Heracles 2-1 Willem II
Sota Hirayama scored the winning goal in the second half of the game. A through pass allowed for a cross from the right that met Hirayama on the far. He dropped the ball with his chest and met the second bounce with an angled shot off his right foot. Nice finish and result for the team, and a good finish from Sota to keep him on the starting eleven.
Celtic Out of Scottish Cup
Unfortunately, it will not be a triple crown year for the Bhoys. Their game against semi-pro (or may as well be) Clyde ended with an astonishing loss for the league frontrunners. Bad pitch conditions and an opponent who ran Celtic ragged kept Shunsuke Nakamura and his teammates off their game. Though Celtic have been priding themselves on playing their style of football this season, keeping the ball low and playing with possession, it was not in effect this game. Because of way the opponent played and the bad turf, it may have been wiser to play more of an aerial game. Anyway, it is a disappointment that they could not come through with the dramatic last-minute performances of their previous two games.
Nakamura's website message after the Hearts game last week (rough translation): "This week was against Hearts. Usually even in away games, there are Celtic supporters throughout the stadium; but this time it looked like they were confined to the area behind the goal. We were surrounded by Hearts supporters, and it reminded me of the Seria A games. I think the referee was also a bit overwhelmed by the atmosphere.
As for the game, we allowed two goals early in the first half. We still had a lot of time left, so even down by two we could play without losing our heads. Though the first half ended 0-2, there was not one player on our team that went to the lockerooms looking deflated. During halftime, we told each other to speed up the timing of our movement, and increase the rhythm of our passing. We didn't lose our focus during halftime, and the second half was controlled by Celtic.
First Pearson got us a goal very early in the 2nd half, so we were then down by only 1. And then from there, we couldn't quite find the goal, but we kept our patience and I think that was what won it for us at the end of the day. One of the opponent defenders got sent off, and after that our manager changed our system from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3. This worked perfectly. And in the end of the second half, we were able to come back with two goals off set pieces and win.
Actually, the practice session the day before the game, we added 30 minutes to our usual session and reconfirmed our set-pieces. So I was especially happy that something that we practiced brought good results during the actual game. This win allows us a 7 point difference with 2nd place Hearts, but I hope to continue to perform with the team looking at only the game directly in front of us, one game at a time."
Le Mans 2-0 Metz
Le Mans 0-1 Rennes
Daisuke Matsui started for the fifth and sixth games in a row. Against Metz, he sent a vertical pass up the left side which was crossed and headed in by his teammates for one of the goals. Le Mans are currently in 12th place (ie. last place). Allez, Le Mans!!
Le Mans' hopes at the Coupe de France were also dashed when they were defeated 1-0 by Lens.
Oguro at Grenoble
Masashi Oguro made his first attempt en francais this week when he greeted the media at his press conference at Grenoble. He introduced himself, with his nickname "Oguri", and said that his only aim was to score goals. Things will no doubt be difficult for him in the coming months -- getting used the way the team plays, communicating in French, etc. He is also still recovering from his ankle sprain, but reports say he should be good to go in a week.
>>Click to see Grenoble Foot videos of his arrival and press conference
Ogasawara UK Mini-Trip Ends
Westham have announced that they will not pursue a contract with Kashima midfielder Mitsuo Ogasawara. Oga was at Westham this week, training with the team and getting checked out by the club, but I guess he did not show the kind of presence Westham was looking for. Still, it was a really good experience for him I think -- he tends to be a bit coddled in Japan.
Suzuki Abroad?
Kashima Antlers admitted that they received a fax from Crvena Zvezda Beograd (Red Star Belgrade) this week regarding their interest in acquiring NT forward Takayuki Suzuki. Suzuki has been struggling at Kashima and on the NT of late, and Kashima said that they would first ask Suzuki how he felt about the possibility of his move to the famed Serbia Montenegro club. Suzuki is not unused to moving around -- and my guess is that if there are not personal life issues hindering his decision he would be likely to take the offer. I just want him to "find himself" again... And if Red Star appreciates what he has to offer and gives him a decent amount of playing time it would be a worthwhile challenge for him.
Koji, yes or no? to Israel
Koji Nakata visited Israel club Betar Jerusalem to check things out, but he told the press that he was "only looking". One of his concerns was that Israel was a dangerous place to live, but his visit seemed to have at least changed his opinion on that front. Kashima Antlers are still keen on getting their former captain back, but because Marseille got Koji without having to pay a single Yen in transfer fees, Kashima is looking to regain Koji without having to fork over anything themselves. Betar Jerusalem, however, is mumbling something about Yen100 million...
Ono and Takahara: No news is not good news
Nothing developing with regard to possible transfers for Shinji Ono or Naohiro Takahara... There was some talk that Bundesliga's Frankfurt may have been interested in Taka, but basically nothing really concrete.
Sota Hirayama scored the winning goal in the second half of the game. A through pass allowed for a cross from the right that met Hirayama on the far. He dropped the ball with his chest and met the second bounce with an angled shot off his right foot. Nice finish and result for the team, and a good finish from Sota to keep him on the starting eleven.
Celtic Out of Scottish Cup
Unfortunately, it will not be a triple crown year for the Bhoys. Their game against semi-pro (or may as well be) Clyde ended with an astonishing loss for the league frontrunners. Bad pitch conditions and an opponent who ran Celtic ragged kept Shunsuke Nakamura and his teammates off their game. Though Celtic have been priding themselves on playing their style of football this season, keeping the ball low and playing with possession, it was not in effect this game. Because of way the opponent played and the bad turf, it may have been wiser to play more of an aerial game. Anyway, it is a disappointment that they could not come through with the dramatic last-minute performances of their previous two games.
Nakamura's website message after the Hearts game last week (rough translation): "This week was against Hearts. Usually even in away games, there are Celtic supporters throughout the stadium; but this time it looked like they were confined to the area behind the goal. We were surrounded by Hearts supporters, and it reminded me of the Seria A games. I think the referee was also a bit overwhelmed by the atmosphere.
As for the game, we allowed two goals early in the first half. We still had a lot of time left, so even down by two we could play without losing our heads. Though the first half ended 0-2, there was not one player on our team that went to the lockerooms looking deflated. During halftime, we told each other to speed up the timing of our movement, and increase the rhythm of our passing. We didn't lose our focus during halftime, and the second half was controlled by Celtic.
First Pearson got us a goal very early in the 2nd half, so we were then down by only 1. And then from there, we couldn't quite find the goal, but we kept our patience and I think that was what won it for us at the end of the day. One of the opponent defenders got sent off, and after that our manager changed our system from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3. This worked perfectly. And in the end of the second half, we were able to come back with two goals off set pieces and win.
Actually, the practice session the day before the game, we added 30 minutes to our usual session and reconfirmed our set-pieces. So I was especially happy that something that we practiced brought good results during the actual game. This win allows us a 7 point difference with 2nd place Hearts, but I hope to continue to perform with the team looking at only the game directly in front of us, one game at a time."
Le Mans 2-0 Metz
Le Mans 0-1 Rennes
Daisuke Matsui started for the fifth and sixth games in a row. Against Metz, he sent a vertical pass up the left side which was crossed and headed in by his teammates for one of the goals. Le Mans are currently in 12th place (ie. last place). Allez, Le Mans!!
Le Mans' hopes at the Coupe de France were also dashed when they were defeated 1-0 by Lens.
Oguro at Grenoble
Masashi Oguro made his first attempt en francais this week when he greeted the media at his press conference at Grenoble. He introduced himself, with his nickname "Oguri", and said that his only aim was to score goals. Things will no doubt be difficult for him in the coming months -- getting used the way the team plays, communicating in French, etc. He is also still recovering from his ankle sprain, but reports say he should be good to go in a week.
>>Click to see Grenoble Foot videos of his arrival and press conference
Ogasawara UK Mini-Trip Ends
Westham have announced that they will not pursue a contract with Kashima midfielder Mitsuo Ogasawara. Oga was at Westham this week, training with the team and getting checked out by the club, but I guess he did not show the kind of presence Westham was looking for. Still, it was a really good experience for him I think -- he tends to be a bit coddled in Japan.
Suzuki Abroad?
Kashima Antlers admitted that they received a fax from Crvena Zvezda Beograd (Red Star Belgrade) this week regarding their interest in acquiring NT forward Takayuki Suzuki. Suzuki has been struggling at Kashima and on the NT of late, and Kashima said that they would first ask Suzuki how he felt about the possibility of his move to the famed Serbia Montenegro club. Suzuki is not unused to moving around -- and my guess is that if there are not personal life issues hindering his decision he would be likely to take the offer. I just want him to "find himself" again... And if Red Star appreciates what he has to offer and gives him a decent amount of playing time it would be a worthwhile challenge for him.
Koji, yes or no? to Israel
Koji Nakata visited Israel club Betar Jerusalem to check things out, but he told the press that he was "only looking". One of his concerns was that Israel was a dangerous place to live, but his visit seemed to have at least changed his opinion on that front. Kashima Antlers are still keen on getting their former captain back, but because Marseille got Koji without having to pay a single Yen in transfer fees, Kashima is looking to regain Koji without having to fork over anything themselves. Betar Jerusalem, however, is mumbling something about Yen100 million...
Ono and Takahara: No news is not good news
Nothing developing with regard to possible transfers for Shinji Ono or Naohiro Takahara... There was some talk that Bundesliga's Frankfurt may have been interested in Taka, but basically nothing really concrete.
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