Tag Archives: Akamine

Previews

J1 Preview Nov.7th 19.00 – Vegalta Sendai vs Cerezo Osaka at Yurtec

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Team News – Cerezo Osaka – no players suspended, no injuries reported!
Vegalta Sendai – DF/MF Kakuda is suspended. No reported injuries.

Head to Head – 2009 J2 since Cerezo won this match. In 19 games since 2003, Sendai have won 9, Cerezo 5, with 5 draws.

Match Preview – Vegalta Sendai know that the J.League Championship is, again, in their own hands. Repeated dropped points by all three top teams has left the title race close and, with four games to go, the top two teams are still locked together, clear of the chasing Urawa Reds. But Shimizu S-Pulse may yet have a say! Cerezo are in better form that Vegalta, and, barring ridiculous mathematical combinations of results, must be safe. So no pressure and a good game from them or no pressure, so they relax and give it away. Which Cerezo will turn up today?

Vegalta Sendai have home advantage and know they MUST win this, considering that their rivals for the title have Consadole Sapporo as opponents today. Akamine is in fine form and Wilson has found his touch again, recently. Surprisingly enough, Vegalta do not seem to have missed the in and out form (and injury) of Sekiguchi, who was touted as the next player to go overseas last season. Tehir deoth may help in the last few games. EXPECT a WIN for VEGALTA SENDAI!

In the Mix, Previews

J1 Preview – Vegalta Sendai vs Gamba Osaka at Yurtec Stadium – Oct.6, Matchday 28

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Team News
Vegalta Sendai – DF Kamata is suspended. MF Sekiguchi is very doubtful.
Gamba Osaka – Long term injuries GK Kimura, DFs Nakazawa, Eduardo and FW Kawanishi are all, no new injuries reported.

Head to Head – with Vegalta only returning to J1 in 2010 there have only been 5 meetings since then, 2 wins for Gamba, 1 for Vegalta and 2 draws. In the 2003 season each team won the away leg of their games!

Match Preview – Vegalta Sendai were beaten at S-Pulse last weekend and GK Hayashi had a nightmare, the confidence will be shot, the pressure is on to claw back the five point deficit at the top and who is visiting? Gamba Osaka, who hit five goals past Reds and Grampus away in recent games. Sendai do have the experience of falling from grace in the final weeks of the season (see 2011) so will that see them know what to avoid? A slow start, followed by a decent period after settling in, saw Wilson hit the net regularly, but he has stalled again now that other teams know what to expect and his failure to score puts it all on the shoulders of Akamine. If the porous Gamba defence can keep Akamine under wraps, the game is as good as theirs.
Gamba Osaka have not lost a game that Leandro has started in – since he arrived he has scored 11 goals in nine games – missing the 4-1 defeat to Sagan Tosu. If Leandro is fit and firing on all cylinders expect J1’s top-scoring team (54 goals, from 16th spot?!) to add a few more, but, as always we can’t expect a clean sheet for Gamba can we!? It looks tough on paper for Gamba, but they have performed better away from home against the top teams! EXPECT a high-scoring game and a WIN for GAMBA OSAKA!

Previews

J1 Preview Aug.18th – 19:00 Vegalta Sendai vs Kashiwa Reysol at Yurtec

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Vegalta Sendai – DF Kakuda is out for at least a month.

Kashiwa Reysol – MF Leandro Domingues is suspended. DF Fujita out for a month.

6 wins for Reysol, 4 for Vegalta, and just one draw in 11.

this is a BIG game for both teams. Kashiwa Reysol can continue their impressive rise up the table after their bad start – now just 5 points off the top, a win here will draw them level with today’s opponents and prove their credentials. A loss will allow Sendai to pull away from Reysol, but Reysol have drawn their last two, while Sendai lost to bottom club Sapporo last weekend, so both teams will be pulling out all of the stops.

Reysol will be missing influential midfielder Leandro Domingues to suspension and may well be settling for a draw by the time Sendai have pulled out all THEIR stops! If Akamine, Wilson and Ota can take their chances Vegalta could take this, especially with home support, but Sendai have not won in four games but still remain in 2nd place… will a draw be the best these two teams can do today? EXPECT a DRAW!

Reports

Sagan Tosu v. Vegalta Sendai – preview May 3rd

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Tosu to Hold the Top Club?

Sagan Tosu – Kim Min Woo is suspended. MF Takahashi out for at least another month.
Vegalta Sendai – Akamine still missing.

Vegalta Sendai (P8 W7 D1 L0 GD +13) are runaway leaders after eight games, SIX points clear of Sanfrecce and Reds and with a much better goal difference. The question everyone is asking is can they keep it up? Will there be another new name on the trophy at the end of the season? Time will tell, but the pressure will begin to grow for the top team as the season progresses. If Sekiguchi remains in form and Ota and Akamine keep putting away chances, it will be progressively harder for teams to catch Vegalta as they run away at the top.
Sagan Tosu are this year’s surprise team so far. In their first season in J1, they have confounded the critics and sit in 5th place, just two points off 2nd and do not look like the relegation contenders that many took them for this campaign. Last time out they held 2011 champions Reysol away from home and I think they can also hold the top team! EXPECT A LOW SCORING DRAW!

23 meetings between these teams, all in J2 so far, have produced only one draw! 13 wins for Sendai, nine for Sagan. This will be their first meeting in J1.

Reports

Albirex Niigata 0-1 Vegalta Sendai – April 28th

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For unbeaten Sendai, Akamine was out with a muscle strain so in came veteran Yanagisawa to partner Wilson upfront. The talking point came in the 6th minute when a cleared free kick fell to Naoki Ishikawa who deftly half-volleyed the ball home only to see the goal disallowed for an offside flag. The problem was that Daisuke Suzuki was blocking the keeper’s view – good to see the officials get the difficult and unusual decision correct.
It was Suzuki involved in the key decision of the game, and another talking point as, with minutes to go, the defender shoved Wilson in the back and a PK was awarded which the Brazilian duly converted to keep Vegalta well clear at the top of J1.
Albirex coach Kurosaki said the ref was “subarashii”, fantastic! Sarcasm in Japan, whatever next?!