Saturday, July 26, 2008

R28 Otomo Returns


Vegalta Sendai 1 - 1 FC Gifu (ht 0-1)

FC Gifu scored their fastest goal in the J2 after just five minutes but couldn't hold on, eventually being pegged back by a stubborn Sendai to return home with just a solitary point for their efforts.

It was a great goal by FW Atsushi Katagiri after a nice break by MF Takashi Umeda up the right of the field, who passed to Katagiri, who in turn passed to FW Hiromi Kojima who then slotted a nice pass past four defenders and onto the boot of a flying Katagiri.
From then though it was Sendai who attacked wave after wave until eventually in the 63rd minute when Sendai FW Tomoyuki Hirase scored the goal for an exciting finish.
FC Gifu brought in FW Otomo for a bit more movement in the forwards and immediately he made an impact as Gifu finally awoke from their slumber to produce some good chances but alas it was to no avail and the game ended in a draw.

A reasonably good performance by Gifu, away, in a cool Sendai. Another draw to add to the tally, but the players won't be happy that they let three points escape their grasp. This fridays game against Mito will be a big game for the club. Although Mito lost to Fukuoka last night, they did come from two goals down to tie the game up before losing. Their form of late has also been pretty impressive. This will be a stern test for Gifu, as well as Mito, and it will be a good gauge to see how both teams have developed this year. Looking forward to it!

Next game August 1st (home) vs Mito Hollyhock

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