at centre-back and looked comfortable. On Tuesday we face Shandong Luneng in the ACL.
They beat us in China but we were great in Osaka. We could have scored more, but again for some reason Shandong didn't turn up at all in Osaka. A great night for us, Shandong went down to 10 men, deservedly, they were as physical as the rules of the game would allow. We had so many chances and a good spread of goalscorers. Most importantly we got through to face...Gamba in the next round.
I4 in the rain
Shandong (or random Chinese?) supporters
A little wet and very happy
This game was followed by a trip to Urawa Reds where we drew but had 14 shots on goal and looked better in J1 than we have so far, still no three points though. Both goals were good, Kiyotake with a great finish after a one-two with Pimpao. In one of the better supported and therefore intimidating atmospheres in the J-League it was a good result for us despite the missed chances.
Well, Spurs did lose to Blackpool away earlier this season but still, we had a chance to close the gap on Man City and didn't take it. Gomes from great to goof in the space of a few minutes and we were behind despite playing pretty well from a penalty. Defoe earned us a point in the dying minutes but it's been a poor set of results for us recently despite patches of playing really well, quite simply more goals needed...also starting to lose patience with Gomes but Redknapp remains a big fan, 1-1 the final score.
What's this? It looks like Defoe's in Cerezo colours for some reason, why? Where did this come from? Very odd.
At home to Vegalta Sendai (click the name to find out where the name Vegalta comes from, interesting) and the same result 1-1. This time Komatsu Rui earned us a point in injury time. It was only in the last few minutes we looked urgent and went for it. Again some worrying signs, the ref got some stick but it was masking over another average performance. A fair result, Sendai fans were great as usual with a fine repertoire of songs. It looks like Pimpao will score at least one amazingly spectacular goal this season, he seems to try for something special but at the moment all Cerezo need is 3 points please! Crunch time in the ACL next with the visit of Shandong Luneng on Tuesday, a draw or a win will do, back to Nagai Stadium for this one.
Komatsu, not wearing a Spurs kit, but he's our Peter Crouch, give him a chance Culpi!
On a horrible pitch Cerezo looked really good in Indonesia, Inui got a couple following goals from Kiyotake and Pimpao. All of the goals featured some pretty slick passing and build up play. I don't know what happened to Arema, the team just didn't turn up and there was a huge gulf in class between the teams this time around.
We now have two home games in four days. Vegalta Sendai in the J-League will be a good test to see if we keep our confidence (Inui in particular) after an impressive performance. Vegalta of course is the team worst affected by the earthquake and there will a show of support from our fans with banners and memorial scarves.
Vegalta have started strongly this year and sit top of the table after four matches. Star player? Osaka-born captain Yong-Gi Ryang who plays for North Korea can provide and score goals if given the chance. It's a little worrying as our last performance at home (especially the first half) was awful against Albirex Niigata before Inui earned us point. It could be another frustrating night at Kincho Stadium. Midweek we have the crucial game against Shandong in the ACL where a win or draw will see us through to the next round.
C'mon linesman!
Insert Brazilian goalkeeper joke here.
On to Spurs, well on our way to blowing our chances of Champions League football next season. Although two non-goals by Chelsea weren't helpful we shouldn't be in the position of now worrying whether Liverpool can grab 5th and the Europa League spot by the end of the season. We play Blackpool at the Lane which will be on J-Sports Plus for viewers in Japan.
Shandong Luneng were good, well done to our fans who made the trip, it was emotional after the earthquake/tsunami and I think most people at the stadium felt that. So we lost, but our first away game in the ACL was action packed and we had some good chances, it's all very new for Cerezo and the group itself is still obviously wide open. We can qualify but need to concentrate a whole lot more for 90 minutes. Jin-Hyeon also made a penalty save at the second attempt. Renato and Wang Yongpo scored for Shandong.
Shandong Sports Centre
...and the army were waiting inside.
A warm welcome...
In other news Spurs drew with West Ham which was shown live on J-Sports 2,featuring a MOM performance from their keeper Robert Green and an "I still love West Ham" performance from Jermain Defoe missing some good chances, and Wayne Bridge played really well for the Hammers. Plus we have Real Madrid to look forward to in the Champions League quarter finals. The main worry at the moment though is whether we (Spurs and/or Cerezo) can clinch another Champions League spot for next season.
