Profligate Tokyo Held By Cerezo Osaka
23/03/2010
Profligate Tokyo Held By Cerezo Osaka
J.League Division 1 3rd.Game
Saturday, March 20th. 2010
Ajinomoto Stadium ( Home )
Attendance 20,143
F.C.Tokyo 0 Cerezo Osaka 0
F.C.Tokyo:
Gonda, Nagatomo, Hiramatsu, Konno, Kim Young Gwon, Tokunaga, Hanyu ( Suzuki 80 ), Ishikawa ( Ricardinho 69 ), Matsushita ( Otake 58 ), Akamine, Hirayama.
Subs not used: Shiota, Mukuhara, Takahashi, Nakamura.
Cerezo Osaka:
Kim Jin Hyeon, Moniwa, Fujimoto, Uemoto ( Kurogi 84 ), Omata, Takahashi, Haneda, Martinez, Kagawa, Inui, Adriano ( Bando 73 ).
Subs not used: Matsui, Sakemoto, Ishigami, Ienaga, Komatsu.
Tokyo Determined To Bounce Back Against Newly-promoted Cerezo
F.C.Tokyo welcomed Cerezo Osaka to Ajinomoto Stadium for the third game of the 2010 league season. Following the short-handed loss to Urawa Reds in their previous outing the Tokyo players were determined to deal with the issues raised and bounce back immediately. With Morishige suspended Hiramatsu took his position at centre back while Kim Young Gwon made his J.League debut at left back. Nagatomo moved to the right of defence, both Ishikawa and Akamine made the starting eleven with Otake and newcomer Takahashi taking places on the bench. Tokyo manager Hiroshi Jofuku commented, "It's a process of incrementally developing day by day. We have a shared image of the team so it's about playing to our strengths to draw the best from each other".
Opponents Cerezo had endured a bumpy start to their first season in the top-flight since 2006, losing and drawing their opening two matches. The side had bagged over 100 goals in J2 in 2009 playing a 3-5-2 system with striker Inui shadowed by midfielder Kagawa and had further bolstered their attack by signing forwards Adriano, Ienaga and Bando, as well as midfielder Takahashi in the off season. To negate that offensive threat Tokyo would need not only to be tight in defence but also to press hard from the front. Newly promoted teams generally enjoy some momentum so Tokyo would need to avoid becoming passive and outstrip the visitors tactically and in their approach to the game in order to earn the win.
Tokyo kicked off shortly after 7pm on a windy but warm evening.
Tokyo Find Their Rhythm But Fail To Convert Chances
The home side began brightly, aggressively harrying to regain possession and denying Cerezo a sight of goal, while creating chances of their own. In the 6th.minute Hirayama received the ball from Konno inside the Cerezo area on the right, cut inside a defender and shot. Akamine then fired an attempt on goal after good work from Hirayama following a throw in. In the 12th.minute Tokunaga won possession and launched a counter attack, racing forward to receive the ball back from Akamine on the edge of the penalty area. The Cerezo defence cleared the ball out for a corner. In the 21st.minute Hanyu received the ball from Hirayama and hammered a dipping, swirling drive from 30 metres out that Kim Jin Hyeon, in the Cerezo goal, did well to hold at full stretch.
Tokyo produced a slick passing move involving Hirayama and Hanyu in the 28th.minute that allowed Ishikawa to race into the area on the right. Ishikawa struck hard and low, drawing a fine save from Kim who was unable to hold onto the ball. The loose ball was partially cleared to Hanyu who snatched at his shot and directed the ball straight at Akamine on the right of the six-yard area. Akamine spun neatly and lashed a drive from point blank range that Kim batted away with a superb reaction save. Tokyo were unable to turn their period of dominance into goals.
The visitors were packing their defence and attempting to hit Tokyo on the counter attack. In the 40th.minute midfielder Kagawa raced down the Tokyo left and crossed to Omata at the far post. Gonda was off his line, having come for the cross, but Ishikawa and Nagatomo flung themselves to block Omata's shot and clear the danger. Tokyo had out-shot Cerezo 6-3 but failed to beat Kim and the first period finished 0-0.
Defence Prevails In Scoreless Draw
As the second half unfolded Tokyo's pressing from the front proved effective. Tokunaga showed his strength to win the ball in the 48th.minute and find Hanyu, who moved it on to Ishikawa. Ishikawa strode forward and shot but again Kim was equal to the challenge. In the 54th.minute Hanyu intercepted the ball in midfield and found Matsushita, who floated a pass forward to meet Ishikawa's run through the Cerezo defence. The visitors cleared the threat out for a corner. Ishikawa had another attempt on goal after winning the ball deep in Cerezo territory in the 57th.minute while Hirayama crashed a snap-shot against the post from outside the penalty area a minute later.
Following that near-miss Otake replaced Matsushita and Ricardinho replaced Ishikawa in the 69th.minute. The substitutions were intended to add some bite to the attack and although Tokyo still dominated moves frequently broke down, allowing Cerezo to counter attack. In the 72nd.minute Omata raced into the Tokyo area on the left and planted a cross onto the onrushing Kagawa's head while the same pair combined a minute later to create a shooting opportunity for Omata that the Tokyo defence blocked away for a corner.
Tokyo replaced Hanyu with Suzuki in the 80th.minute and moved Otake into a central midfield position in an attempt to create passing movement. In the 82nd.minute Kim Young Gwon crossed from the left, Hirayama knocked the ball down perfectly and Otake cracked a low, hard drive that seemed destined for the back of the net until Kim produced a third vital save to deny Tokyo. The game became increasingly ragged as the clock ticked down but the Tokyo defence maintained concentration sufficiently to foil Cerezo's counter attacks until the final whistle blew on a 0-0 draw.
Players' comments
Otake
"I wanted to have as much of the ball as I could, get involved in the attack and score if possible. When the chance came to me I knew the wind was quite strong so I went to place it and got a good connection. I thought it was going in but it hit their keeper. I think I could have been a little more composed in possession as we lost the ball during the build up quite a lot and were forced to defend. We enjoyed a lot of the ball and on a personal level I feel I have to get on the ball more and create the rhythm".
F.C.Tokyo manager Hiroshi Jofuku
"We wanted to take the three points today so the result is disappointing. In the first half we were aggressive in defence and won the ball but I have to say our opponents fought well. We really wanted to score in the first half and we certainly had the chances. We were aggressive in defence and played at a high tempo but in addition we needed a change of speed or a change of rhythm at the vital moments to create even more chances. We felt that if we carried on in the same way in the second half then the chances would follow. However, the changes we made unbalanced the team and I have to accept the responsibility for that. The substitutions were made knowing that we might have to accept some unbalance in the side but we weren't satisfied with the 0-0 scoreline. Unfortunately the negatives outweighed the positives and we have to take that on board for the next game. If we could have continued playing the way we did for the first hour but with a change of rhythm we would have found a way to win the game. We hope to use this feeling of disappointment to spur us on in the next match".
Cerezo Osaka manager Levir Culpi
"We've had to face strong opposition from the opening game but in last week's match against Gamba and again today we had chances to win. I think we can take that as a positive. It's going to take some time to fully integrate our midfielder Amaral and striker Adriano into the team but to give ourselves opportunities to win games under such circumstances is something to be valued, I think. The tough games will continue but I feel that we are strong enough to win matches. We had enough chances to win the game and I felt we certainly lived up to our slogan of "Attacking until the final whistle". Towards the end of the 90 minutes we created three good chances and if our finishing had been more accurate we could have won the game".
< Other results >
Bellmare 1 Sanfrecce 3
S-Pulse 1 Vissel 0
Kyoto Sanga 2 Vegalta 1
F Marinos 4 Frontale 0
Ardija 0 Antlers 1
Gamba 0 Albirex 0
Montedio 1 Reds 1
Grampus 2 Jubilo 0
< Standings >
S-Pulse 7, Sanfrecce 7, Antlers 7, F Marinos 6, Grampus 6, Vegalta 6, Frontale 6, F.C.Tokyo 4, Kyoto Sanga 4, Reds 4, Ardija 3, Vissel 3, Albirex 2, Gamba 2, Montedio 2, Cerezo 2, Jubilo 1, Bellmare 1.
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