|
Hachioji Park, Sat 25th February. A scheduling misdemeanor by the league office produced back to back matches for the Swiss and the Hibs. One week after squeaking by the Hibs. 1-0 in a Cup battle at YCAC, Sid sent us to the darker side of Tokyo to see what would happen on the turf. Both teams had to deal with numerous player changes due to injuries/absences from the previous match but the Hibs. did see a return of their enormous captain from suspension.
The first half of the match was similar to last week’s encounter, with the smooth passing of the Hibs. enabling them to keep possession. The Swiss back four was able to clear it out for about 30 minutes but their forwards couldn’t maintain possession up front. The Hibs. just keep coming at you wave after wave, the difference this time around was that both of their forwards were missing thus no clear target man or finisher. The first opportunity of the match fell to Swiss midfielder Kai after a great through ball by Dave Pratt, he burst through the left for a 1 on 1 vs. Hitoshi in goal. A beautiful goal bound chip over the keeper bounced cruelly off the crossbar, to be cleared away to safety. Following that lone chance, the Swiss became more frustrated with five Hibs. in midfield and their continuous pressure. The dam finally broke with a great overlapping run by Josh on the left, a perfectly weighted cross was flicked in with the outside of his foot, surprising everyone with a neat chip into the right hand side of the goal. 1-0 to the Hibs. The rest of the half saw the physical side of the match and Ricky, the ultimate Ref, was called on a little too frequently. The Swiss were getting frustrated and the Hibs. were dominant.
The 2H saw some changes to the Swiss lineup and a little bit more determination. Raffaelle, one of the Swiss defenders, pushed into midfield to counter the extra man while the Swiss passing out of the back started to find willing runners up front. Meanwhile, the Hibs were looking good in back and in midfield but lacking that run/or finisher in the box. All of their chances came from distance and were picked out easily by Swiss keeper Uchida. The game was relatively even until a penetrating ball, again by Dave P., found Rafaelle in the box with 20 minutes gone. He beat his defender but was brought down in the process. Ricky ended up pointing straight to the penalty spot. Dave P. stepped up and smacked it high and into the corner to make it 1-1. This seemed to spark the Swiss into more movement and even better passing. They started to get through midfield and were playing with more purpose while the Hibs. seemed more determined but were still without any idea in the final 3rd – they probably would have done better to push Bevan or Jay into an attacking role but decided to play it out, seemingly not too worried about a draw. Instead, it was the Swiss who a mere 5 minutes later sent a long ball through – it was chased down by Yan and Ricky judged that he was muscled off the ball just outside the penalty area. Free kick 20 meters out and Dave P. lined up with 9 Hibs. and the always dominant Hitoshi to get by. Dave struck it beautifully, leaving Hitoshi wrong footed as he went right while Dave curled it over the wall into the left hand side of the goal, 2-1 to the Swiss with 13 minutes to go.
The rest of the game was tense with the Hibs. pushing forward aggressively, even Hitoshi coming up to attack and leaving themselves exposed at the back. The back 3 of the Swiss, Koin, Trevor, and Suzuki were superb with Trevor dominant in the air in spite of his 38 years. The final whistle went with the Swiss relieved that it was over but it was another great effort which saw them come from behind. Dave Pratt’s two goals were fantastic but Trevor in defense was dominant and it was his play throughout which kept the Swiss close. Though many thought the Swiss were finished and the Hibs. already had their name on the trophy, it is starting to look a little more interesting. Still all to play for with 6 games to go in the league and the semis. of the Cup approaching.
Report - Cap'n Kirk.
|