Tag Archives: Reds
PREVIEW May 12th 16:00 Urawa Reds v. Albirex Niigata at Saitama Stadium
Urawa Reds – FW Escudero is playing in training matches. MF Umesaki has a hamstring problem. FW Popo is considered doubtful.
Urawa Reds (P10 W5 D2 L3 GD +10) have only won one of their last four, losing at home to Marinos last week, while being held by Jubilo Iwata last time out. They suffer from a lack of a real striker, although Marcio Richardes and Popo do their best – it may not be enough to prolong an attack at the top spot. Genki Haraguchi scored a beautiful striker’s goal against Jubilo and, if he is fighting fit again, clear of injury, he will be a big addition to the Reds’ arsenal. The flat three at the back seems settled now, with Yuki Abe taking one of the two defensive midfield spots as opposed to a back line role. A wise decision, I believe.
Albirex Niigata (P10 W2 D2 L6 GD -5) have struggled, as expected, this season. The forward additions they have to rely on are Shoki Hirai – on loan from Gamba – and Kisho Yano – back from Europe with his tail between his legs. Neither have set the team alight as yet. They do have two away wins to show for themselves this season – at Cerezo and Sanfrecce, but Reds know that if they are to keep in touch with the top three they must win this kind of game. Winning one in the last four is just not good enough so EXPECT a BIG WIN for Urawa Reds!
Over the last decade Reds have won this meeting 15 times, while Albirex have won just twice, with two draws. Those two wins for Niigata came in J1 in 2006 and the Nabisco Cup in 2005.
May 6th, game 10, J1 – Another All-in-One J1 Round-Up This Weekend….
First, the results:
Vegalta Sendai 0-1 Shimizu S-Pulse
KashIwa Reysol 2-5 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Yokohama F.Marinos 2-1 Consadole Sapporo
Jubilo Iwata 2-2 Urawa Reds
Nagoya Grampus 2-3 Kawasaki Frontale
Cerezo Osaka 1-2 Vissel Kobe
Omiya Ardija 1-0 Gamba Osaka
Albirex Niigata 0-2 FC Tokyo
Kashima Antlers 0-0 Sagan Tosu
JSoccer.com featured game – Vegalta Sendai 0-1 Shimizu S-Pulse
It was 1st against 2nd in Sendai – a real six-pointer for S-Pulse, hoping to end Vegalta’s unbeaten campaign, and end it they did. As I predicted right here, and am proud of it! S-Pulse coach Afshin Ghotbi is getting together the right blend of youth, enthusiasm, grit and experience and making it into a team that can win the Championship. I know, because he told me so himself!
Today the Shizuoka team started with the Tiny Twins up front – Takagi and Omae, persisted with Hayashi in goal – who must now feel that spot is his own, even with a national team keeper on the bench – and were boosted by the return of Alex Brosque after suspension.
After a bright start the game was delayed for 45 minutes when a lightning storm lit up the sky and hailstones rained down upon the heads of the players!
Upon the restart, just after the half hour mark, a Sekiguchi volley gave keeper Hayashi problems but he got in the way of Wilson’s follow-up. Moments later a Takagi deep cross was delicately volleyed by Omae, but was an easy stop for the Sendai keeper, also Hayashi! In the 39th minute, the same combination broke the deadlock as Takagi’s inswinging cross was met perfectly by Omae who headed the ball down and past the keeper to make it 1-0 at the break.
Despite end to end action and half chances for both teams, the score remained the same into the 68th minute when Jong-a-Pin was shown his second yellow card for bringing down Wilson on the edge of the area….. S-Pulse had their work cut out for the final 20 minutes if they were to hold on to the points! Bit hold on they did, with Hayashi making saves from Muto and Wilson in the final minutes to end Sendai’s unbeaten run, and cut their lead at the top of J1 to within one win. Look out for S-Pulse to be taking over the reins an week now!
KashIwa Reysol 2-5 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Sanfrecce kept apace with S-Pulse, hoping for a shot at the top, by thrashing Reysol, away! Goals came from Hisashi Sato – hitting the nine goal mark for the season already, with a goal in each half – putting Hiroshima 2-0 in the lead before Reysol seemed to have got back into he game through Junya Tanaka – with a goal the likes of Didier Drogba or Robin van Persie would have been proud of a minute after coming on as a substitiute – and Jorge Wagner. And then, with five minutes to go, Takahagi got on the end of a Mikic cross to take Sanfrecce into the lead again and the game was put away with two goals in additional time by Ishihara.
Yokohama F.Marinos 2-1 Consadole Sapporo
Oguro spurned three decent chances before Saito cleaned up his third mistake and Nakamura blasted home the loose ball. Furuta equalised for the away team before Taniguchi headed home the winner in the 78th minute to make it three wins-in-row Marinos.
Jubilo Iwata 2-2 Urawa Reds
Jubilo got their goals on a brace of headers from Baek. Makino scored a reflexive equaliser before a fine drag back, turn, and perfectly placed shot from Haraguchi gave Reds the lead. Baek’s second gave Jubilo the point.
Nagoya Grampus 2-3 Kawasaki Frontale
Tasaka opened the scoring for Frontale, Kennedy blasted a left foot rocket from 25 yards to equalize and Kengo Nakamura supplied Ohshima for the header to make it 2-1. All this up to the 14th minute! Ohshima scored his second on the stroke of half time, slipping the ball through the keeper’s legs at the near post after another fine ball from Nakamura. Half time 1-3.
In the 70th minute Fujimoto’s deflected shot pulled the deficit back to one goal but the away team held on for the valuable win.
Cerezo Osaka 1-2 Vissel Kobe
Vissel made it two wins in a row under interim coach Adachi through a Yoshida PK and a fine left footed grass cutter from Nozawa, while Cerezo scored through a Kim PK. Vissel keeper Tokushige denied Fujimoto from point blank range in the closing minutes as Vissel held on for their 5th win of the season.
Omiya Ardija 1-0 Gamba Osaka
Kurata struck the bar from close range and Abe stung the keeper’s fingers with a long range blast in the first half, before Endo missed a point blank, but admittedly bouncing and difficult header in the 2nd half. Gamba could have sewn up the points before a Carlinhos shot ricocheted fortunately, for Omiya anyway, over the centre backs, and Cho and Higashi fought over the scraps before the Korean slotted in the winning goal through the legs of the onrushing Kimura in the Gamba goal. Sasaki created space brilliantly with an overhead flick and turn on the right wing and his cross just evaded Sato when it seemed a goal was on the cards. It was not Gamba’s day!
Albirex Niigata 0-2 FC Tokyo
After a goalless first half Kajiyama volleyed home the opening goal from a pinpoint cross from the right wing just after the restart and Yazawa sealed the points after a defensive mistake left him wide open in the 71st minute.
Kashima Antlers 0-0 Sagan Tosu
A goalless first half, with little action to speak of gave way to a more open 2nd half with Koroki spurning a breakaway chance in the 50th minute for Antlers, before Toyoda created space intelligently on the turn in the 61st minute, but is shot went narrowly wide. The same player was denied by the keeper in the 68th minute too, before Antlers’ sub Okamoto saw a header cleared off the line by the Tosu defence with the final play of the game.
PREVIEW – Jubilo Iwata v. Urawa Reds – May 6th
Jubilo Iwata – MF Kosuke Yamamoto is suspended. GK Kawaguchi out for at least 4 more months.
Urawa Reds – MF Kashiwagi is doubtful with a left leg injury. MF Naoki Yamada is out, probably for the season.
Both teams lost, perhaps unexpectedly, last time out and will be looking to bounce back from those defeats. Jubilo Iwata (P9 W$ D2 L3 GD +1) have lost two in a row, and conceded seven goals in the process and have only won one in the last five – that a 1-0 win over a struggling Marinos – and loo to be settling into the season of mediocrity that I predicted for them after a start that saw them rack up points, if not with decent displays! They have dropped to 7th and seem to be on a downward spiral now. Don’t expect them to come out of it this week.
Urawa Reds (P9 W5 D1 L3 GD +3) must be very disappointed after losing their Saitama Derby to Omiya Ardija, but bouncing back to beat fancied Nagoya Grampus, only to lose again last time out to lowly Yokohama F.Marinos! Reds may well be challenging Cerezo Osaka for the title of most inconsistent J1 team this season! Coach Petrovic’s three-man defence has only conceded nine goals in nine games, but the team has only scored 12 goals and really have to hope that the resurgent form of Marcio Richardes continues, as well as hoping that Genki Haraguchi returns to the form and fitness that had him challenging for a place in the national team, and certainly for the London Olympics. Expect a Win for Urawa Reds!
Reds have ten wins, to Jubilo’s seven, with four draws over the years, but Reds have not won this fixture since 2009!
PREVIEW – Urawa Reds v. Yokohama F. Marinos – May 3rd
Reds Too Strong For Marinos!
Team News
Urawa Reds – Naoki Yamada is a long-term injury absentee
Yomokaha F.Marinos – Tomisawa is suspended. DF Amano is a long term absentee through injury. Marquinos in training but will not be match fit even if available.
Match Preview
Last time out both teams were successful and both need wins to keep up the momentum gaimed. Urawa Reds (P8 W5 D1 L2 GD +4) line up in equal 2nd place on goal difference after two seasons of struggle and a win here would keep them in touch with leqders Sendai. Coach Petrovic’s three back system has been picked up quickly by the players and it now seems that key player Yuki Abe has settled at defensive midfield after being tried atnentre back. The re-emergence of Tsuboi in the back three has helped that choice.
Yokohama F.Marinos (P8 W1 D4 L3 GD -2) finally won their first game of the season last time out, against Vissel Kobe, with three goals in a seven minute spell. The fnishing was good, but the msrking was suddenly slack and, while a win will do the team wonders, there was little changed in their perfromance, some fans might well have been disappointed that the win meant that their coach was not fired, as must be being considered, even now. Perhaps a delay of the inevitable, as they will struggle to come out of this game with anything.
EXPECT a WIN for URAWA REDS!
Head to Head
Ten wins for Reds, nine for Marinos and five draws in 24 J1 and Nabisco Cup meetings. Both 2011 meetings were away wins.
Nagoya Grampus 1-2 Urawa Reds – April 28th
Grampus lined up in a 3-2-2-2-1 to counter Urawa’s 3-2-3-2 line-up, which was an interesting tactic from home coach Stoijkovic, but it didn’t pay off as Marcio Richardes opened the scoring in the 23rd minute from 18 yards after a run across the top of the area was not closed down in some slack defending. Four minutes later Tulio headed down a cross and Kanazaki was there to flick it over the keeper to make it 1-1 at the break.
Reds won the game in the 68th minute on a Marcio Richardes PK after Hayuma Tanaka handled the ball – and got his second yellow card in the process – replays clearly showed the hand to ball and a deserved PK. Tulio almost pulled a point back with minutes to go but the keeper made a desperate one-handed save at his left post and Reds rebounded from their Saitama Derby defeat last week.