Nabisco Cup Semi Final, 1st Leg, September 5, 2012, Ajinomoto Stadium
Proud of Our Orange Soldiers…
I am proud of our integrity, sportsmanship and honesty. Not once, but many times this season we have experienced unjust decisions and unsporting behavior. We have always kept close to our heart the true spirit of competition, and never sacrificed our integrity for the thrill of a victory. Winning games at any cost is against the spirit of the beautiful game, and it sends the wrong message on behalf of our sport to the entire globe. Children are watching with open eyes, copying every action and reaction of their heroes. We have a responsibility to set the right example, and I hope we remind ourselves of this fact every time we step across the line.
We started the game well with an attacking attitude seeking victory and away goals. Takagi suffered a hamstring injury in the early minutes of the game, and we were forced to use our first substitute after 14 minutes. We came close several times, before a well executed free-kick earned us the first goal of the match. The goal was tagged as an own goal, but Lee Ki Je’s service to a soaring Kim Hyun Sung, who headed the ball back to the middle of goal, was met by our own Hiraoka and Tokuunaga of F.C. Tokyo. We almost doubled the lead soon after on efforts from Nabeta and Kim Hyun Sung, as they both came close.
F.C. Tokyo broke through in the 35th minute as Ishikawa sprinted behind our defense. I had no doubt he was offside, as I had a perfect view from the technical area. Ishikawa ran free behind our defense and cleverly served the ball to the top of the penalty box and found the onrushing Kajiyama, free and open. His first touch blast beat Yamamoto just under the cross bar. Half time came with the scores level, and we felt we were the better side and could get the valuable away victory. F.C. Tokyo out played us in the opening minutes of the second half, but several reaction saves from Yamamoto inspired us to raise our concentration. We started to control the game, and the Kim Hyun Sung and Genki Omae had the best chances to give us the lead. At the other end, Yuichi Maruyama took a dive in the 79th minute – by kicking his own leg – deceiving the referee Mr. Yoshida into pointing to the spot, as well as yellow carding Kawai and eliminating him from the 2nd leg game. The experienced Lucas made no mistake from the spot and gave F.C. Tokyo the lead. Our players were too frustrated and cheated to stage a comeback in the final 10 minutes.
The away goal will be valuable, and down 1-2 we have everything to play for. The 2nd leg will be held on Saturday, October 13th at Outsourcing Stadium. A clean sheet victory will be enough to qualify us to the final. I hope you will join me for our quest for the Nabisco Cup.