|
Hachioji Park Thursday 20th March,
Swiss expectations for a good game on a nice pitch were high, especially since our last two outings had been windy howlers on pitches like tambos in Chiba. Unfortunately, one must remember that this is the TML, and it just cannot be allowed. With the Charity 6's postponed due to heavy rain, one may have been forgiven for thinking the 1 TML game of the day would also be cancelled. No such luck
So, 9:30 am on the holiday saw temperatures in Saitama at 5 degrees and the rain was in its 15th hour – puddles! Hachioji Koen on a bad day can still be fun but puddles are a nightmare and surprises are never appreciated.
Anyway, the game kicked off on time with the Swiss only having the bare 11. The Jets seemed to have everyone available but it turns out one of their burly defenders only made it at halftime (fortunately only 40 minutes of kicking me). Surprisingly, the Swiss seemed to be able to work the ball around a little more efficiently at the start. Passing out of the back was good and there were some willing runners up front (for a few minutes anyway). The Jets were sitting back a bit and relied too much on the long ball which Koin, Phillip, Raffa, and Karl were picking off relatively easily. The Swiss were attacking into the puddles and the ball was frequently held up, making it easy for the defense to boot it to safety. The Jets sat back a bit too much and the the Swiss middies started to send in more crosses and through balls which due to the skips and speed were starting to cause problems. Diagonal balls from Koin and Aoki on the right were good but the defending was resolute. It eventually broke down when a free kick from Aoki was put into the 6 yard box, it bounced off one defender for Karl Ring to stab it home from about 3 yards out. The second would come about 10 minutes later when a long ball from Aoki skipped pass the defender, Kirk got free for a one on one with the keeper. He tried to go left but got nabbed by a puddle. Fortunately, the keeper thought it was going to end there but Furuya had follwed up Kirk’s run and hit it first time into an open net from about 15 meters out. Good work by Furuya to keep running. The first half ended soon after with the Swiss up 2-0. The Swiss had more of the possession but the Jets should have had the ball in the net at least once when 2 people were free in the box only for the ball to be touched just wide.
The second half didn’t change much except that the Jets attackers now had to wade through some deeper water as the rain continued to pour down. Going the other way, things seemed to open up a bit more for the Swiss attack and some nice combinations produced some good goals. The first came off a cross from Koin into the Jets box, it came off a defender to Karl at the top of the box who passed it quickly to Kirk on the left and he one touched it into the upper right corner. The next goal was the best of the day as Suzuki passed the ball to Kirk running down the right. He cut inside his defender to find Seiji running through, he passed it to Furuya who ran across the top of the box and hammered in a into the left side-net, great shot! The Swiss were able to get two more goals from first time player Ben (a real Swiss – for the Irish, we actually had 3 of them on the pitch today!). The first came from a long run down the left side of midfield and he beat his defender and then slotted it past the keeper. The second came after Furuya had done most of the work to attract the defense, he passed it to Ben just outside the box and he controlled it and shot, the ball nicked a defender and went pass a stranded keeper. It was good to see a new player produce the goods. In the closing minutes, a long ball to Jets forward Nate found him alone. He worked his way around the puddles – not many defenders – but spotted the keeper was off his line and hit a nice long shot over him for a consolation goal.
All in, in spite of the conditions, the game was fairly played, kept in control by Pietro (who did not look happy to be there) and we were able to get another fixture completed when the rest of the league were happily sleeping due to the cancellation of the Charity 6’s. Well done to all who participated and the Swiss hope they can keep their current form intact.
Report by Cap'n Kirk
|