Season 2

EMBASSY GO DOWN FIGHTING!

Sat 25th June, St Mary's. A sunny Saturday afternoon at St. Mary's was the venue for the end of season clash between two sides with nothing to play for except their pride. With BEFC having already been relegated to Division Two some weeks ago, you would have thought that this would have been a dour game, wrong! Goals, goals and more goals was the order of the day as these two sides produced an eight goal thriller.

Chiba JET's (aka SALA FC) walked away with the trophy at the Nagano JET's tournament, held on the beautiful grass pitches of Sugadaira last weekend. They were just 1 of 4 TML teams taking part in this annual tourney.

BEFC minus several keys players started sluggishly and were punished inside the opening 15 minutes as a Jetro midfielder picked a loose ball up from just inside the Embassy half and surged forward on a darting run which ended with a clinical right foot finish into the top right corner of the BEFC goal.
More Embassy sloppy defending on a corner around the 30 minute mark led to goal number two with JETRO heading home from close range beyond the desperate lunge of Mohamed, who could do little but groan as the ball crossed the line. BEFC suddenly sparked into life and the midfield combination of Kotaro, Mike Yeomans, Masa and Gerrard were creating chances at last.  BEFC New boy pounced on a loose ball from the centre of the park, wriggled past a few half hearted challenges and slotted the ball home to make it 1-2.  Half time couldn't come quickly enough for Jetro as their game plan seemed to be flying out the window, as error after error broke up their pattern of play in the final minutes of the first half.

The interval gave the respite that Jetro needed, as they went 3-1 up within the opening minute of resumed play.  Straight from the kick off Jetro played the ball out to their outside right who centred for an unmarked striker to gleefully head home. 3-2.
BEFC then pulled one back, Masa crossing beautifully from the right and new boy heading home powerfully from the centre of the six yard box for his second of the match.  The pattern of play now was becoming more open with defensive errors a plenty.  It was a comedy of errors which led to Jetros fourth goal.  Centre back Sendo and BEFC keeper Mohamed failed to clear a loose ball which allowed JETRO to walk the ball into an empty goal, oh dear!  4-2.
Minutes later the game took another twist as a BEFC forward dribbled and danced Brazilian style through the Jetro defence to slide the ball under the keeper 4-3.  The fight back though was short lived and more clumsy defending allowed Jetro to finish off another stylish move and put the game beyond BEFC.
BEFC play their football next season in Division 2 and will be hoping to galvanize their troops for the coming campaign ahead, especially after such a tough season.  Jetro will be looking to shore up their defence, if they wish to avoid a possible relegation battle next season.
TML Entertainment value: 8/10
BLIPPILOT

THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR SHOOTING

YC&AC keeper, Derek Bean, punches away another dangerous cross as the Swiss keep his goal under constant pressure.

Sat 18th June, Oifuto. Swiss veteran striker and joint top goal-scorer in the TML, Karl Hahne scored two first-half goals to secure the Footy Japan Cup and the double for the Swiss Kickers.

The game kicked-off with YCAC only managing to field a squad of 12, whereas the Swiss had at least two subs to give the team some options and respite for players when needed.

The first turning point in the game came when the Swiss left back, Kai, carried the ball from 40yds out, attacking the space in front of him aggressively, YCAC failed to close the space and the young defender had all the time in the world to wind up, hit a rocket and force a very good save from Derek, the young YCAC keeper.

Seconds later and it was Krando for the Swiss who carried the ball into the YCAC box, but instead of squaring the ball to an open Angelo, he rifled one off the upright, much to the relief of the YCAC back four, who had been caught napping. More...
TML

Or for a more 'Enterprising' report from Captain Kirk ... click here

Ten-man Sala battle past BFC to finish third.
Sat 18th June, OiFuto Ten-man Sala FC made light of their numerical disadvantage to beat BFC 1-0 on Saturday, securing third place in the TML. Xavier Hernandez tucked in a left-foot shot from the edge of the box midway through the second half to give Sala the points after having Yoshiki Endo sent off for violent conduct. BFC's hopes of finishing third were raised when Endo was sent off for senselessly lashing out at a BFC player as tempers flared following a dangerous tackle by the same player.
However, Sala responded well and Hernandez took advantage of some sloppy defending to beat the BFC goalkeeper with a low shot in the 70th minute.
Midfielder Tomo Kunii had a shot cleared off the line as BFC pushed for an equaliser and Brian Doyle blazed over late on but Sala held on to take the points.
HB

Xavier Hernandez celebrates scoring the only goal as Sala passed BFC to finish 3rd in Div 1

This was never going to be a classic by any stretch of the imagination. Two big teams with a lot of Brits on the park. The first half saw few chances at either end, though Toby will probably feel that he could have gone closer when the ball broke to him at the back post after a salmonesque leap by Giles.
BFC had a great chance to go ahead, when Sala didn't play the whistle after a handball shout, but their striker was a little eager to shoot and his effort from the edge of the box flew narrowly wide.
Xavier was the star of the show in the first half though, his running with the ball and without it were equally impressive and he continues to defy gravity by outjumping  players a foot taller than him. But Yoshiki and Yusuke also had cool heads at the back and got forward well. In general Sala had the better of the first half but not by much, and BFC still looked like getting on the score sheet.
The second half didnt really get going until Yoshiki's sending off. This seemed to cement Sala's resolve, and they got stuck in harder.  Guido, Steve and Clarkey seemed to win almost every ball flung at them for a while.
Charles, attempting a bicycle kick was kneed in the head by Sid "Remy Bonjasky" Lloyd, and had to go off. The return of Brian to the fray saw a renewed ambition upfront for Sala, and this eventually culminated in the goal.
Toby did well on the right, as he had for most of the half, and fed Xavier on the edge of the box who placed a low left footed shot in off the near post. 1v0.
After the goal, Guido took off Brian and put on Naoki to shore up the backline. He got straight into the mix and capped a great 15 minute cameo with one of the best tackles all season, not giving an inch against a much bigger, heavier opponent. Brookey came on for Lenny and fired up the midfield once more, as the final stages approached
The last five saw some high drama, BFC's Tomo had a shot cleared off the line and another striker blazed a drive over from only 8 yards.  
The commitment and running showed by every Sala player in those final 5 (and then some!) minutes was a great ending to a pretty poor season.
Still, we finished third, and that aint so bad.
Finally thanks again to Martin and Naoki who didnt get much of an outing, none at all in Martins case. Its happened to me before and it isnt much fun, but this is how a football team works and the chance to play comes around again soon enough.
RC

YOKOTA LEAVE DOOR OPEN FOR NOVA.

Military Policeman Tim Fearney takes no prisoners when playing footy. His wicked right foot volley showed why he's Yokota's top striker!

Sun 12th June, Shane FC squandered numerous chances against a depleted Yokota FC and only just managed a point by converting a last minute penalty. With Striker/Captain Neil Willis having left for the UK, Shane seemed a bit lost in front of goal, putting a few 1 on 1's wide of the mark. Yokota, as usual, were very fit, but lacked any real menace with the Shane boys having the lions share of possesion but it was the boys from Yokota air base who got off the mark first with one of their only attacks of the match. Tim Fearney latched onto a through ball and smashed home a fierce volley from 30 yards out. It looked like they would take all the points securing the 2nd promotion spot in division 2, but a last minute penalty gave Shane FC the equalizer meaning if Nova FC can win their last match by more than 2 goals, they will replace Yokota as the 2nd promoted team!
TML

YCAC had on their new uniform to face France FC in their final league match of the season. Here will Richards does battle with the French right winger, Trent Anderson.

YCAC, FRANCE PLAY OUT DRAW
YCAC got the point it needed to cement 5th place in Div 1 with a 2-2 draw against France FC at St Marys on Sunday. They did it the hard way, spotting the opposition a 2 goal lead after 2 early defensive lapses. Goals either side of HT from new boy Mike Foster and Gavin Margetson squared things up, however, and despite further chances at both ends, that's the way it finished
A point apiece was no less than both teams deserved having serving up a spirited and skilful encounter belying its end of season/mid table status.
STaw
YCAC & FFC sp(l)it the points at St Mary's
The French raced into a 2-0 lead after only 20mins goals following Olly Worsfold's close range effort and Takahiko Kanno's powerblaster from the edge of the box. However after a disputed French third was disallowed the YCAC roared back into the game and after hitting the post twice, YCAC fully deserved to equalise with goals either side of the halftime break. Whilst the game was played at a breakneck speed, there were also some moments of genuine quality.
The final scoreline of 2-2 was fair enough given that either team could of nicked the winner but then that would have been harsh on the opponent. Disappointingly, the great spirit of the game was nearly ruined in the final moments when players from either team accused one another of spitting. This is something that I personally DO NOT want to see and its up to the team captains and the league to stamp this out. Final word for the great referee who allowed football to be played but was also not afraid to tell the players to shutup if that was required without any bias or histrionics. Nice work fella!.
OW

UP FOR THE DOUBLE - SWISS LOOKING CONFIDENT.

Dave Pratt volleys home his first as a corner eludes Terry & Hitoshi, in Swiss' 3-1 win over Hibs

Sat 4th June, Great day for a game, a little bit unfortunate that it had to be at St. Mary's which is small for some big bruisers on both sides, but who can complain when I can't find any grounds myself!
The game started on time in spite of the Swiss' arrival 10 minutes before kick-off due to traffic.  Both teams at full strength although it seemed like the Hibs were missing a few regulars.  The pace was set early with some nice passing of the ball and the Hibs. sending some early balls into the box from the right.  The Swiss try and take Bevan and Keita out of these matches and Spiers and Trevor were up to the task early on.  Going the other way, Aoki on the right and James on the left were sending in some nice crosses which Karl and Suzuki were not getting to and Hitoshi was showing his strength.  As the game progressed, more possession in midfield, especially for the Swiss, led to some good chances although shots were being stopped by Ike, Terry, and Hitoshi.  A  few corners were won and Krando sent one across the face of the goal, far enough away from Hitoshi, which Dave Pratt volleyed home beautifully after about 15 minutes.  The Swiss seemed to gain confidence with that and more passing through midfield led to some nice balls into the box but no one was really looking like finishing them.  One danger moment for the Swiss was a weak back pass from JP which was intercepted by Keita, he quickly found the center forward for a 1-1 vs. Peter but he mis-hit the shot wide.
After about 30 minutes, some good work in midfield led to Dave Pratt being free about 20-25 meters out, he decided to wind up the canon and let it fly.  A beautiful shot across the goal from the right into the side netting on the left.  Even Dave Pratt was able to smile at the skill on that one, beating Hitoshi in goal from distance is tough to do but this shot was unstoppable.  The first half ended 2-0 to the Swiss with things looking pretty comfortable.

The Swiss made a more changes at half time as a group of 14 players requires it.  In spite of the changes, about 10 minutes in to the 2H, Aoki sent in a perfectly weighted cross to Kai who back headed across the goal (away from Hitoshi) for Karl to knock home with another header.  It was good team skill and a great finish by the joint top scorer in the league.  3-0 to the Swiss with 30 minutes left meant that more player changes were made.
One change was made on the Hibs side as their center forward went down with a dislocated shoulder.  Mick was brought on but a mere 5 minutes after being on the pitch, he was fouled by Krando (which Ricky correctly called). then for some reason, he lost it completely and proceeded to attack krando stunning everyone. Everyone including the ref, was watching and there was no choice but to send him off.  Haven't seen that one since high school in Texas, pretty amazing but it will leave the organizers with the task of finding a just punishment for such a reprehensible offence.
The game got sloppier after that but the Hibs. kept pressing even with one man down.  Their hard work was rewarded when Keita Narama tapped in from close range to make it 3-1.  The Swiss defense held up after that to close out a deserved 3-1 win that takes them to the final of the Cup for at least a shot at defending the title and winning the double.
Cap'n Kirk

YCAC HANG ON TO GAIN FINAL SPOT

Joe Takeda slots home YCAC's 2nd goal 'Just for his wife on her birthay'(so he told us!)

YCAC scraped through the "other" semi final 2-1 on Saturday at St Marys. The game ended in the gloom of an impending storm with YCAC resorting to some pretty dour defending to cling on to the 2-1 lead that it had held at HT.
It wasn't all like that though. YCAC started very brightly and played some of its best football of the season for the 1st 30 minutes. Will Richards on the left and Daisuke Ogawa on the right were able to put in numerous dangerous crosses across the face of the Jets goal. Most flashed across invitingly enough but with no takers. Then Joe Takeda, from Wills cross, and Daisuke, from Joes, were able to finish from close range to give the Div 1 team a 2 goal cushion against its Div 2 opponents.
Right on HT though, Gary Garner was given the freedom of the YCAC penalty area and his neat finish put a different perspective on things. The Jets confidence grew throughout the 2H and YCAC were unable to put out the fire with a 3rd goal despite continuing to create the better chances. A James Absolom header and a Joe Takeda shot both hit the inside of the Jets post and bounced across the goal. Joe had a goal disallowed and also hit the bar from a corner.
Despite all their pressure the Jets were unable to create any further clearcut chances and YCAC hung on, just about deservedly, to earn another crack at the Swiss
S Taw

SALA SEND BEFC BACK TO DIV 2
The last time so many white shirts were seen together, somebody was in fear of a lynching. An unprecedented turn out of more than 11 players for the first time in living memory, helped Sala to keep the race for third going right down to the wire. The first match this season between these two teams yielded 12 goals in an incredible 7-5 thriller. This one could have gone the same way. But for two missed penalties by BEFC, the scoreline could have read very differently.
Sala started brightly and took an early lead when the artist formerly known as Big Gay Steve, popped up at a corner for one of his trademark towering headers. 1v0.
BEFC took it in their stride though and pressed forward. Steve, in an act of misguided charity decided to make amends for his goal by hauling down a BEFC striker in the box. From the resulting penalty however, Serbian basketball legend Ivan pulled out a great save. Sala went straight up the other end and rubbed salt and vinegar in the wound by going two nil up.
Dhugal latched onto a through ball and made rounding the keeper look very easy, again. 2v0.
More drama than saturday night in a English market town was to follow.  A sweet inswinging corner by BEFC was destined for the back of the net until Lenny's hand got in the way. Another penalty and a lucky booking for Lenny whom the referee felt had not moved his hand to the ball in an effort to stop it. Ivan must have intimidated the taker with his fearsome size, and the spot kick went narrowly over. Once again lady luck shone on Sala, who went up the pitch and scored again.
Brian's long throws caused trouble all day long, and from one such missile, Charles hooked a volley into the top right corner. 3v0 and BEFC must have been gutted at half-time.
The second half wasn't quite as  good value, especially after the fourth goal went in. Toby latched on to a Shigeru through ball, before beating his man and slotting home from 10 yards, 4v0. Brian forced the keeper into a couple of good saves late on, whilst at the other end the Sala defence kept the door shut, the memory of last weeks French lesson still etched clearly on their faces.
The last goal came from Charles' corner, which Clarkey volleyed home from the penalty spot. 5v0. The last game of the season between Sala and BFC will be for third place, winner takes all(Well, all that third place has to offer.
R C

May 2005

SWISS NO MATCH FOR MAN U.

Sat 28th May, KFC and YCAC had teams down at the Hong Kong 7's tournament. KFC Tokyo, which was made up of members from the Swiss, Hibs, and YCAC played in the main competition while YCAC with members from the Swiss and YCAC played in the veterans competition. KFC was grouped with the Urawa Reds, Manchester United, and an All-Star team from Hong Kong's amateur league. The YCAC was grouped with Middlesborough (Gary Pallister and Tony Woodcock), the Footballers Channel from the UK, and a local club from Hong Kong.
KFC went down 2-0 to both of the pro sides and tied the Yau Yee Select team to end up 4th in the group and drop down to the plate. YCAC drew against both of the ex-pro teams and beat the local team 1-0 to advanced to the Cup competition. The following day, YCAC went down 1-0 in the first game of the Cup to the Hong Kong Football Club to go out of the competition. KFC drew with a local pro-side and won on penalties following a nice save by Hitoshi from the Hibs. In the second game, KFC played local pro-side Kitchee and had a chance to win 2-1 but missed a penalty and ended up going down 3-1 in the closing minutes.
Great tournament which Urawa ended up winning by beating PSV Eindhoven in the main Cup final 3-0. The German All-Stars (with Uwe Bein and Rumminegge) beat up on the British ex-Pros 3-0 (John Beresford, Barton, Bolder in goal) in the veterans final.
Cap'n Kirk

FRENCH CLAW BACK LAST SECOND DRAW WITH SALA

Sala's Dhugal & Toby (don't ask which is which) win a midfield battle with Yannick of FranceFC.

Sat 28th May, On a hot and humid day at Ina, middle of nowhere (a.k.a. Ina Saitama), a mid-table TML Division one clash between Sala and FranceFC would hopefully go some way to clear the table's minor placings behind the inevitable Swiss and Hibs. France FC should have opened the scoring when presented with a couple of easy chances in the first five minutes but then the Sala midfield perked up and the French can consider themselves lucky to come away with a 2-2 draw after Sala dominated most of the game.
The opening Sala goal, after about 15mins, was a well taken effort from the Sala striker, Dhugal Beddingfield, when he beat the FranceFC offside trap with a perfectly timed run onto a nice defense splitting pass from the centre of the park. The second Sala goal, 10mins into the second half, came after a sweet cross from the right eluded the French goalie and was volleyed in with aplomb by the onrushing Sala striker. Sala then had a number of chances to kill the game off but failed to take them.
The FranceFC comeback was startling as it was lightning. With less than five minutes to go the FranceFC midfield picked up the pace and after crashing a shot against the bar and missing one or two sitters the FranceFC midfielders worked a fine move down their left hand side and the resulting cross was volleyed in at the back stick by Olly Worsfold. The FranceFC equalizer came after more great work from the French midfield and a back headed goal from Etsushi Yoshikoshi into the open net left the Sala team stunned. With less than 30 seconds to go the FranceFC team could have even won the game but it was not to be and would have quite frankly been harsh on Sala. The final 2-2 score left both teams disappointed because FranceFC needed the win to climb the table and Sala were naturally gutted after letting slip a game they had dominated for about 70minutes.
OW
Another French lesson for Sala.
Two nil up and cruising to a straightforward win over France, Sala pushed the self-destruct button in the last two minutes and felt like the losing team coming off the pitch.
Read the full Sala report here...
RC
WITH CHAMPIONS DECIDED, LEAGUE MATCHES WIND UP IN ANTICIPATION OF THE CUP!

Ian 'Frodo' Warner powers his way through midfield past Shane captain Neil Willis.

Now that the Champions have been decided, the Swiss vs Hibs final league match was of no consequence except good preparation for their coming Semi-Final Cup match. Swiss beat their close rivals 1-0 at St. Marys in a closely contested match but the real test will come when they meet at the same place in the cup on June 4th. Swiss, current FC Cup holders and New league Champions will hope to do the double this year, but arch rivals & last years league Champions Tokyo Hibernian will not give up easily. If you're in the area, 'Don't miss this match', it'll be a corker!
In the 2nd Division, Kanto Celts & Vagabonds FC finished this years league campaign on a high, both teams coming back from a 1 goal deficit to win. Vagabonds dominated a 10 man Shane squad, scoring a goal in each half to win the match 2-1. more... Celts needed a 2nd half revival after going into the break 1-0 down against Dutch Embassy Team, and what a revival it was. 5 goals secured them a nice victory while the Dutch were left to ponder what had happened to their season after such a great start!
Geckoes once again found themselves lacking in key areas and were punished by the 'fighting for survival' JETRO FC. JETRO are now almost certain to stay in Div 1 leaving BEFC & Maritizio to take the fall. BEFC are still clinging on to hope though, as mathematically it's still possible for them to stay up and with them to face JETRO in their final game........
Ed

SWISS TAKE TITLE AS HIBS FALTER.

The closest the kickers have to a 'real' Swiss player, JP, fires in a volley, only to see it come straight back off the crossbar!

Sun 1st May, Pressure time at Oifuto on the first day of Golden Week. The Swiss and Hibs were going down to the wire to determine this year's champion and the Swiss could take a giant step to the title with a win over the French due to their superior goal difference. Sid, the league organizer, was doing his best to build up the French confidence and possibly even a payoff was in the cards for an upset but the Swiss weren't up for it. The Swiss came out with a 4-4-2 while the French also were going defensive with only 1 man up front.
It was a somewhat stale first 20 minutes with both teams fighting in midfield and only the occasional long ball seeming to open things up. Unfortunately for the Swiss, a few open chances were left wanting due to poor finishing from Kirk, among others, and the frustration was starting to show again. What changed the flow was a great run from Dave Pratt from midfield, beating 2 defenders to get into the box, and coolly crossing for Karl to bang in from 8 meters out. It was a classic center midfielder's run, shaking off the challenges with power and speed, it was great to see.
1-0 to the Swiss seemed to take some pressure off them but the French seemed to raise their game a bit. They started connecting passes better in midfield and seemed to get off a few shots from distance. About 8 minutes after the Swiss goal, a weak header into the area which Kirk could only head backwards, led to some confusion between the keeper and the defense. In slipped one of the French forwards who acrobatically shot it from the end-line and into the goal, past the on-rushing Swiss Keeper. It was poor defending but a well taken goal and full credit to the forward.
The Swiss seemed to realize what was at stake again and raised the level once again - sharper passing and tougher tackling meant some tough calls for the referee but some solid wins in midfield. The French were able to get some shots from distance but Uchida was able to save them well. Going the other way, there was nothing the French could do when a long ball from Kirk found Mori in space on the left hand side, he beat one defender and fired in a left footed shot from the top of the box. The keeper got a hand to it but it still snuck inside the right hand post. 2-1 to the Swiss as we came to the end of the first half.
The Swiss made a few changes at the beginning of the 2nd half, with Mori and Aoki coming up front. The French made some changes as well by pushing another man forward to try and get the tying goal. This opened things up and the Swiss at the beginning of the half had many chances, Mori had an open shot following a nice 1-2 move with Aoki while JP had a curling volley come off the cross bar. Krando and Kai started to overlap more and it was some nice football.
Unfortunately, the French defense held up and the Swiss couldn't score the third goal. More player changes for the Swiss meant the rhythm started to change somewhat and they couldn't hold onto the ball. Instead, there were some dangerous counter attacks for the French and some free kicks outside the area following some tough tackles by Dierk and the two Daves in midfield. The tension was evident till the end with the Swiss barely holding on as woeful finishing in front of goal (Angelo and Karlalong with Yuji) and the dangerous French forwards always threatening making it interesting.
Things boiled over a little at the end with the two Daves and Dierk getting into it with one of the French players but as Dave Pratt said well, "You came for a football game, didn't you?" A little bit untypical of the Swiss but every team needs a little extra when fighting for the title and the Swiss showed that on the day. Well done to the French who made it a very tough game.
Cap'n Kirk

Hitoshi Ono plucks the ball from the head of Pablo Pomares during Hibs & BFC's 0-0 stalemate!

HIBS HELD BACK BY BFC.
After the Swiss had beaten France earlier in the day, the TML title all but decided as the Swiss' superior goal difference meant the Hibs required a 10-0 victory to stay in the hunt. However considering the Irish V English and Hibs Vs BFC history; both teams desperately wanted to win this game.
The Hibs dominated possession and field position right from the kick off, and Hitoshi could have smoked a cigar or two without interruption before half time. Conversely Sid in the BFC goal was on the job throughout the early exchanges. Within the first 30 minutes the Hibs had two strong penalty appeals turned down by Ricky the Ref; one for handball - where the ball did hit the BFC player's hand, with the arm a long way from the side of the body, and the second against BFC midfielder Pablo Pomares who charged into Bevan inside the box getting a big piece of his leg, with Ricky considering the PK before waving play on. Midway through the first half and long range Kuni H free kick found Bevan's head and he knocked it down to Keita who controlled with a great first touch and shot with pace from 14 yards. Sid somehow saved it ( I don't think he knew much about it), but the impact of the speeding ball on his body left him clutching his lower back and running to the subs bench in search of the Tokyo Physio phone number. The scores remained 0-0 at half time.
BFC came out stronger and more physical in the second half, with some burly midfielders ready to play tough. Tetsu and Yasu were forced to pay for their speed in 50/50 challenges as they ended up with swollen shins and bloody noses respectively as the end result.
20 minutes from time and BFC had their best chance of the game, as a nice build up on the right saw Evans put a great ball through to the back post, but it flew past the post with attackers 10 yards off the place. Late in the second half the Hibs had two very good chances to win the game, with Yasu threading through a perfect ball for Mitsu who was unable to get a foot on it when the keeper was committed, and Kuni K was released following some smart work by Keita, and he shot well from 10 yards but the ball somehow missed the back post when everyone thought it was going in.
0-0 it remained until the end and the 2nd TML title goes to the Swiss.
Bryce Caughtney

The Jetro goal lays under seige late in the 2nd half as Shigeru pumps in another shot.

SALA IN MIGHTY COMEBACK
A blustery day down by the river, saw Sala give Jetro a 2 goal head start as a true test of their fighting qualities. Quite literally from the kick off, Sala, were dispossessed, and then stood and watched as Jetro played a neat one two on the edge of the box, allowing their striker space to dink the ball over Andy Cross. As Sala tried to figure out what was going on, Jetro went about the business of doubling the scoreline. From fully thirty five yards, a Jetro midfielder thumped a shot in off the angle of post and bar, a superb strike.
Tensions began showing in the Sala team immediately and it seemed for a time that they may self destruct. But fortune favours the brave, and as Sala pushed forward a nice through ball from Shigeru found Toby in space. With the ball bouncing awkwardly, he did well to slice it past the oncoming keeper. 2-1.
Sala continued to turn the screw for the rest of the first half, despite a couple of hairy moments at the back. With Clarkey and Steve completely dominant in the air though, Jetro's attacks began to dry up.
At half time new boy Yusuke came on for Doug Lee and impressed everyone with his quick feet and cool head. Sala pushed forward relentlessly in search of an equaliser from the start.
It arrived after about ten minutes, when following a melee in the box, the ball broke (was passed by Toby?) kindly to Charles who put it into the roof of the net. 2-2
Minutes later Steve thought that he had given Sala the lead, but his header from a corner was ruled offside. With no more imperious a witness than TML's own Sid Lloyd, there was little complaint. Sala didnt have to wait long though, Giles and Lenny found more and more room out wide as ther game went on, and Yusuke began overlapping well up the right. After one such attack was broken up, Charles swung the ball back into the box where Dhugal was waiting. The header was perfect, back across the keeper into the far corner of the net.
It was a tense finish as Sala tried to hold on to their lead, and Jetro scrambled desperately for a point. The final nail in the coffin arrived right at the death. Lenny flicked on a long clearance and Toby once again scampered free. This time he found himself pushed out towards the left hand corner of the penalty box on his weaker left foot. With the seconds ticking though, he elected to shoot, and unleashed a piledriver over the keepers head into the top right corner. Game over. Sala 4v2 Jetro. All credit to Jetro, who played a clean game, and almost stole a draw at the end.

Roddy

April 2005

LATE GOAL SAVES SWISS BLUSHES

Celebrations worthy of a Cup winning goal as Angelo scores Swiss' winner near the end of their match with BEFC.

Sat 23rd April, Great day for a game of footy, too bad it was hard a very tough one for the Swiss vs. the British Embassy. Starting with an offensive formation, the Swiss appeared to think chances in abundance were going to lead to goals. Unfortunately, as was the case the week earlier against Maritizio in the first half, an inability to find the net by what has been a potent strike force nearly cost them precious points. The game started with the Swiss holding position and BEFC working hard (especially with only 10 men at the start) to pressure and then get all their men behind the ball. It paid off for the first 15 minutes until the Swiss were able to get a cross in to speedy Yuji who snuck in to tap in from close range. The rest of the first half, it was more of the same. Swiss holding on to the ball and trying to find a way in but too many passes or too many crosses to no one aggressive enough in the area meant many chances were wasted. Everyone was guilty of either not having a crack on target or getting on the end of a corner or a cross. Credit to the BEFC defense who worked hard and pressured the forwards and cleared numerous chances away but it was really the lack of Swiss ability to put it away which proved to be the weak spot. The first half ended 1-0 to the Swiss but it should have been more, the BEFC had barely been in the Swiss half of the field and didn't have a shot all half.
The second half looked to be more of the same possession-wise and the Swiss hoped the introduction of Angelo might spark the attack force. Instead, more missed chances and a lack of understanding between new players caused more confusion than opportunity. It was very frustrating to watch from the back and it is games like these that lead to upsets. That looked to be on the cards when 20 minutes into the 2H, the BEFC earned a free kick near midfield. Their big central defender came up into attack to act as the target man. He pushed Kirk off the header (another no-call from King Kazu) and the ball bounced near the top of the box without anyone claiming it. New defensive recruit Cho had a free chance to clear it but instead passed it directly to the on-rushing big man who then shot calmly into the lower left hand corner of the net for a 1-1 tie. Completely against the run of play but a well taken goal off a defensive error.Ê
For the Swiss, with title aspirations on the line, everything was thrown forward to try and score the winner. No more passing around, crosses from everywhere into the box. At least people started shooting more and started to test the keeper. Angleo's acrobatics were on display as he tried a bicycle kick in the area to no avail. Suzuki shooting from distance drew a nice save from the keeper, later on he shot from 7 yards out, straight to the corner flag. Kai had a beautiful header off a corner kick going into the right hand corner only for Angelo to block it away. The Swiss tried everything with no result. The game seemed destined for a draw as a result of the well organized BEFC defense and the woeful Swiss attack. Luckily, with about 5 minutes to go, a cross from the right bounced in behind the defense and Angelo's hard work paid off again with a difficult but well taken goal. The cheers from the Swiss team had never been louder and everyone breathed a sigh of relief at what appeared to be the game winner <ETH> the last 5 minutes seemed long but the final whistle was a welcome one. A very ugly victory but in league play, anything can happen on any day. Well done to the BEFC for sticking to a strategy that nearly paid off. The Swiss have got to be more clinical in front of the net in their last 2 matches to have any hope of claiming the title.
Cap'n Kirk

KGFC WIN SECOND DIVISION UNBEATEN!

Like Real Madrid, KGFC are a team to be reckoned with!

Kwansei Gakuin Football Club (KGFC) maintained their unbeaten record to comfortably win the second division and promotion to division one next season with a game in hand. KGFC, with one game yet to play against AFC Wanderers, are over 10 points clear of second place Yokota, who were beaten by the champions 3-2 at Ina, Saitama on April 16. KGFC, a team comprised of Kwansei Gakuin University (not so) old boys, have only conceded 6 goals in the entire season so far and have scored a whopping 39. They have quite literally been untouchable in the second division and are looking forward to playing some more competitive football in the new season starting in September. TML rules state that all new teams joining the league must first play in the lower division. Even the big-guns in the first division will have their work cut out for them with this young, fit and technically superlative team.
JD
Damo's Double Does for Wall Street.
Sat 16th April, Ina, Saitama. Damian Hart scored 2 from Free-kicks and set another up for Joe Takeda as YCAC dumped the Geckoes out of the FJ Cup on Saturday at Ina, 4-2.
Read about the whole days adventures from the Stars own Diary here... (and believe me, this is a MUST READ!!!)
S Taw

HIBS COME FROM BEHIND TO DUMP SALA FROM CUP.
Injuries and travel reduced the Hibs to an under-strength line up for this important fixture with Mick O'hagan stepping into Hitoshi's sizeable shoes in goal. Sala were also weakened by the recent losses of Naoki, Jody and Stephen Brooke-Smith. Sala however lacked nothing in physical size and presence and are always well up for a game against the Hibs. The opening exchanges were physical with many challenges from both sides ending in fouls. Midway through the first half and Terry was harshly judged to have fouled a Sala defender while winning a header about 40 yards out. The kick was swung in and Dhugal Beddingfield directed a soft header goal wards from 8 yards out. The ball bounced once (maybe twice?) and it would have been a regulation save for Hitoshi. Unfortunately for the Hibs it was O'hagan not Ono in the number 1 Hibs shirt and the ball somehow found its way over the gloves and into the Hibs net. It was to be Sala's only shot on target all game. The scores remained 1-0 at half time.
15 minutes into the second half and the Hibs Yasu Yomota received the ball in traffic wide on the left. He decided to try his luck and run at the flock of defenders and somehow got through 4 or 5 to find himself in space at the byline and he cut the ball back diagonally across the box. With all the Sala defenders charging towards Yasu the top of the box was left unguarded and the ball reached Bevan who struck the ball low and back into the far corner; wrong-footing the keeper and putting the Hibs level. Keita soon produced some magic after a post corner scrap and he poked the ball inside the keeper's near post to put the Hibs ahead 2-1. Sala's collective frustration boiled over with their defender Clarkey, who had been having a very good game; fouling Tetsu from behind. Clarkey was furious for what he saw as diving and felt that warranted him one free swing of his boot at the prone Hibs man. Fortunately Quentin didn't agree that he was entitled to this and promptly showed him a red card.
The last 15 minutes of the game saw Sala concentrate on playing football again; but they let several set pieces go to waste before time ran out on them and the score finsihed at 2-1. Sala do not have to wait long for their chance at revenge as the two teams meet in the league game next Sunday. The Hibs move on to play the Swiss in the semi finals; who will hope to have their famed watches finally adjusted correctly to get them to the match on time. Bevan Colless

SWISS BLUSHES SAVED AFTER FOCUSED 2nd HALF.
Another great spring day for a game, the Swiss nearly managed to miss it by getting off at the wrong exit and then getting stuck in the great Saitama jam. Fortunately, the bus pulled up just as we approached the time deadline set by Quentin and the Ina Sports center and we were able to start the game (as opposed to the last game of last year's league). The quarterfinals of the League Cup with the Hibernian just having beaten Sala, they actually looked rather peeved when we arrived as I think they were starting to like the idea of playing Maritizio in the semis. Maritizio had been waiting, fortunately with only 10 players because at the start, the Swiss team was mentally still in the car. The pass work coming out of the back was ok but once in the attacking 3rd, people didn't know what to do. Angelo & Dave Spiers firing wide (a little close to the corner flag actually), Karl knocking a header and a shot over from close range, people looking to pass instead of shoot and then shooting when the pass was the better option. While the Swiss couldn't hit the side of Roppongi Hills (or the Saitama Sports Center for that matter), Maritizio was settling in and a nice counter attack off some silly defending led to a very well taken goal and a 1-0 lead with 25 minutes gone. Uchida was left watching as the drive from the top of the area went in the left side of the goal. Kirk started screaming again and the tension started to rise on a clearly frustrated Swiss side. It didn't change the result though and the first half ended 1-0 to Maritizio.
At halftime, all the Swiss players agreed to settle down and focus a little more on putting the ball in the back of the net as opposed to picking out the perfect pass or the perfect rice paddy. The message got through and Dierk started the ball rolling with a well taken goal about 5 minutes in to draw the teams level. 5 minutes later, a corner kick from Aoki found Kirk's outstretched leg (around the defender) for a volley to make it 2-1. Maritizio's players' heads started to drop and the Swiss started to gain more confidence. After that, Angelo found the net 3 times with one great left footed shot and two scramblers, while Aoki and Karl both scored. There were more chances missed but the score was indicative of the traffic throughout the game. Maritizio could have used an extra player and might have put the Swiss out of the Cup if they had taken advantage of the Swiss sloppiness in the first half. However, once the Swiss focused, a better performance resulted and the numerous chances generated produced the goals.
Cap'n Kirk

BFC stop the rot with embassy win
Two goals from Evans and one from new boy Shun Sieg helped BFC to a comfortable 5-0 victory over a struggling British Embassy team on Saturday. Sieg's sweetly-struck opener after 10 minutes set the tone and Evans doubled BFC's lead when his attempted cross drifted inside the far post. Captain Brian Doyle made it 3-0, heading in a Neil Collins corner five minutes before halftime. Collins set up Jon Day for a fourth and Evans claimed his second of the match with a deflected goal late on. After two successive defeats, BFC played with more urgency and with Collins and Evans in the mood, could have scored 10 against a depleted embassy side.
H Bushwacker

NARAMA SPOILS YC&AC'S 1st ROAD TRIP.

Keita Narama scored both goals to give Hibs a 2-1 victory over YCAC, and put him alongside Karl Hanhe of Swiss at the top of the scoring tables.

Sun April 10th 2005. OiFuto. Hibs had much the better of the 1st half as YCAC struggled to adapt in its 1st ever TML game away from the grass of Yokohama. The problems YCAC had in keeping the ball on the surface were compounded by the aggressive running and hustle of the Hibs team. They had obviously decided to go for the jugular from the start and their attacking formation was rewarded with an early goal. A lofted ball over the top left Keita advancing all alone on Derrick Beans goal. He expertly lofted the bouncing ball over the keepers head and it was 1-0 before YCAC had even begun to settle. With the YCAC defence tending to err on the side of caution and sit deep to defend the ball over the top there was plenty of space for Bevan and Mick O'Hagen to drop off and pick up the ball. Clever interplay from these 2 caused problems for the rest of the half but didn't create any more real chances for Hibs to increase their lead. James Absolom, who doesn't know the expression "lost cause", almost squared things up late in the half when he latched on to a loose ball after the Hibs Goalie had collided with a defender, but his goal bound shot hit a retreating defender.
The 2H was a more even affair with the Hibs unable to keep up quite the pace of the 1H. As the game went on YCAC began to push men forward but looked susceptible to the counter attack. Keita seemed to have killed things with 10 minutes to go off when a defensive slip allowed him to run in unhindered on the YCAC goal. He finished at the 2nd attempt to leave YCAC with the proverbial mountain to climb. They couldn't but did get half way up, at least. A thunderous Damian Hart free kick forced Hitoshi Ono in the Hibs goal into a great diving save but seemed to knock some self belief into YCAC and they swarmed forward in earnest. Things were made interesting when Damian got a 2nd free kick outside the Hibs box. As is so often the case the shot he hit perfectly didn't go in but the one he didn't, did. The ball pinged through a crowd of players to leave Hitoshi unsighted and the ball snuck into the far corner.
Too little too late though and the Hibs closed out a deserved 2-1 win out in the semi darkness where the luminous green shirts finally looked like a good purchase
S Taw
Swiss more than a handful for BFC

Angelo made it 4 goals in 2 matches as he grabbed a brace against both Maritizio and BFC in succesive weekends.

Swiss Kickers preserved their lead at the top of the TML first division with a flattering 4-1 win over BFC on Saturday. Three handball decisions went against BFC, two of them resulting in goals for the Swiss and the other a vehement penalty appeal that was waved away. Angelo put the Swiss in front after 20 minutes after appearing to handle before a defensive mix-up let in Karl Hanhe for a second moments later. BFC then had a legitimate penalty claim turned down by referee Pietro, who then gave another free kick to the Swiss for another handball, although the ball appeared to hit Leigh's hand rather than vice-versa.
Swiss's Captain Kirk scored from the resulting free kick with a 30-metre blast that was still accelerating as it hit the back of the net. BFC had their chances, with strikers Jon Day and Alastair Himmer guilty of misses that were to prove costly. Five minutes into the second half, Angelo lobbed BFC goalkeeper Sid Lloyd after another defensive error to kill the game off for the Swiss. Substitute Lindsay Hughes pulled one back when his cross drifted over Swiss goalkeeper Dierk and into the far post. Defender Ryo Yasunaga twice went close with headers and Day was unable to control a Tomo Kunii cross when in space but in truth BFC had left themselves with a mountain to climb after the first half.
H Bushwacker
Sunday, April 10th, perfect day at Oifuto for a match between old rivals, the BFC and the Swiss. Both teams had nearly full lineups at the start although the Swiss keeper's snowboarding accident still keeps him on the sidelines and a reserve was called into action - Dierk. The BFC's strength's lies in midfield with tough tackling in the middle and the skill players through Tomo and Neil out on the wings. The Swiss tried to counter that with James on Tomo and Suzuki and Yuji combining to snuff out dribbling menace Neil. In defense, Kirk, Trevor and Kai were given the job of shutting down the passes to Jon and Big Al. The start of the game was pretty even with both teams trying to connect through midfield. The first clear chance fell to the Swiss, it came from a cross from James on the left which Suzuki met brilliantly with a header only for Sid to dive to his right for the stop.
The Swiss midfield gradually started to assert control with Dave Spiers and Pratt working hard to win the ball and the spreading the ball wide or to Angelo and Karl in the middle. After 20 minutes or so, the Swiss sent enough balls into the box eventually for Angelo to bang one in after it bounced around. Just a few minutes later, Karl pounced on another loose ball from a corner which bounced off Trevor's face, Karl put it in calmly and made it 2-0. About 5 minutes later, a handball about 25 yards out led to a free kick which Kirk surprisingly smacked into the far corner for a 3-0 lead.
10 minutes and 3 quick goals seemed to take a lot of out of the BFC (it does most teams). A few players were subbed and the rhythm changed a bit but the pace of the game remained the same with the Swiss holding more possession and getting close but not finishing anymore than the 3 already scored.
In the 2H, more player changes were made but the tempo remained the same. The Swiss seemed to be able to hold onto the ball in midfield while the BFC was having trouble getting the ball to its forwards and the Swiss defense was regaining possession quickly. This led to one breakaway for Angelo which he knocked over Sid for a 4-0 lead with 15 minutes gone in the 2H. After that, the Swiss passed it around nicely but the work effort dropped and the BFC started to press more. They started more counter attacks and the midfield started to carry the ball better into the attacking 3rd. This resulted in corner kicks and a few shots on target. The Swiss did give up a goal on a cross into the wind which spiraled over Dierk. In the end, the Swiss effort dropped off a bit but the defense held up. Andy coming in goal after arriving at Narita a few hours earlier helped out and Dierk even got a few minutes out of goal.
Cap'n Kirk
CELTS GIVE SALA CUP SCARE!

Tony Moore endears himself to the French midfield in a match where Geckoes just edged it 3-2 & magazine pin-up 'Rob Manager' got lobbed!

The Celts took a deserved point from their FJ cup game with Sala at a Sunny and Hot Ina in Saitama on Saturday afternoon. With both teams scrambling to field a team in the days preceding, it was always likely to be an open game and so it proved.
Sala started the brighter, with some slick passing unlocking the Celts defence only to find keeper Aki in great form between the sticks. As the game wore on the Celts managed to get a foothold in the game through the hardwork of midfield quartet Seamus, Magoo, Stephen and Jeremiah with Striker Tom dropping deep to pick up possession. The best they managed to show was a couple of long range efforts, including one deflected effort that nearly embarrassed the Sala keeper.
Sala ended the half on top, with Guido and Brian pulling the strings in the middle, they created a couple of chances before half time, one goal disallowed correctly for offside and one denied by a brilliant save by Aki.
The Celts began the second half with brighter, more enterprising play and took the lead after 8 minutes. Sala failed to clear a magoo cross properly and Ruairi rasped a screamer into the top corner with the outside of his left boot. Keeper no chance.
Celts almost doubled their lead on a couple of occasions, a couple of long diagonal balls catching the Sala defence flatfooted on more than one occasion, 2 shots flashing just over the upright.
As the Celts began to tire towards the end, Sala began to exert more pressure on Aki who was finally beaten with just 9 minutes on the clock.A a cross from the right caught the Celts defence flat-footed and the Sala winger nipped in to tuck home.
The remainder of the game was played out without much further incident, with the Celts left to rue what might have been in the FJ Cup, late goals v France and Sala costing them progression to the quarter finals.
R Hatchell
Promotion Hopes End In a Whimper
The slim promotion hopes of the Saitama Jets and the Dutch Embassy both ended with a 2-2 draw between the teams at Ina on April 9th. The Dutch started strong, and went ahead after a mixup between rookie Jets goalkeeper Fraser Gould and defender Yasu Suyama gifted the Dutch striker an easy chance. The Jets fought back, and went close on a number of occasions, particularly through striker Nate Gildart. The equalizer was a touch fortunate, as midfielder Gary Garner launched a long cross-shot from the right, which sailed over the keeper's head to level the game at 1-1. As half-time neared, the Jets pushed for a second goal, but were hit on the break by a quick Dutch attack which ended with the unmarked Dutch midfielder slotting home to give the men in orange a 2-1 lead.
In the second half, Saitama laid siege to the Dutch goal. The second equalizer came midway through the half, as striker Ryan Loren's deflected freekick wrong-footed the keeper to square things at 2-2. The Dutch goal then lived a charmed life, as Loren, Mark Eite, midfielder Sasaki, central defender John Rayner and newboy Chris Westrop were all thwarted by the acrobatics of the Dutch goalie.
It ended 2-2, and both teams will battle away again in Division 2 next season.
G Garner

YCAC OVERPOWER BFC TO GO THIRD.

'Get your head out of my a**e! Joe Takeda & Tomo Kunii scramble for the ball as Steve Taw follows up the rear!

Sat April 2nd 2005. OiFuto YCAC comfortably beat an under-strength BFC 3-0 at home on Saturday to climb above the visitors into third in the TML. BFC's early promise turned sour after 20 minutes when YCAC went ahead through an own goal from Ryo Yasunaga. When BFC goalkeeper Sid Lloyd then came for a free kick but failed to gather, allowing Daisuke to head home. BFC rallied after halftime with Jon Day and Tomo Kunii coming close but an defensive mix-up by BFC let in Ian Robertson to make it 3-0 and seal victory for YCAC.
H Bushwacker
YCAC exacted some measure of revenge for a 0-5 drubbing back in January with an emphatic 3-0 defeat of BFC on Saturday.
YCAC were 1st to the ball from the start and never allowed the British defence or midfield the time or space to try to build attacks. With the luxury of 4 subs, to none for BFC, fresh legs allowed YCAC to keep the pace up for 80 minutes, starving the potent BFC strikeforce of quality service. Potential matchwinners Jon Day and Tomo, the TMLs leading scorer, both had quiet days and it was left to Al Himmers aerial prowess and Evans speed to provide the threat to the YCAC goal. The YCAC back 4 were solid thoughout led by a standout performance from Daisuke Ogawa. When the home rearguard was pierced, BFC found Keeper Derrick Bean in outstanding form. On the 1 occasion even he was beaten, Hisao Yasuda was on hand to head a goal bound shot off the line.
YCAC benefited from scoring at crucial times in the match. The first to kill off a period of sustained BFC pressure; James Absolom won the ball and sent Hisao racing down the left flank. He whipped in a low hard cross into that nasty area between outcoming keeper and retreating defender, Ryo Yasunaga, who was harried by Tom Taw into putting through his own goal. The 2nd and 3rd goals came either side of HT and were both the result of pinpoint freekicks. Phil "The Postman" Denham delivered one behind the BFC defence where Daisuke outjumped Sid to head his 1st goal for the club. 2-0 at HT. Second half sub Ian Robertson was then the recipient of a free kick beautifully chipped over the BFC defence by Damian Hart. Robbo duly slotted the ball past the keeper, exposed for the 3rd time. BFC continued to push forward but were unable to spoil a rare clean sheet for YCAC who, with the 3 points, retake 3rd spot in the table, for the time being at least.
Later that evening......Marcel Niederhauser and Joe Takeda were voted YCAC Clubman of the Year and Player of the Year, respectively. Congratulations to them
S Taw
France overcome BEFC with (arguably) 'Goal of the season'
The strength of the FranceFC squad was evident on Saturday 2nd April against BEFC where despite missing a number of players the team, were still able to field 13 quality reprobates. With Nicolas out for season, Yannicks P and B, Gilles, Laurent's F and G, Gildas and Pierre (to name just a few) also absent the assembled team had a slightly different but still strong look about it.
The BEFC team also looked to have a few players missing from the previous game and so the game kicked off with both teams wanting the three points for different reasons. France FC were desperate to get back to winning ways after a few reversals and draws recently whereas the BEFC were even more desperate due to their perilous looking position at the bottom of the table. More...
FFC
SWISS GO 3pts CLEAR.

Karl Hahne handed his 2nd goal on a plate by team-mate Takahisa Suzuki to go equal top-scorer in Div1.

Saturday morning Apr. 2nd, great day for a game but a 9 am kick-off, ouch! Swiss coming off a tough win over YCAC and Maritizio suffering after a drubbing by the Hibs - a chance for an upset?
The Swiss were able to call up a couple of legends (Graeme and Aoki) to make up the squad while Maritizio had 10 at the start (got their 11th 10 minutes in). Good fortune seemed to be smiling on the Swiss as the first attack, a long ball from Kirk, knocked on by Karl to the speedy Angelo led to a well taken shot and a 1-0 lead with only a few minutes gone. After that, the game settled down into a more regular tempo with the Swiss midfield (James, JP, Pratt, Spiers, Suzuki) controlling and creating chances but many were being missed. Coming back the other way, Maritizio were getting through with some quick counter attacks and some disorganized marking but Graeme, the Swiss hard man, and speedy Kai were closing chances down. By the end of the first half, the Swiss produced 3 more goals. Graeme scored from distance after a clearance from a corner with a dipping shot into the upper left hand corner. Karl banged a nice shot home from inside the box and Suzuki scored after dribbling the ball himself, not passing to the man who was offside, and shooting into the lower right hand corner. Dave Pratt looked to have a couple of chances as well but whether it was own teammates crowding him or that deceptive skill factor rearing its ugly head, I guess we just have to wait until he does knock one in to find out. The highlight of the first half was actually a defensive stop by our unsung hero over the past 4 games, Uchida in goal. Maritizio counter attacked and a forward got around Dave Spiers into the penalty area. Dave didn't see the 6'5" defender closing down the attacker's options (didn't hear the silent stalker either) so he decided to bring him down from behind - Ricky pointed straight to the penalty spot. Vernon steps up to side foot it to the right - Uchida dives and palms the ball away to safety, brilliant! The 2nd half produced more of the same but laziness and poor finishing led to some frustration for the Swiss. In the end, Angelo scored on a well taken volley Karl banged it in from close range to produce a 6-0 victory. Frustrating day for Maritizio but the Swiss midfield was too strong and the defense was solid again - some good goals are always nice.
Cap'n Kirk

March 2005

EYE FOR GOAL PAYS OFF

The British Football Club unceremoniously disposed of a Wall Street Geckoes team 2-0 in the final of the Footy Japan Charity 6s tournament held at and co-hosted by YC&AC on March 21.


Having scored only 2 goals to win their group, it wasn't until the knockout stages of the tournament that BFC found their scoring ways dismissing a determined Mitsubishi Bank FC 1-0 in the semi-final. In the other semi-final the gritty WS Geckoes managed to beat the Swiss Kickers on penalties after the teams were tied at full-time.
2 first half goals by the BFC striker were enough to put an end to the WS Geckoes chances of glory, but the runners-up are, in tournaments and league games, forever proving that they have what it takes to upset the big guns.
France Masters were the winners of the plate competition, beating BFC Vagabonds 1-0 in a fiercely contested final round.
17 teams took part in the charity event and with thanks to the generous support of all the organizations sponsoring the event (some of whom, opting for a per-goal contribution, may well have been wincing as 110 goals were netted on the day) including: Barclays Capital, Shinsei Bank, Lloyds TSB and Wall Street Associates, not to mention the players themselves, the tournament managed to raise ¥330,000. This money will go directly to UNICEF to help children still suffering in areas devastated by the Tsunami last December.
Footy Japan would like to thank in addition to the sponsors mentioned above, all the players for taking part in this event and scoring the goals to raise the cash. Footy Japan would also like to thank YC&AC for their support and use of their illustrious facility and a great buffet, Stella Artois for the (free) beer, Coca Cola for the free soft drinks, 1066 and Mr Yannick for the bacon butties and kebabs.
Hear what the Maichi Newspaper has to say! click here...

HIBS KEEP THE RACE TIGHT!

Sun March 27th 2005. OiFuto After 6 weeks of no league games this was a good chance for the Hibs to get some more points on the table. 10 minutes in and Kuni Katase nicked the ball off a short Maritzio goal kick. Kuni steadied himself and finished very well near post from a tight angle to settle the nerves. 1-0 to the Hibs. 5 minutes later the Hibs were awarded a free kick about 30 metres out on the right hand side; this was definitely in Kuni Hosoi territory. Kuni probably didn't hit it as well as he usually does but a goal mouth scramble ensued and Jorgen bundled to ball over the line from 2 yards after good scrapping by Ike in the mixer, 2-0 to the Hibs and the Maritzio heads went down. The Maritzio defence then decided it was much easier to step up in a line and call for off side. Soon after, a long clearance from Ike was headed down by Mitsu into Keita's path and he ran the ball 20 meters and finished well from the left side.
3-0 to the Hibs at half time and the game was effectively over as a contest. Not long into the 2nd half and Daniel headed goal wards from a corner but the ball landed almost directly on Kuni K's head and in it went to make it 4-0. Keita then laid on 2 goals for Bevan and Daniel to make it a nice even 3-0 to the Hibs in both halves. In the run in to the end of the year this keeps things very interesting between the Swiss and the Hibs.
Bevan Colless
Tomo tops scoring chart as BFC do league double over France FC.

'No-Pan Ninja' Tomomitsu Kunii now heads the Div 1 goal scoring charts after taking his tally to 11 with a brace against France FC.

Tomo Kunii struck twice as BFC came back from a goal down to beat France FC 3-2 in a crunch TML game on Saturday. France took an early lead through Pablo Gularte's penalty, awarded after a needless foul. But BFC levelled quickly with Kunii whipping in a right-wing cross and Alastair Himmer powering a header in from just inside the penalty box. Kunii then made it 2-1 himself but France equalised through Oliver Worsfold's header on the stroke of halftime.
BFC increased the pressure in the second half and Brian Doyle volleyed over from point-blank range. The winning goal came after 70 minutes when Jon Day's through ball eluded the French defenders and Kunii arrived to head in at the back post for a deserved victory.
S Taw
"Swiss-Roll over YCAC"
Familiar pun, all too familiar story on saturday as the Swiss just had a little too much of everything for YCAC.
Both sides were obviously missing regulars to holiday commitments and the bare elevens were found thanks only to Kirks little black book of Kanto footballers and the local Yokohama High School, respectively. Both also had the pleasure, though, of welcoming back departed heroes for the game. Neither Ian Brown-Peterside or Graeme Lane actually scored but both managed to give the opposition defence a more difficult afternoon that they might have anticipated.
The pace of YCACs front 2 of Graeme and Tom Taw looked initially capable of upsetting the redoubtable Swiss rearguard. The 1H saw chances made and spurned by both sides with IBP, in particular, missing the target by about a foot on a couple of occasions. The only person who didn't miss was actually trying to. James Batten swung in a corner from the left which flew unaided into the YCAC net. 1-0 to the Swiss at HT who then proceeded to take a firmer grip of things after the interval
As YCAC pushed further forward in search of the equalizer more and more space appeared for Swiss counter-attacks. With Dave Pratt pulling the strings the Swiss could and should have put the game beyond all doubt by midway through the half. They didn't though. Another excellent performance from Damian Hart at the heart of YCACs defence, the crossbar (twice) and, particularly, some very ordinary shooting from the Swiss conspired to leave the score at 1-0.
It didn't seem that the Swiss could find a way to add to the total and both sides were beginning to suspect that it might not be their day. YCAC didn't help themselves when they might of nicked a goal, though. As well as the Back three defended, their distribution was lacking after the ball had been won resulting in poor service to the front men. Anything that did get through was dealt with by Kirk who was in particularly commanding form in the 2H
As time ran out the result was finally sealed by a 2nd Swiss goal from a corner. This one floated harmlessly over all the 6 footers and landed directly at the feet of the smallest attacker in the box who knocked it straight in, sparing the blushes of his forwards. 2-0 to the Swiss...... again
S Taw

SWISS STILL STEADY AT TOP

Geckoes were brought to their knees by Swiss, here Karl Hahne tries in vain for his hat-trick ending the day with just a brace though!

Sun March 20th 2005. OiFuto Swiss vs. Geckoes on the day before the big Charity Tournament. Both teams seemed to be missing a few players but it didn't make the game any less intense. The 2 teams had only played to a draw 3 weeks earlier in the Cup and were pretty familiar with each other. The Geckoes strength lay with a solid back four, some Latin creativity in midfield, and the big Japanese striker and speedy Englishman up front. The Swiss counter with no real standouts but a lot of movement and overlapping from defense and midfield which can open holes up if your midfielders don't stay with their man.
The Swiss had been frustrated in the recent draw after dominating the first half only to see it slip away with a very strong comeback by the Geckoes and some sloppy defending. This time, the Swiss opened up the first half in similar fashion, scoring after only 5 minutes with converted striker Mori receiving a through ball from Krando, beating 2 defenders and slipping it by the keeper. more...
Cap'n Kirk
Bad day at the office.
Having had a bit of a good run recently, the Geckoes took on the Swiss at Oi beach on Sunday afternoon feeling that another shock could be on the cards. For the first 10-15 minutes it was fairly even and things were looking good for the Geckoes. But then the Swiss took charge. Their first goal came from a defensive error that allowed their winger to waltz through the Geckoes defence before slotting the ball home. Their second came from a corner with Karl Hahne volleying home having been left unmarked.
In the second half, it was more of the same, a lot more! With the Swiss attacking constantly and the Geckoes trying to stop them. Things improved briefly when Rob saved a Karl Hahne penalty but that was as good as it got for the Geckoes. After that, the Swiss continued to pepper the Geckoes goal, scoring twice, missing a few and having several saved by Rob.
In the end, the Geckoes were exceptionally fortunate that they could walk off with just a 4-0 drubbing.
RM

SOCCER CAMPS FOR KIDS

The British Football Academy, along with our regular sessions (see: www.bfat.jp), run football camps for youngsters (4 -18-years old) during all school holidays throughout the year. The camps are typically 3 or 5 day, fun-filled, football fiestas culminating in an award ceremony on the last day, during which the attendees''s technical and sporting achievements are certified and prizes awarded.
All players who join the camp for its duration receive their very own brand-spanking-new football, embossed with the unmistakable British Football Academy insignia, as well as a stylish Academy T-shirt.
The first of the British Football Academy's Spring Soccer Camps will be held from March 22nd to 24th at the Yokohama and Country and Athletic Club (non-members welcome), in Yamate, Yokohama. Following this at Tokyo International School, in Tamachi, Tokyo, a second camp will be held starting on March 29th and ending on March 31st.
Regardless of whether a child has never kicked a ball before, or is destined for fame and fortune in the football arena, The British Football Academy camps caters to all. BFAT kids will have a wonderful opportunity to develop their game and hopefully, more importantly, thoroughly enjoy the process.
For more information or to register your child on-line, please visit www.bfat.jp
10% DISCOUNT FOR ALL TML CARDHOLDERS WANTING TO SEND THERE KIDS

SALA OVERCOME GUTSY MARITIZIO.

Dhugal Beddingfield was on target for the 5th time of the season in Sala's defeat of Maritizio.

Sun March 19th 2005. OiFuto Just like Italy in the war, the second half was a lot better than the first. Sala put down a determined Martitzio with two splendid dozes of liquid football at Oifuto on Saturday afternoon.
It was not a game to remember by any stretch of the imagination, with a pitch more suited to sunbathing(There were rumours that the referee had to remove several towels from the pitch before kick-off, left by Germans who had got there early and staked a claim. Guido refused to comment if one of them may have been his!) Maritizio however were not there for a holiday. The Roppongi based team have been something of a Sala gift horse in recent times and came out hard to make sure they wouldn't end up on the end of another hiding.
more...
RC

GOALS FOR CASH

Footy Japan in collaboration with the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club will be hosting a charity soccer 6's tournament, on Monday, March 21 (national holiday) with proceeds raised earmarked for the tens of thousands of children still suffering in the wake of the Tsunami last December.
The tournament will kick-off with group stages at 9:30am to be followed by knockout games in the competition's final round. The tournament will culminate in an award ceremony/party to be held in the evening at YCAC during which a cup will be presented to the winners and runners-up and the total amount of all the money raised for UNICEF will be announced. Corporate sponsors of this event, including Barclays Capital, Shinsei Bank, Lloyds TSB and Wallstreet Associates, have generously offered to contribute a substantial amount of money to UNICEF for each goal scored in the competition - so if ever there were an incentive to find the back of the net!
All teams who enter can expect to play a lot of football and family and friends are more than welcome - the more the merrier. A selection of food and beverage tents provided by 1066, the Hobgoblin and Kebabs will be available pitch-side, to fuel the famished and, if necessary, drown any sorrows! YCAC will provide a buffet and Stella Artois will dish out a free beer to all of those attending the tournament party in the evening. The day's festivities will come to a close at about 6pm. (Details)
We hope to see many TML teams, players and supporters turn out on the day and if you or your company is interested in sponsoring this charitable event then please contact us at: info@footyjapan.com
JD

WORRIES MOUNT AS RAIN POSTPONES MORE MATCHES.

Sat March 12th 2005. OiFuto The light smattering of rain on Friday afternoon was enough to cause Oi Sports center to close it's pristine dirt pitch all day Saturday, putting further pressure on the already strained fixture list. With other grounds closing for renovation and the Japanese leagues starting, there are now very few locations available for 'gaijin' that are suitable for league fixtures. With 41 league matches & 8 cup matches left to play, it looks like the league will run into late June unless new grounds can be found!
Having hosted the World Cup in 2002, one would have thought conditions would have become better for the amateur footballer in Japan, whereas in fact football is just more popular but with very few new facilities to play 11-a-side. The few that are available, usually booked online or by lottery (after the FFA & other associations pre-book most of them), have hundreds of teams vying for very few spots, making the process very hit or miss - usually the latter. Some hope is on the horizon though, as Komazawa Olympic Park is completing a renovation of 2 of their grounds into astro-turf with floodlights, meaning more available hours and no rain cancellations. But then again, in 2 years of trying in the lottery with 12 registered teams, we've only ever achieved one, 4 hour booking on the old dirt pitches there.....
If any of our readers can help us secure more grounds to help ease our woes, please contact us. Your help would be greatly appreciated by the entire league.
Ed
Geckoes crawl past Brit Embassy

Geckoes keeper Rob, can only watch as a pinpoint header from BEFC's Mike Crossley goes in at the far post. Geckoes went on to edge the match 4-3 though with BEFC being reduced to 10 men after just the same number of minutes in their saturday evening fixture.

The game between the Geckoes and the British Embassy got under way as scheduled, Saturday night at 6PM, 3/12, under the lights at Oi Dani. The Geckoes were looking for revenge for an earlier loss a few months ago.
However, the Embassy started brighter of the two teams and were ahead after just a few minutes as the Embassy's best player and candidate for man-of-the-match, Hitoshi Matsushima broke down the left wing and put a perfect cross into the box which the BEFC newcomer, Michael Crossley headed in giving the Geckoes keeper no chance. That was the wake up call for the Geckoes who increased the pressure and would have been equal on ten minutes as a sure goal was kept out by the Embassy's defender, Warren Daley's hand.
More...
PZ
SALA STYMIED!
An under strength YCAC1 nicked a point from Sala with a gritty display in Yokohama on Saturday. With more than 50% of the 1st team squad unavailable and Sala looking the business out on the pitch early, resplendent in their new kit, it didn't look like it would be the day when YCAC would avoid defeat against Sala for the 1st time in the TML.
By the time Sala had gone 2-0 up midway through the 1st half it looked like being a question of how many the rampant Sala forwards would help themselves to. Prompted by intelligent play by their central defenders and surging runs by the mid fielders Sala launched wave after wave of attacks at a desperate YCAC defence. The 3rd goal never came, though, chiefly thanks to a brilliant display from the YCAC Keeper, Derrick Bean, and wayward shooting. YCAC's ambitions were beginning to change from avoiding a cricket score to hanging on at 0-2 to HT when they got a goal back. Gavin Margetson was on hand to stab home a loose ball in the 6 yard box to record his 1st goal for YCAC's 1st team.
YCAC reorganized a tad in the 2nd half, putting an extra body in the midfield to try and staunch the flow of service to the Sala front line. With Phil Denham getting a grip in midfield and Kaz Matsumoto and Ken Sakae harrying the Sala backline, Sala had a more difficult job launching their attacks. Nevertheless, Sala seemed to have an endless supply of attacking options off the bench and all the combinations they tried seemed to work. Some neat passing and interchanges continued to keep the YCAC defence on the back foot. Derrick Bean, however, had gotten even better in the 2nd half and Salas shooting hadn't so the score stayed at 1-2 until 10 minutes from the end. It was YCAC who scored, though, with Gavin Margetson side footing home from the edge of the box for his 2nd of the game.
It stayed at 2-2 for Salas 1st draw of the TML season but no doubt viewed in the Sala Bar in Chiba as 2 points dropped
Steve Taw
CELTS KEEP THE PROMOTION RACE WIDE OPEN
Kanto Celts had a deserved victory at a sunny YCAC on Saturday morning to keep the pressure on the teams around them in the race for promotion from Div 2. Celts, who managed to scrape together 11 players barely minutes before kick off began brightly and almost scored from their first attack when Damo unleashed a volley on goal which just missed the post. With Seamus and Tom dominating the centre of the park, it was only a matter of time before the Celts scored. Keeper/stand in striker Ally latched on to an excellent through ball by Tom, to lash past the young YCAC keeper. From then on the YCAC Goal led a charmed life with Ally and Tom both hitting the woodwork. YCAC worked hard but were unable to break through a strong Celts defence. The only surprise was that the Celts were unable to add to their tally.
The second half was more of the same, with Celts keeper rarely troubled, although it took an excellent clearing header from Conama to deny YCAC a goal which would have been against the run of play. Tom struck the underside of the crossbar with a fine turn and shot, and Ally again hit the post, YCAC keeper also making a couple of decent saves. It ended up 1-0 to the Celts, keeping the pressure up on the teams around them, although disappointing that they couldn't improve their GD tally, which may prove vital at the end of the season.
PZ

BFC defence climb high to fend off early Maritizio pressure, but the basement team won the day with a last gasp goal for 3-2!

Maritizio scramble late winner against BFC

Sun March 6th 2005.NodaiMaritizio snatched an injury-time winner to beat a depleted BFC team 3-2 in deepest Saitama on Sunday. BFC looked to have secured a deserved point after Tomo Kunii's late penalty but a determined Maritizio bundled home the winner in a goalmouth scramble at the death.
In a game of controversial penalty decisions, Maritizio went ahead from the spot after a trip by BFC goalkeeper Sid Lloyd, sparking protests from the blues about a shove on defender Tom Kennedy that went unpunished. Lloyd went the wrong way, 1-0 Maurizio. At the other end, BFC had a legitimate shout for a penalty when Jon Day was bundled off the ball but they equalised through a fine header from Pablo Pomares. Missing five regular first-team players, BFC had their chances but slack defending saw Maurizio retake the lead midway through the second half. Kunii's penalty five minutes from time restored parity again but BFC were sent tumbling to their third defeat of the season while Maurizio climbed off the foot of the TML's first division. More...
HB
Nodai was the setting for a very importing game which Maritizio's simply had to win to sustain some form of hope for staying in contention to escape the relegation zone. On a fine Sunday morning therefore, the scene was set for this showdown with BFC who could be forgiven for assuming that it would be just another walk in the park. Indeed, how wrong this turned out to be. More...
VG

February 2005

MARITIZIO SCRAPE IN!

Sun February 27th 2005.YCAC1 got past Maritizio by just the odd goal for the 3rd time this season. This time a 2-1 win on Sunday in sunny Yokohama confirmed YCAC as the winners of Group A in the FJ Cup. The Maritzio goal, however, scored in the last minute seems to have put them into the QF as well allowing them to sneak past Shane by 1 goal difference into 2nd place in the Group.
As in last weeks game. Maritizio were quicker out of the blocks than the home team and had the better of the opening 20 minutes. Also like last week, however, failure to hit the target when they had the chance would cost them dear later in the game.

Players untangle after an amusing incident in the Swiss v Geckoes match, where both players & scores were tied! Geckoes came back from 2 down to share the spoils their cup match and guarantee qualification for the next round.

YCAC had the better of the 2H and got 2 goals from free kicks. The 1st from Phil Denham, found its way via the post, to the feet of James Absolom who finished without fuss from close range. The second was a sublimely struck shot from Joe Takeda which the Keeper barely saw. YCAC had a number of chances to get a 3rd and put the result beyond doubt, but the Maritzio keeper made several fine saves to deny them.
With both sides seemingly resigned to finishing at 2-0. The Maritizio Center Half got his head to a last minute free kick and steered in the goal which looks to have given his team passage to the knock out stages of the Cup at the expense of TML Div 2 Shane.
S Taw
JETS POWER THROUGH
The Saitama Jets beat NOVA by two clear goals for the second time this season to ensure qualification for the second stage of the Footy Japan Cup. The final result was 3-1 to the men from Saitama, although the game was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests. NOVA bossed the first half, and created three or four clear-cut chances which were admirably saved by Jets keeper Fraser Gould. The Jets had pace and precision in attack, and Ryan Loren and Mike Passmore both threatened, without managing to beat the NOVA keeper. Then, a few minutes before half-time, the Jets won a corner on the left. Mark Eite curled it over the defenders and was as surprised as anyone to see it sail over the goalie and into the top corner. 1-0 at half-time, and NOVA could feel a bit unlucky.
The second half was very open, with both teams attacking quickly and in numbers. Eite scored his second for the Jets, coolly finishing after an accurate long ball from Tomohiro Saito. NOVA pressure eventually paid off, after two strikers were left on their own in the 6-yard box, and one of them slotted the ball home easily. NOVA pressed for an equalizer, but instead it was the Jets who struck the final blow, through a long-range effort from Saito.
GG
SHANE AVENGE CUP DEFEAT.
On a good day for football, Shane met Barbarians for the second time this season. The Barbarians winning the previous encounter 3-2 in the cup. As a result of this Shane were determined to take all three points from this mid-table clash. Shane started very brightly playing some excellent football without providing any real end product; the Barbarians marshalled their defence very well and were able to hit Shane on the break on a couple of occasions. The first half gradually heated up and Shane started to dominate the match producing some good chances but nothing that threatening.
The second half started much as the first half had ended with Shane really piling on the pressure. Shane eventually took advantage with a clinical finish from Alex Thompson after an excellent cross from Dave Jones. Shane pushed on and nearly found a second after Neil willis grazed the bar from 25 yards.
The last fifteen Shane seemed to run out of steam which resulted in some spirited attacking from the Barbarians; however this time there were no last minute goals and Shane deserved there hard fought victory.
NW

The Celts keeper plucks another cross of the heads of the French strikers in an outstanding performance on the day!

France FC Finally Get Some Relief.

Sat February 26th 2005.YC&ACFrance FC needed the full 80 minutes to squeak past the Kanto Celts (1-0) in their last game of the TML group stages.
A win was a must for the French to proceed to the knockout stages but the excellent Kanto Celts keeper was having a career day and pulled out numerous saves to thwart the French attacks. Whilst the France FC boys had most of the ball and probably the better chances during the game, the Celts were tackling hard and striking fast on the counter. The Celts even struck the crossbar from a freekick with less than 5 minutes left. Then whilst the fat lady was clearing her vocal chords, Nicolas Bozzi's overhead kick from about 8yds was only parried by the Celts goalkeeper into his own net. The French could finally count on some luck but the Celts were unlucky too lose.
OW

YCAC EDGE MARITIZIO TO GO 3rd!

Sun February 20th 2005. YC&AC A low drive from the edge of the penalty area by James Absolom was enough to give YCAC all 3 points on Sunday at Yokohama. The 1st half was an even affair but with Maritzio creating the better scoring chances. Wayward shooting let them down, though, and YCAC were happy to turn round at 0-0. Despite dominating territorially in the 2nd period, YCAC were unable to get shoot straight either and it looked like it might finish the way it started until 10 minutes from time when Absolom settled it.
Damian Harts towering performance in defence marked a very welcome return to YCAC 1st team action. There was very little else to write home about, unfortunately, with both sides struggling on a cloying surface. Better luck next week when the 2 teams meet again in their final group games in the FJ Cup.
S Taw
KIKUCHI CLASS DRIVES GECKOES UPWARD.
As the previous days weather cancelled all of the TML fixtures, there was some doubt that the match between Sala and the Geckoes would kick off as planned. However, by 3PM the weather gave way enough for the game to get underway, albeit still with light rain and, at times, strong winds. Neither team was at full strength and only a few frantic phone calls in the morning ensured the Geckoes would have 12 for kick off.
For full report... click here
PZ

TML MAKE LAST MINUTE RECOVERY TO SAVE MATCH

REF KAZU COMPLETES FUTSAL TARGET, WILL HE GO FOR A FULL 11's SQUAD? Congratulations to TML referee Kazu Urushiyama (seen above with daughter Miho)- his wife gave birth to a baby daughter on Friday. This is their 5th child, so now do they try for a full 11 or will Mrs Kazu give him a red card. Well done Kazu!

Sun February 13th 2005. OiFuto Only late on Friday night did staff at the TML operations center discover a mistake in Sundays match times, the time given being 2 hours later than the actual ground booking. Frantic emails went out followed by phonecalls on Saturday morning luckily saving the fixture for Shane vs Clash. Thanks Clash for giving Shane FC time to make the new fixture and apologies to all involved for our slip-up, but not bad considering it's the 1st time in over 200 matches! Please inform us if you see any mistakes on this site with the fixtures, scores etc.
ed
Clash share Geckoes PK woes!
Both teams were even on points and the match was important to slightly pull away from the rather large bottom group of the division. At match start the Clash sported 13 eager players while Shane only had eight, their keeper not among them. Instead of going for the quite obviously easy win, as Shane had enough players to play the game, Clash agreed to wait for the remaining players in a good sportsman like fashion.
Half an hour later the keeper had arrived together with one more player and the game could start. Around ten minutes later the final player entered the pitch and both teams were fully numbered.
Throughout the game Clash seemed to have the edge with more possesion, but it was Shane that had the greater chances. Just like in the Geckoes vs Hibs game, the defence made a slight mistake which the opposing team took advantage of with a nice running ball resulting in the striker being alone with the keeper, and Shane was in the lead with one goal. Clash fought hard to gain an equalizer and halfway in the second half got a PK. Again, just like in the Geckoes vs Hibs game, the PK was wasted and Shane could walk away from the ground with a victory.
Pingla

JETs too much for YC&AC 2nds.
The Saitama Jets continued to put pressure on the other teams fighting for promotion from Division 2 with a comfortable 5-1 victory over the YCAC 2nd team. A hat-trick from Jets' leading scorer Ryan Loren and 2 from club captain Mark Eite were enough to give the Jets a deserved 5-0 lead at half-time. The second-half was much closer, and YCAC even scored a consolation goal, but the first-half blitz was enough to send the men from Saitama home satisfied.
more...
Gary Garner
YC&AC moving up!
YCAC1 climbed to the giddy heights of 4th place in TML1 after a 2-1 win over Jetro on Sunday. The nosebleeds may not last for long with teams around them having games in hand but is welcome enough after a miserable 1st 2 months of the season.
The game was close only in terms of the scoreline. YCAC dominated and the 2nd half, particularly, was pretty much one way traffic. It was the Jetro Red Army that drew 1st blood however with a scrambled goal following a corner. Richie Whitlock made sure YCAC went to HT on even terms, however, with a superb individual equalizer. He curled one in from a difficult angle off the far post after twisting a couple of Jetros inside out. Tony Hopwood put YCAC ahead when he flashed in a close range header half way through the 2H and it was to stay at 2-1 despite the home sides best efforts to get a 3rd. Both Will Richards, with a dipping volley, and James Absolom, with a towering header, rattled the crossbar as Jetros goal was laid siege throughout the half.
With MOM Joe Takeda pulling all the strings in midfield Jetro were denied the chance to mount any concerted attempts to repeat their comeback earlier in the season at YCAC when they scored twice in the last 3 minutes to force a 4-4 draw.
S Taw

SWISS & HIBS PLAY LEAPFROG!

Sat February 12th 2005. Hachioji parkSwiss kickers briefly regained their position at the top of Div 1 by defeating Sala FC 3-0 in a tough battle. Their stay at the top was short lived though as Hibernian scraped past Geckoes 1-0 in the following match with the latter having missed a 2nd half PK - their 4th missed PK out of 4 this season!!
In the first match of the day, Dutch Embassy jumped 3 places back into the promotion zone with a 3-0 defeat of Vagabonds but with only 2 games left to play, a host of teams with games in hand can still catch them.
ed
Ono saves the win for Hibs.
Tokyo Hibernian regained their place at the top of the table, downing Wall Street Geckoes 1-0 in a lively affair Saturday evening. Hib's striker Daniel Melo bagged the only goal mid way through the first half after some nice build up play from Andy Milner and Kuni Katase. The Geckoes fought hard throughout, with their keeper making several good saves to deny the Hibs a buffer zone.
With ten minutes remaining the Geckoes striker nicked an under-hit back pass and was fouled by a Hibs defender. The foul looked to have begun and finished outside the penalty area, but the referee awarded a penalty. Geckoes' midfielder stepped up and sent Hibs' keeper Ono keeper the wrong way, but he somehow managed to save well with his feet. The penalty rebound lead to another free kick on the edge of the area. The free kick was crossed in and headed goal ward but Hib's defender Kenji headed clear off the line and the Hibs held on for the win.
more...
B Colless
Sala dominate but can't crack Swiss.
The Sala express, unbeaten in three, was derailed in deepest Saitama by old foes the Swiss.
On a blemish free artificial surface, well suited to Sala's fluid passing style, hopes were high for a victory over a team who had just lost the league leadership. Things did not quite turn out that way however. Mere minutes into the first half, Sala found themselves in the now customary position of being a goal down. A Corner from the right was met by the giant Swiss centre-half, captain Kirk, who glanced a header in off the far post. 0v1.
The only positive thing that could be said was that it was the best possible time to lose a goal, and with the whole game ahead of them, Sala didn't panic.... more
R Charles

NOVA TOPPLE SHANE IN EIKAIWA BATTLE

Sun February 6th 2005.On a chilly Sunday night Nova FC were able to finish off a scrappy affair with Shane FC with a well taken goal in the last 2 minutes of play. Nova started the game the brighter of the two sides and took the game to the Shane defense. After 20 minutes of pressure Nova were finally rewarded with a spectacular volley off a cornerkick by Chiba Tom. This spurred Shane into action as they took control at the end of the first half and were unlucky not to go into the break even after a wonderful diving save by the Nova keeper.
The second half saw Shane continue to take the game to Nova (partly due to starting the second half with 9 men due to Skyler and Jeremy's inability to get control of their bladders). The ball was continually sent into the Nova end and after 20 minutes of pressure Shane were able to tie the game when their striker tapped in a loose ball 3 meters from the line. The goal seemed to wake Nova FC up as they took control of the last 15 minutes finally breaking the deadlock with a deft inside flick off a shot from the edge of the box by Matt Van Niekerk.
2-1 final score, allowing Nova FC to get their first win of 2005.
D Bard
Vags Win Basement Battle
Two second half strikes by the Metropolis League's own Sid Lloyd were enough to give the BFC Vagabonds a 3-1 win over fellow strugglers AFC Wanderers at Oi Futo on Sunday evening. A very even first half had seen the Vags go ahead early after fine work on the right by Mike Yeomans led to a debut goal for Vags new boy Ross. Midway through the half the Wanderers got a deserved equalizer from a well-taken free kick that curled unerringly into the top left corner of the goal and the sides went into the break all square, which was fair enough.
The second half saw the Vags hold onto the ball better and create the lion's share of chances. However, it wasn't until late on that Sid latched on to a Lyndsey Hughes pull back and drove in from ten yards out. Minutes later El Sid half-volleyed a rebound into the roof of the net after his initial shot had been well saved by the Wanderers' keeper. 3-1 to the Vagabonds, which was also fair enough.
more...
B Malone
TENACIOUS GECKOES CLAW BACK POINT
An entertaining TML 1 encounter between YCAC1 and Wall St. Geckoes ended honours even at 3-3 on Sunday. Joe Takedas deadball expertise with either foot caused problems for the Geckoes defence all day. He put corners onto both Rob O'Grady and Tony Hopwoods heads for 2 of the home teams goals. The other was another header, this time Richie Whitlock headed home directly from a James Absolom long throw.
Three times YCAC had their noses in front only to be hauled back each time by a spirited Geckoes team. Wall Street found their own dead ball specialist with HT substitution Leonardo. His sweetly struck free kick cannoned back off of a post but was lashed in by a fast reacting colleague to bring the score to 2-2. Then, after Tony Hopwood had restored YCACs lead, Wall St. got another free kick within shooting range. Shaping to shoot again, Leonardo squared the ball to a colleague who whipped in a short cross right on to Captain Simons head right on the YCAC line. Just how centre halves like their chances; 3-3 and a point was no more than the Geckoes deserved
S Taw
HIBS GO TOP WITH SWISS SLIP UP
Sat February 5th 2005. Swiss Kickers were held to a goalless draw against Jetro FC in an early morning match at Oi Futo, giving Hibs the chance to regain the lead in the title race.
The Swiss, were guilty of squandering the chances they had and were forced to share the points with the Stalemate Kings Jetro who've now had 6 draws in their 12 matches.
At YC&AC, Barbarians were the latest team to be knocked out of the FJ Cup, losing 1-0 to Maritizio. It's still not a dead cert for Maritizio though as they need a draw with YCAC to ensure progression to the next round! For the FJ Cup tables, click here.
ed
After last week's comeback against France, there was no hangover for the Hibs as they beat the struggling embassy outfit 4-0 on a brilliant day at St Mary's.
BEFC lined up to frustrate and were playing with most of their players behind the ball, which lead to a break down in most Hibs attacks. Just before half time the Hibs finally broke through with Kuni Katase heading home from short range after a goal mouth scrap.
In the second half Kuni Katase again showed his predatory instincts to finish a rebound off the post from Mick O'Hagan's powerful shot. Kuni Hosoi thumped in one from 25 yards and Daniel Melo finally got the goal he had been due.
With the Swiss slipping up against Jetro, the run to the end of the season looks like going down to the wire.
Bevan Colless
BFC held 2-2 after controversial Sala strike
Sala snatched a 2-2 draw against BFC with a controversial late goal in the Footy Japan Cup on Saturday. Sala had taken the lead against the run of play after 20 minutes when BFC failed to clear a free-kick and Paul Clarke stabbed home from close range. BFC equalised on the stroke of halftime when Tomomitsu Kunii set up Alastair Himmer, who blasted home from eight yards out.
BFC took a deserved lead 10 minutes into the second half when right-back Tom Kennedy tucked in at the neat post after a well-worked move. But Sala grabbed a share of the spoils when Brian Gallagher nudged the ball out of BFC goalkeeper Sid Lloyd's hands to poke the ball home. All BFC can hope for is that Kanto Celts can beat either Sala or France FC otherwise their run in the cup is over.
more...
Henry Bushwhacker

January 2005

BFC Captain Brian Doyle, fires home from close range in BFC's 4-0 victory over Jetro FC.

BFC TAKE BACK 3rd SPOT.

Sun January 30th 2005, Nodai. Tomomitsu Kunii scored twice in the space of five minutes as BFC overpowered Jetro 4-0 to climb back to third in the TML on Sunday.
Kunii latched on to through balls to score two identical goals midway through the first half, giving BFC breathing space after battling against a near gale-force wind in Saitama. Neil Collins added a third before halftime with another breakaway goal and Brian Doyle underlined BFC's superiority with a fourth from close range with 20 minutes left.
more...
Henry Bushwhacker

YCAC SECURE BERTH IN FJ CUP
YCAC1 produced a workmanlike performance to win its 2nd FJ Cup game and book a place in the knock-out stages. TML Div 2 Shane came with plenty of fight but not quite enough punch to floor their Div 1 opponents.

Copel FC try to clear a corner early on in their cup match with Nova FC. They tied the match 1-1.

Early 1st half sparring was even and YCAC was happy to go into half time 1-0 up courtesy of a James Absolom header. With a strong wind at their backs during the 2nd half, Shane had YCAC on the ropes on numerous occasions but were never able to land the killer blow.
YCAC caught Shane with a sucker punch late in the game, however. Joe Takeda used the old 1-2 to deliver the knock-out late in the game when he finished off a flowing counter attack.
Shane had fought a good fight but were forced to throw in the towel and it finished 2-0.
S Taw

HIBS SHOCK FRANCE WITH STUNNING COMEBACK!
St. Mary's, January 29. After their recent victories over the Swiss and the BFC, the inform France FC were looking to go into 3rd place in the TML with a victory over the Hibs at St Mary's.
France FC jumped out of the blocks running with a great goal after 10 minutes to Gilles Soulie, who volleyed a looping ball on the turn to leave Hibs' Ono with no chance. Les Bleus then went 2-0 ahead as Lahiani headed next to the near post from a well struck corner and it remained 2-0 to France FC until half time. Hibs' talented Josh Schirmer had the kick off times mixed up and arrived for the game just before half time. He made amends for his tardiness 2 minutes into the second half with a thumping drive from 20 yards that put the Hibs back in it at 2-1. Not 5 minutes into the second half and Ricky the Ref awarded a penalty against France for handball. Narama sent the keeper the wrong way and it was 2-2 with 35 minutes to play. Despite the Hibs hitting the post and several near misses it remained at 2-2 until virtually the last kick of the game. The Hibs' received a free kick just inside their half and Kuni Hosoi over-hit a long speculative ball designed to land right "in the mixer". The French keeper 'Elbow' somehow managed to let the ball slip through his grasp and into the net giving Hibs all the points and the French a bad taste in their mouth.
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Bevan Colless

SALA CATCH UP WITH ANOTHER WIN.

New Sala striker Dhugal Beddington scores Sala's 3rd goal in their 4-0 victory over Maritizio, that briefly put them up to 3rd in the table.

January 30th 2005 Oifuto Dirt, Sala 4 v 0 Maritizio
Shaking off their sleepyheads, proved more of a problem for Sala than one might have imagined, as they underwhelmed ten man Maritizio, for the first period of the game, before putting on a smoother performance for the rest of the game to run out four goal winners.
A 9'o'clock start was always a tall order in darkest January, but the weather turned out to be clement. Sunny with a breeze and clear blue skies, the only problems being the glare from the low sun, and the pitch.
Oifuto Dirt is never the best of pitches, but on this morning it resembled a Serengheti plain, over which the Wildebeest had just migrated. more...
R Charles

YC&AC MOVE OUT OF DROP ZONE!

Sun January 23rd 2005, YC&AC. YCAC1 came out on top of a proverbial 6 pointer with BEFC on Sunday morning in Yokohama. A convincing 3-0 win puts some welcome daylight between the boys in blue and white and the 2 relegation places in TML Div 1.
PJ Park teed up a 1st TML goal for Will Richards and helped himself to 2 to leapfrog the pack to go to the top of the TML1 scoring charts. BEFC defended resolutely with both centre backs, in particular, having fine games. They were unable to pose any sort of threat at the other end, however, where debutant Dickie Philo and keeper Derrick Bean were both in commanding form.
After last weeks debacle against BFC, YCAC were geared up for a difficult morning with a record 4 subs available but it never came. The snow and icy winds stayed away and fellow strugglers BEFC were dealt with comfortably in the end
Steve Taw

SALA HOLD OFF GECKOES TO CLOSE ON LEADERS.

Sat January 22nd 2005, OiFuto DaiNi. Another cold winters evening at Oi Futo produced some heated football in the mid-table clash between Sala & Geckoes. Sala are still catching up games with the leaders and a win in their final game in hand vs BEFC next week would bring them to 3rd spot.
Goals in each half from Dougal Beddington and Roddy Charles were enough to take the points but there were scares in the 2nd half when Chris Waters broke through the Sala defence, lobbing the keeper only to see his shot just clear the bar. As the battle heated, there were a few handbags joining in the fray but with Ricky the ref on hand, things were kept well in control.
HIBS WIN GROUP IN FJ CUP
Tokyo Hibernian, who'd already secured a berth in the FJ CUP quarter-finals last week, made sure they won their group with a resounding 5-0 win over Saitama JETs at St Mary's Saturday.
They will face the 2nd placed team in group C sometime in late March.
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Ed
BFC BLAST 5 PAST CELTS
A resurgent BFC got their Footy Japan Cup campaign back on track with a resounding 5-1 win over Kanto Celts in bone-chilling Oi Futo on Saturday. Brian Doyle, Jon Day, Neil Collins and Alastair Himmer were all on target for BFC, beaten 2-1 by the French last week.
Doyle opened the scoring with a rasping volley after 20 minutes but it was not until the second half that BFC began firing on all cylinders. They doubled their lead through an own goal on the hour, only for the Celts to pull one back two minutes later.
However, BFC restored their two-goal cushion soon afterwards when Himmer sent Day clear and he raced on to beat the Celts goalkeeper with a low angled shot. Collins then made it 4-1 with a carbon-copy strike.
Himmer completed the rout in the 90th minute, hooking home from close range after good work from Day.
Henry Bushwhacker

CHILLS, SPILLS & THRILLS.

Tim Takeda about to release a pass to set up his brother Joe as KGFC cut apart Dutch Embassy's depleted squad.

Sun January 16th 2005, OiFuto DaiNi. Icy rain greeted the teams at the vast expanse of Oi Futo astro turf pitch as a full day of games went ahead despite the weather. The encounter between Maritizio & the 1st team at YC&AC hadn't faired so well with the water-logged pitch being closed.
So this was not the day to have 3 players turn up at half time in your match against the top team in your division as happened to the Dutch vs KGFC. With only 9 players in the 1st half, DET were no match for the quick passing KGFC, who took good advantage of the extra men scoring 7 goals. With a full team in the 2nd half, the Dutch held their opposition for 20 minutes, despite having to contend a strong wind as well. However KGFC turned up the pressure again and scored another 5 as the Dutch tired.
This result put KGFC back to the top of the Division 2 table with a perfect record and Tsuyoshi Fujita's 5 goals put him at the top of the scoring table.
FASTEST GOAL EVER?
France FC got off to a lightening quick start in their cup game against BFC, when Etsushi Yoshikoshi decided to take advantage of the wind and rain and take a shot from kick-off. His strike went straight for goal, bouncing around the penalty spot, but looked to be covered by BFC keeper Sid. As defenders started to turn away, many a look turned to shock as the ball flew above the hapless keepers head, through his fingertips & into the roof of the net.
1-0 with only seconds on the clock!

Yannick Pelerin shields the ball from Evans of BFC as France hold on to win 2-1.

BFC worked hard to get back into the match, putting together some good passing moves but being unable to finish. Some stout defending by captain Francois & some smart stops by keeper Elliot kept France's goal advantage intact. On the break france looked dangerous and when the BFC defence only partially cleared a corner, no one closed down Pablo Gularte as he lined up to volley from just outside the box. And what a strike it was, into the top right corner from 25 yards not even giving the man still standing on the post a chance. 2-0 at which it stayed until half time.
In the 2nd half, with the wind behind them, the BFC went out looking for goals but despite numerous attacks they only managed to get 1 goal though a deflected Neil Collins strike. In sending men forward, BFC left themselves exposed at the back and if not for some great defending by stand-ins Steve & Leigh, could quite easily have conceded a third. But 2-1 it was set to finish with France delighted at having wreaked revenge on their old nemesis but BFC feeling unlucky not to have at least earned a draw.
Ed
CLASH RISE 5 PLACES

The puddles build up as Vagabonds defend a Clash corner

In freezing rainy conditions the Clash met Vagabonds on the Oi Astroturf with both teams looking for their second win of the campaign. The pitch was very playable at first, and allowed the Clash to knock the ball around well with the new players looking very useful. Not look into the first half, Chris Waters was pushed just outside the box and Phil Stroud stepped up. He curved a great free kick over the wall and into the bottom right corner. The Vags keeper saved but Gino was on hand to turn in the rebound. The Clash soon got a second when Chris Waters intercepted and fed Phil Stroud. His lifted shot was saved only for Waters to dummy the retreating defender on the line and tap in. The second half saw puddles amassing on the pitch and then the match ball going over the fence. The Clash keeper was on hand to stop a number of dangerous situations and then the Clash got their decisive third. Gino fed Phil Stroud who advanced then lifted it through for Waters who was taken out by the keeper but got back up to turn the ball home. The Vags managed to get a goal and threatened fo