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Horisaki Koen Tues, 3rd November.
On the national day of culture in Japan, what could be more cultural than a game of footy? With players from all over the globe exchanging well-known expletives and a few previously unknown hand gestures.
Horisaki Koen was the venue for this third division meeting between Robert Walter’s Clash and King George F.C. By 7pm there was a chill in the air which gave a timely reminder that winter is quickly closing in and we shouldn’t leave our Xmas shopping too late.
7:10pm kick-off and both teams started brightly with RWC looking the more dangerous in the opening tete-a-tete, their centre-forwards holding the ball up well for their team-mates to join the attack. The George gradually began to establish themselves with a few forays into the opposition half coupled with some neat passing in midfield. Suddenly the game sprang to life as ball and players darted from end to end, with one spectator exclaiming “What a game for the neutrals!”, unfortunately there were no neutrals on hand and for those with a vested interest it was heart-in-mouth time.
Both teams battled tremendously hard but created few clear-cut chances. One golden opportunity however was spurned when the ever-young and part-time Mel Gibson lookalike Ben Steinson mistimed his header from close-range following an explosive run and cross down the right by Alex Conidi. Shortly after Sean Carol, with almost lupine instinct, flashed a shot across RWC goal that was narrowly off target. RWC managed a few shots from distance but none of them managed to trouble 3rd choice keeper (Jaz injured, Bauer recording a studio album) Tomoki “Any Position” too much. The real talking point of the half was when Chris “Pimp my Shinpad” looped the ball over the hapless keeper from distance into the back of the net only to be dubiously flagged offside. The half ended with King George in the ascendency, but at 0-0 it was still anyone’s game.
As the second-half kicked off RWC showed immediately that they wanted the points. Slick passing and some occasional flashes of skill pinned the George back in their own half for much of the opening 10 minutes. Good work down the left from RWC lead to a cross being whipped in and finding the head of one of their forwards who sent the ball towards the bottom right corner. Some RWC players were already celebrating a goal, and in truth some George players were sighing. Thankfully one man was not yet ready to concede and at the last moment Tomoki flew to his right, seemingly mocking the pull of gravity as he did so, and calmly palmed the ball away which was then cleared hurriedly. That good work down the left was then followed by an incisive break down the right by RWC culminating in a near miss. These two spurned chances coming within minutes of each other were however to prove a turning point.
As King George began to find more joy down the flanks the game became stretched. One King George attack resulted in a corner which was duly floated in by Sean and then cleared by the RWC defence, but only as far as the corner-taker. Sean controlled the ball past a defender and hit a cross-cum-shot that found its way past the keeper and nestled into the net. 1-0 King George.
Perhaps a dropping of heads following the opening goal led to the supremacy that King George’s midfield enjoyed, or perhaps it was just tired legs following their earlier exertions, but RWC didn’t really look like they wanted to get back in the game. The second goal came in the shape of super-sub and Bruce Lee lookalike Takeshi Koketsu who latched onto a Katsu through ball from the right to slot the ball calmly past the onrushing keeper from outside the box. 2-0 King George. There were some in the ground calling for a yellow card following Takeshi’s camp celebrations (mostly his teammates) but thankfully the referee decided to let this particular dog have his day.
As legs tired both defences became more and more accommodating to opposition attacks. As the George fashioned a good chance out on the left the ball broke outside the box to Alex Conidi and he coolly chipped the ball over the keeper into an unguarded net to complete the scoring and all-action display. What had been a committed performance by both teams petered out, and after the final whistle both teams knew they had given their all. The score line may slightly deceive the reader into thinking this wasn’t a close game, but another night the scores could’ve been different. The George buoyed by this win will go into the cup game against 1st Division FC Sala full of the confidence that such a good team performance breeds.
Report by Ben Steinson
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