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Yoyogi NHK, Saturday 29th September,
The NHK Ground, Yoyogi. Hard to believe that it's only a few months short of a quarter of a century since this ground provided the venue for this reporter's first game of competitive football in Japan. In those days, with a few ragged tufts of green poking forlornly through the soil, the field was still trying to kid itself that it was a grass pitch, in much the same way that Ralph Coates or Bobby Charlton used to try to kid themselves that they had a full head of hair. These days though, the pitch has gone for the more realistic Gravesen / Carsley look and it's much the better for it, especially on a day like this when a steady drizzle helped to damp down the dust. So it was good to be playing again at such a convenient location right in the heart of Tokyo, even if the size of the pitch was a bit of a shock to the system for the Albion Old Boys, many of whom have spent the last few seasons playing almost all of their football on the rug-sized carpet of St Mary's.
Nevertheless it was Albion who started brighter, pinning the Panthers back in their own half and creating a series of good chances, so much so that it was obvious that the first goal was just a matter of time. Bit of a bugger though, that it was Panthers who scored it. A rare foray into the Albion half drew a needless foul out by the corner flag, and when the free kick was driven into the goalmouth some sloppy pachinko-style defending allowed a lurking Panther to bundle the ball over the Albion goal line.
This unexpected twist to the script knocked the Albion out of their stride for a while, and after squandering several more promising opportunities they went into half-time still trailing. The second half was similar story of constant Albion pressure, and eventually, despite some heroic work from the Panthers keeper, the equalizer came, as Mick O'Hagen got round the back of the Panther defence for the umpteenth time and crossed low and hard to leave Naoki Ogasawara with a comfortable tap-in from close range. The winner a few minutes later came from the same supply route, this time O'Hagen's cross being cleverly turned in at the near post by Kuni Hosoi. Albion will feel that they should have made the scoreline more comfortable, but the Panthers defended stoutly and their keeper had a blinder, so in the end it was a case of pocket the points then steam straight round to the park next door for curry and beers at the Indian Festival.
A solid performance from the Superannuated Superstars.
Report by Terry Cooney
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