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Hanno, Sunday 14th September
After a well-deserved mauling by the Panthers in their first league outing, the Saitama Jets 2nds returned to form with a 3-0 win over the hapless Guarana Republic. Having squeezed past the men in green 4-0 and 3-0 last season, the Jets could be forgiven for starting this game full of confidence. In fact, for the first 15 or 20 minutes, Guarana barely got out of their own half. The Jets bossed the midfield, with Denis Isakov and new boy Lee Goldfarb linking up well, and Nate Gildart and Fraser Gould looking hungry up front. Hiro Yamakawa's return from injury was welcome, and Garner managed to move from walking pace to a brisk trot occasionally as well. We created chance after chance, but the final ball or shot couldn't match some nice build-up play. This early dominance deserved a goal, and when it eventually did come, it was from an unlikely source. Denis was released down the right, and did well to pull the ball back for supporting right-back Justin Lancaster. Justin's cross, reminiscent of Paul Konchesky's in the Cup Final a couple of years ago (West Ham fans will remember), floated over everyone, including the G.R. keeper, and nestled in the top corner. A touch fortunate, perhaps, but a deserved lead nonetheless.
A funny thing then happened. The Jets cavalry, in the shape of the 5 lads who had got caught in traffic, arrived, and the Jets duly collapsed. Actually, most of the midfield ran out of puff and decided to have a collective breather just as the Guarana blokes picked up their game. The rest of the first half proved uncomfortable for the Jets, and keeper Sean was called on to punch clear or scare their forwards with a well-timed growl on a number of occasions. Guarana's best chance came when Masato's clearing header smacked straight off Bentz's nose into the path of a forward, about six yards from goal. He carefully picked his spot before stroking the ball 3 feet wide of the post.
The Jets changed shape a little in the second half, rotated our subs well, and gained control once more. Chris Piper put in a good shift on the left, and the additions of John Rayner and Spencer Fancutt led to a bit more stability. We still continued making but missing chances, with the two forwards kicking themselves that they didn't have their shooting boots on. Gildart did make it on to the score sheet, in slightly controversial fashion. A Jets corner from the right was cleared out to Rayner, who clipped a cheeky little angled ball back over the Guarana defence. Nate ran on to it, from behind the defenders, but the defence was so static that by the time the striker controlled and shot, he looked a mile or two off. The ref, thankfully, had some understanding of the offside rule and allowed the goal to stand.
A third looked likely, and when it came it was a peach. Garner launched a cross-field pass from the right-hand side into the path of the marauding Piper. Chris controlled well before smuggling a shot past the Guarana keeper at his near post. The same two players tried to repeat the trick just moments later, but this time Piper's ambitious volley flew harmlessly over the bar.
Overall, this was a decent display by the Jets seconds. The defence did well in front of Sean, especially in that Guarana purple patch before half time. We looked creative, if a little short of fitness, in midfield, and we have a couple of strikers always likely to cause problems if we can get them in the game.
The ref, Paul, also had a fine game. He was calmness personified throughout, ignoring the hysterical rolling around of one or two of the Guarana lads as well as the hysterical appealing from the Jets on a couple of occasions. Nice job, fella.
Report by Gary Garner
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