Tag Archives: Higashi

Previews

Shimizu S-Pulse vs Omiya Ardija at Outsourcing 15.30, Dec.1st

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Team News
Shimizu S-Pulse – DF Yoshida is suspended, MF Hattanda is doubtful with an injury.
Omiya Ardija – no injuries or suspensions.

Head to Head – 9 wins for S-Pulse, 4 for Ardija, and 5 draws since 2005.

Match Preview – Omiya Ardija have put a superb run together and are now safe in J1 for another season of struggle in 2013 – or are they? Will they finally improve next season or will they mess it up, again? Survive, and shoot themselves in the foot! Many fans feel that the biggest improvement has been Komoto at centre back and, if all is well he will hold off the S-Pulse attack today, while the likes of Cho and Higashi finally live up to their potential! Another win against S-Pulse and the team can go out on a high for the season – unbeaten since two defeats to Sanfrecce and Vegalta way back in August – and try to build on that.

Shimizu S-Pulse’s youngsters have buckled since the Nabisco Cup final defeat and seem to have given up the ghost going on recent results. Having said that, coach Afshin Ghotbi stated that their performance in the defeat to Kawasaki Frontale last weekend was one of their best in a long time but, nevertheless they have gone down to three league defeats in a row and are ending their season on a down. If the team stay together there will a decent season to look forward to but, for now, the team may well have their focus on the Emperor’s Cup? EXPECT a DRAW!

Previews

J1 Preview – Sat. Sept.15th – 18:30 Omiya Ardija vs Sagan Tosu at Kumagaya

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Omiya Ardija – DF Kataoka is out for a month
Sagan Tosu – DF Kitani still out.

6 wins for Ardija, 1 for Tosu and 2 draws, all in J2 since 2003 except for this season’s 1-1 draw in Tosu.

Omiya Ardija find themselves in a must-win game today, and in the next ten, too! They managed to hold Urawa Reds in the Saitama Derby last week, even going down to ten men early on, but anything can happen in Derby matches… can they beat the mean defence of Sagan Tosu, especially as Sagan will be looking to get back on the winning track after losing out in a shock to Kamatamare Sanuki – at home – last week in the Emperor’s Cup.

Ardija are now showing a much worse goal difference than Albirex and Gamba, which may hurt them on the final day – they need to score more goals, concede less goals and, of course, rack up some points, fast, if they are to have any chance of continuing their run in the top division. I can not see this happening, certainly not against one of the meanest defences in the J.League and a team who were stung last week and will be looking to make amends.

Neither team has suspension or major injury problems, but Omiya are getting enough from their new players, while the great hope for this season, Cho, is struggling with consistency, also. Carlinhos seems to have settled in and Higashi is back from London 2012 firing on all cylinders – he scored the equaliser last week. But two players do not a team make!
EXPECT a WIN for SAGAN TOSU!

Previews

J1 Preview Aug.25th – 19:00 Omiya Ardija vs Vegalta Sendai at NACK 5

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Omiya Ardija – MF Murakami and FW Shimizu both injured.
Vegalta Sendai have no injuries or suspensions to report.

Head to Head – 5 wins for Sendai, 3 for Ardija and 2 draws in 10 meetings since 2004.

Omiya pulled off an away win at FC Tokyo last weekend after losing three of their last four before that, while conceding 11 goals. The three points from their FC Tokyo win were vital with Gamba Osaka finally coming good and it is going to be a long struggle for survival in the coming weeks of this 2012 season. The return of Higashi from London 2012, and the instant success of new Slovenian striker Novakovic, who scored the winner last week after coming on as a substitute all helped, but hosting the team in 2nd place will not help them this week. A tough match is in store. On loan centre back Komoto – from Vissel Kobe – will be trying hard to have an impact and prove he is worth a place at Vissel, or a transfer fee for Omiya.
Vegalta Sendai have faltered, as they did last summer – when they saw themselves drop from the top with a winless string of results – and are currently four points off the top spot now, having seen four draws and a loss in their last five outings. Six teams must realistically fancy their chances of overhauling Sendai for the 2nd spot soon, so the team really have to pull out all the stops and get back to winning ways. Poor Omiya may be their victims as they come good this weekend.
Expect a WIN for VEGALTA SENDAI!

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J1 Preview Aug.18th – 18:30 FC Tokyo vs Omiya Ardija at Ajinomoto

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FC Tokyo – DF Kaga is suspended, MF Yazawa has moved to JEF United. GK Gonda and DF Tokunaga are back from the Olympics. MF Otake is out for the season. DF Jang out for three months. MF Hanyu out for at least two more weeks. Kawano added to the injury list with left leg injury.

Omiya Ardija – MF Higashi is back from the Olympics. MF Murakami out for at least two months. FW Shimizu is out for about one month.

10 wins for FC Tokyo, just 3 for Omiya and 1 draw since 2005. 2 of those 3 wins were in 2006 and 2007 for Omiya… form is with Tokyo.

Returning hero Higashi is back from the Olympics although he appeared to be carrying an injury in the final and may not be 100%. Carlinhos was suspended last week and returns so one will presume Ardija think they are in better shape than last week. Suffice to say, if they do not win and some of the teams around them win, Ardija slip deeper into trouble.

FC Tokyo have drawn with Reysol and Reds in the last two games, but lost to Niigata and Tosu before that. They have not won since five games back. They have an extensive injury list but will be looking for a win to ensure they do not get dragged into the relegation zone, which would be easy with a run of three or four bad results. This will be a catalyst to a WIN for FC TOKYO!

Previews

PREVIEW May 12th 14:00 Sagan Tosu v. Omiya Ardija at Best Amenity Stadium

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Sagan Tosu – FW Toyoda is suspended, will be missed. DF Otani and MF Takahashi are long term injuries.

Toyoda will be a big miss for Sagan Tosu (P10 W4 D4 L2 GD +4), sitting pretty in 5th place and confounding the critics so far. But they must fancy their chances against an inconsistent Omiya Ardija (P10 W4 D2 L4 GD -5) who have already seen ups and downs in this short season! Home advantage may well be the key point in this match and Tosu are still unbeaten at home in J1 and will be hoping to keep that statistic intact today.

Omiya Ardija last week made it three home wins in a row since, well, forever, but on their travels they succumbed to Vissel Kobe 3-0 last week and looked very ordinary. The likes of Cho and Higashi have to pull their weight if Omiya are to rise to mid-table safety this season and Brazilian import Carlinhos has to do more to justify keeping Kota Ueda on the bench. Despite the missing Toyoda I am going to tell you to EXPECT a WIN for SAGAN TOSU!

Six wins for Omiya over the last decade, one win for Tosu and a draw in eight meetings, all in J2. This will be their first meeting in J1.