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Misato, Sunday 7th October,
The Jets 2nds finally got their season underway, and did so in style in style, claiming a 4-0 victory over the Guarana Republic. Chris the Pied Piper led the Jets Rat-Pack safely through the caverns and crevasses of the bogged Misato pitch, as the Guaranese defence was led a merry dance of step-overs and fox-trotting. Although Chris was conducting the tune, there were also notable solo performances from Hiro in his first competitive game, and from Shinichi filling in at right back.
A long list of injuries from the Nagano Tournament had left the Jets 2nds without some of their core players, so the first half was a little bit shaky as the players tried to get used to playing with unfamiliar faces and a bumpy pitch churned up by the first team who played right before. There were some misplaced passes and risky balls across the defence, which gave the impression that the Jets could be in for an uncomfortable afternoon, and not just from the blazing sun scorching hairless heads.
However, as the half wore on, the Jets gradually exerted control, with Hiro looking a constant threat down the right and Chris and Calvin seeing plenty of the ball up front. The goal eventually came from the opposite flank, however, with Yasu setting up Piper for a goal that dismissed the nightmares lurking from a series of misses against Miyagi at the Nagano tournament the week before.
After the break, Frasier Gould was also given an opportunity to exorcise his “ghosts of Miyagi past” when a combination of luck and skill saw him goal-side of the keeper with an empty net at his mercy. Unfortunately it was the Guaraneses saying “merci” as he skewed his shot wide from a couple of feet out, the miss leaving him resorting to brags that his girlfriend is top of the fantasy football league in the post game banter.
By this point, Hiro had already put the Jets two up with a goal he deserved for his performance if not the shot itself. His trickery and turn of pace had seen him get in behind the Guarana defence all afternoon, and on this occasion, he worked his way into the area before hitting what can only be described as a “tame” shot. So tame that it deceived the keeper who dived way to early, thus letting the ball trickle under his body and into the net.
Now it was all the Jets and as the Saitama players gave themselves up to attacking abandon, chances were coming thick and fast. A series of planned and un-planned substitutions saw Piper switch between left wing and striker 5 times in as many minutes, and this uncanny ploy seem to leave the Guaranese unable to mark him as got in behind to fire home twice more for a superb hat-trick. 4-0, game over and a winning start for the 2nds.
Report by John Rayner
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