|
Hachioji Park, Sat 25th March. After boasting last week that the Saitama Jets are the best team in Division 2, this writer will be the first to admit that they didn't show it against Santos. The Jets eventually ran out 3-1 winners, but Santos bossed the game for long periods, and with better finishing, they would have put the game out of the reach of the Saitama team by half-time.
Santos started quickly, but the Jets certainly did not. In midfield, in particular, the Santos number 15, Robin, and Reo Takahashi, were sharper and quicker than Sasaki, Keating and Garner. The opening chances all went to Santos, with Fraser Gould doing well to push a chance from the vocal Mr Dasilva on to the post. Santos would go on to hit the post on 2 or 3 more occasions. The Jets were reduced to long-range pot-shots from top scorer Nate Gildart and Garner, but neither really had their sights trained properly, and did not worry the Santos keeper. About 20 minutes in, the stand-in ref (a Jets player - as the TML referee got his days wrong), gave a penalty when an innocuous ball into the box bounced up and hit a Jets defender. If it hit an arm, it was certainly a case of ball to hand rather than hand to ball, but the Jets just shrugged and played on. Mr Dasilva of Santos hit the post with his PK, then scuffed the rebound over the bar. The Jets could breathe again.
At the other end, Kobayashi went close with a couple of free kicks, pulling one great save out of the big Santos keeper. When Santos broke, they broke in numbers, and they continued to create the better chances. Oli Hembise and Masato Takahashi were doing their best to protect Gould's goal, but it looked only a matter of time before Santos would score. Just before half-time, the Jets won a corner on the left, and Sasaki's delivery was firmly met by Garner. His header beat the keeper, but was well-cleared by the defender on the line. Half-time, and the Jets were fortunate to be all square at 0-0.
The Jets certainly came out livelier in the second half. Mikey Passmore and new recruit Kikuta brought some much-needed pace and energy to the team, and Keating and Sasaki were beginning to come to terms with the impressive Santos midfield. Mr Dasilva's speed continued to cause problems for Kobayashi and Hembise, but they too were dealing with the threat much better. For the Jets, Gildart and Eite continued to probe, but were unable to get behind the Santos defence.
Santos finally broke the deadlock after about 60 minutes when Keating was dispossessed in midfield and the early pass released a Santos runner. He tucked the ball away competently past second-half keeper Kosuke Harada. The Jets quickly rallied, and Passmore, Gildart and Eite combined to create a couple of half-chances which couldn't be converted.
With just over 15 minutes left on the clock came the controversial turning-point. A cross came in and bounced up and hit the midriff region of a Santos defender. Stand-in ref Chris Piper (a Jets player, just like the ref who awarded the Santos penalty) immediately pointed to the spot, convinced that the ball had been handled. The protestations were long and ugly, but when the toys were all finally returned to the pram, Jets penalty-taker Garner dispatched the spot-kick to make it 1-1.
Santos quickly had the first chance to take the lead again, as Dasilva turned the Jets defence inside out before screwing his shot just wide. Finally, the Jets started to assert some dominance. Passmore broke down the left, squared to Eite, who nudged the ball on to Nate Gildart. The Canadian is enjoying a prolific season in the TML, and his finish was coolness personified. Gildart then turned provider, releasing Eite who made it 3-1 with his first league goal since September 2005. There was still enough time for a couple more chances. Santos number 15, Robin, probably the best player on the pitch, hit a low drive from the edge of the box, which smacked off the outside of Harada's post. Then, in the final seconds, Jets striker Gildart broke from the half-way line. He took on the demoralized Santos defence, waltzing through 3 or 4 challenges before his shot was blocked by the Santos keeper.
So, for the Jets, the result was good, even if the performance was below-par. They will need to improve in the upcoming games against bogey teams Shane and the Wall St. Clash.
Santos can certainly play, and on another day could quite easily take all the points.
Match reporter: Gary Garner.
|