FC Tokyo v Kawasaki Frontale

J.League Division 1: Sun, 24th May 2009

	2 - 3
KONNO 28' ISHIKAWA 54' BRUNO QUADROS(sent off 57')		JUNINHO 58' TANIGUCHI 65' RENATINHO 68'

Venue: Ajinomoto Stadium
Attendance: 27,851

Sunday afternoon's "Tamagawa Classico" didn't quite live up to its name. But what the match lacked in overall quality it certainly made up for in excitement, with Frontale turning round a two-goal deficit to steal victory from the jaws of defeat.

Three goals in the space of ten minutes from Juninho, Taniguchi and Renatinho left the FC Tokyo supporters stunned and no doubt slightly sickened. However, unlike Frontale's Lazarus-style comeback against Kashiwa Reysol last season, this one needed a hefty dollop of help from a member of the opposing team.

Bruno Quadros, the FC Tokyo centre-back, was undoubtedly the villain of the piece. With the hosts having just hammered a second nail into Frontale's coffin, the visitors put together their most penetrating move of the game. Chong Tese latched onto a through ball from Juninho and as he homed in on goal Senhor Quadros mindlessly tugged the Korean from behind.

This moment of lunacy not only gave Juninho the opportunity to pull one back from the penalty spot, but also gave the referee no alternative but to reach for his pocket and pull out a red card.

Now there's a pretty good chance Chong would have scored had Quadros not intervened. However, there's an even better chance that FC Tokyo wouldn't have lost this game had they played the full 90 minutes with eleven men on the field. Still, very refreshing that the match-defining moment of defensive stupidity didn't come from a Frontale player.

The first half started with both teams playing some very loose football. But while FC Tokyo slowly grew into their game, Frontale seemed incapable of stringing together more than two passes.

Sekizuka sent out an attacking side, with Renatinho starting alongside Juninho and Chong Tese. But his decision to play Tasaka instead of Vitor Junior had an adverse effect on the team's cohesion. It's no coincidence that the penetrating move that brought about the penalty incident took place almost immediately after Vitor's introduction. (I don't want to give Vitor too much credit, cos he hasn't been brilliant of late. But there's much more balance to the midfield when he's in it.)

Kikuchi and Igawa fought bravely in the centre of defence once again. But their limitations were exposed by the strength of FC Tokyo centre-forward, Cabore.

Yasuyuki Konno's opening strike resulted from a succession of corners that Frontale failed to clear. However, the initial surge to this spell of pressure came when Igawa buckled under Cabore's close attention. And only a last-ditch lunge from Kikuchi prevented the Brazilian marksman from capitalising sooner.

The roles were reversed for FC Tokyo's second. This time Kikuchi was muscled off the ball and no-one was able to stop Naohiro Ishikawa from rifling Cabore's cut-back into the corner of the net.

The sending off was obviously the turning point of the game. And against ten men Frontale started to show the kind of passing and movement that had eluded them thus far.

The referee had been spot-on with the penalty and the dismissal of Quadros, but he was perhaps a little generous to Frontale in the lead up to the equaliser. First of all, he awarded a free kick on the edge of the penalty area after Chong appeared to have lost out in a challenge fair and square.

Then he allowed play to go on when Juninho took a quick one that found Taniguchi free on the right, and which young Tani duly thundered into the top right corner. Nothing wrong with this per se, although the "wait for the whistle" approach has been predominant amongst officials this season.

Three minutes later the turn-around was complete. Juninho was again instrumental in the winner - breaking down the left and sending in a deep cross which Renatinho leapt acrobatically to direct into an open net.

With his opponents well and truly on the ropes, Sekizuka decided to play it safe by removing Renatinho and bringing on Yokoyama for the last ten minutes. This almost proved to be a costly mistake as it allowed FC Tokyo to regroup and gave the game a rather nerve-jangling finish. But Frontale were able to see things out and scramble up to a lofty 4th place in the table.

Kawasaki Frontale v Pohang Steelers

AFC Champions League - Group H: Tue, 19th May 2009

	0 - 2
		NOH BYUNG-JOON 12' DENILSON 72' SHIN HYUNG-MIN (sent off 89')

Venue: Todoroki Stadium
Attendance: 13,633

A tired performance from Frontale saw them relinquish top spot in Group H to a well-organised Pohang Steelers on Tuesday night.

With the next round of the ACL decided by a one-leg knockout match, Frontale will be unhappy they couldn't pick up the point that would have given them a home tie against the runners-up of Group E. Instead they now have the more difficult, albeit more familiar, prospect of a trip to Banpaku to face current ACL champions Gamba Osaka.

Vitor Junior and Yokoyama returned to the side after their enforced rest at the weekend. And Yamagishi kept his place - this time filling in for the suspended Mori at right-back.

The first half proved Frontale's undoing. Pohang dominated possession and a three-man attack, spearheaded by their big Macedonian, Stevica Ristic, gave the backline a torrid time.

The Koreans were helped on their way by a referee who, overall, was actually not too shabby by ACL standards. Twice in the opening 10 minutes he awarded the visitors free kicks right inside "the D" following wafer-thin contact from Frontale defenders.

From the first, they hit the post. From the second, they scored - Kawashima unsighted by a wall that had to be set up so deep it was practically on top of him.

It took until the 40th minute before Frontale managed to string together their first cohesive attack. And a decent passing move it was, culminating in Juninho feeding Chong Tese whose shot forced a good save from the Pohang keeper.

Frontale were much better after the break and took the game to the Koreans. With the twinkle-toed Renatinho on for the flounder-footed Yamagishi (Yokoyama moving to centre-back and Igawa out on the right) the visitors were penned back in ther own half for a good 15-minute spell. But Pohang defended stoutly and the home team were unable to make their pressure tell.

Then, the ghost of amateur defending once again reared its ugly head. A quick Pohang counter had Frontale stretched and, as an extra man joined the attack, three defenders were all drawn to the ball. This left the burly Brazilian Denilson free on the right to slot through Kawashima's legs and kill the game.

There was a little drama late on as Pohang had a man sent off for a second bookable offence. And at the very death, Renatinho saw a looping header tipped over. But on the whole it was simply a bad day at the office for the boys in blue.

Kawasaki Frontale v Jubilo Iwata

J.League Division 1: Sat, 16th May 2009

	2 - 0
JUNINHO 82' CHONG 89'

Venue: Todoroki Stadium
Attendance: 16,329

Frontale maintained their impressive home form and kept their first clean sheet of the season in Saturday's victory over Jubilo Iwata.

Jubilo can count themselves a little unlucky. They defended manfully and kept the home side's three-man attack at bay for 80 minutes. But a momentary lapse in concentration allowed Juninho to break the deadlock and Chong Tese added a second at the very death.

Sekizuka's selection problems at the back were compounded by Yokoyama having to serve a ban for accumulating 4 yellow cards. Ito was rushed back from injury to fill in on the left, while Kikuchi and Igawa continued their partnership in the middle.

With Vitor Junior also serving a suspension, the out-of-favour Yamagishi was given a chance to impress in his preferred midfield role. He showed what he can do when afforded the luxury of time and space with an exquisite first-half cross that Chong Tese wastefully headed over. But otherwise, he did little to persuade Sekizuka or the fans that he has much to offer.

Yamagishi was eventually replaced by Yuji Kimura, making his first-team debut. Kimura, an attacking midfielder who impressed in the J.Satellite League last year, almost made the perfect start to his J1 career. Late in the game, he was first to react to a deflected shot and neatly tucked the ball into the corner of the net. Unfortunately, he was judged to have been offside, although going by the (albeit typically unhelpful) replays, it must have been tight.

By that stage Frontale were already a goal up. Poor defending at the back post had allowed Juninho to steal in and nod a Mori cross past a helpless Yoshi Kawaguchi. The overall quality of Frontale's balls into the box had been pretty horrendous, so one can only assume the Jubilo defence was as surprised as everyone else at the accuracy of Mori's delivery.

Chong Tese gave the scoreline a bit of gloss in the final second of time added onto injury time. Suggestions that the referee might have a cheeky wager on Chong to win this year's golden boot are of course scandalous and not to be taken seriously.

A win or a draw against Pohang on Tuesday followed by a result in the "Tamagawa Classico" next Sunday will leave Frontale heading into the international break with a healthy platform to build on when competition resumes towards the end of June.

Defensive frailty

Shuhei Terada and Kazu Murakami have joined Hiroki Ito in sick bay after picking up injuries against Urawa on Sunday.

Terada strained his left hamstring (the same injury that kept him out for a stretch in the middle of last season?) and Murakami has also damaged thigh muscles. Both are expected to be out for 3 weeks.

A month-long break for international fixtures is swiftly approaching, so I guess it could have been worse. But with three first-choice defenders missing, that leaves a rather threadbare backline for the next three games (Jubilo, Pohang, FC Tokyo).

Is there any alternative to the line-up that ended the game against Urawa - Kikuchi and Yokoyama in the middle, Mori shifting over to the left and Igawa on the right? Surely not Yamagishi? Cometh the hour, cometh the Yam?!

---

In other news, Frontale have opted to ease their defensive woes by adding another striker to the squad.

Yu Kobayashi has signed from Takushoku University, although the 21-year-old had a taste of J.League action with Mito Hollyhock last year.

Urawa Reds v Kawasaki Frontale

J.League Division 1: Sun, 10th May 2009

	2 - 3
EDMILSON 31' TANAKA 64'		JUNINHO 57' RENATINHO (pen.) 73' CHONG 76' VITOR (sent off 89')

Venue: Saitama Stadium
Attendance: 51,594

Frontale claimed their first away win of the season at the expense of Urawa Reds on Sunday, putting an end to the Saitama side's nine-game unbeaten run.

In a match filled with incident and intrigue, Frontale twice fought back from behind before wrapping up the three points courtesy of second-half goals from Juninho, Renatinho and Chong Tese.

Things got off to a bad start when Terada hobbled off after just 20 minutes. (A centre-back pairing of Igawa and Kikuchi seemed like a recipe for disaster, but the two acquitted themselves remarkably well in an all-round strong team performance.) And it got worse when a failed corner clearance gave the Reds the lead - Edmilson stooping to head in off the post after a mistimed leap from Yokoyama had left the rest of the defence flat-footed.

However, in retrospect, this was probably the best thing that could have happened. Frontale were forced to abandon their cautious approach and it was now Urawa who sat back inviting pressure.

There were a couple of half chances before the break. Juninho prodded an effort inches wide and a blistering 30-yard effort from the unlikely Kikuchi forced a decent save from Reds keeper, Ryota Tsuzuki. But the scoreline remained unchanged as the teams went in at half-time.

The momentum was very much still with Frontale in the second half. But after 10 minutes, with a breakthrough proving elusive, Sekizuka made the decisive step of taking off Murakami, switching Mori to the left, Igawa to the right, Yokoyama to centre-back, and bringing on Renatinho to spice up the attack.

Within minutes of the reshuffle the equaliser arrived. Mori, now on the left, made a penetrating run and laid the ball up to Chong Tese at the edge of the Urawa box. The Korean had been looking out of sorts thus far, but he laid off perfectly for the advancing Juninho to arc the ball into the net.

No longer content to sit back, the Reds brought on Naohiro Takahara to add some experience up front and started to display more of the attacking intent they'd shown in the opening quarter. And it was from Takahara's intelligent movement that the home side quickly regained the lead.

Still coming to terms with the recent changes, the Frontale defence was thrown into disarray when Takahara ran into an offside position to receive a throw-in. Kikuchi failed to track one of the Urawa runners and the ball fell nicely for Tulio to rifle into the top corner from 12 yards out.

However, the long spell of superiority Frontale had been enjoying brought with it a brimful of self-belief. And it wasn't long before some Brazilian magic had the game square again.

With 20 minutes left on the clock, Renatinho made a jinking run down the right before playing a neat pass inside to Juninho. A desperate lunge from Tulio caught the elder Brazilian's ankle just inside the penalty area and the referee showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot (despite fierce protests from Tulio et al.).

Renatinho stepped up confidently to dispatch the penalty and level things up. But the impish striker's work wasn't done yet.

After surviving another wave of Reds pressure, Kengo received the ball deep in his own half and unleashed a 60-yard pass to Renatinho. The pacy frontman killed the ball with a single touch while simultaneously holding off the attentions of Keisuke Tsuboi. He then had the wherewithal to look up and pick out Chong (whose marker, Tulio, had given up the chase) for a simple tap-in.

The game ended on a sour note. Although happily it was the home team who came away smelling of vinegar.

Deep into injury time, Urawa refused to return possession after Frontale had put the ball out so that Tanigichi could get attention for cramp (admittedly he was probably laying it on a bit thick). Realising they weren't going to put the ball out of play, Renatinho went in for a tackle which the referee somehow deemed a foul, awarding the Reds a free kick in a dangerous position.

The entire Frontale team and staff were incensed that such unsportsmanlike behaviour should be rewarded. And amidst all the belly-aching, Vitor talked his way to a second yellow card and a one-match ban.

I'd normally be prepared to get much more vitriolic over an incident like this (and if the result had been different, I probably would). But too much good happened in this game to let the under-hand tactics of a team of spoilt brats ruin it.

Last season's win against Urawa proved a landmark in a very successful campaign for Frontale. If they can consolidate with a home win against Jubilo next week, this result could well turn out to be equally important.

Tianjin Teda v Kawasaki Frontale

AFC Champions League - Group H: Tue, 5th May 2009

	3 - 1
MA LEILEI 12', 19' TOMMASI 90+4'		RENATINHO 51'

Venue: Tianjin Teda Stadium
Attendance: 15,717

If anyone needed evidence of what an ugly display of anti-football the AFC can sometimes throw up, they need look no further than this.

With Pohang having beaten Central Coast earlier in the day, Tianjin came into this Group H tie with nothing left to play for but their honour. Sadly, their by-any-means-necessary 3-1 win over a bruised and battered Frontale will probably leave them brimming with pride.

"I won't comment on the fouls - it's up to the referee to decide", was the Tianjin manger's post-match analysis. However, with the incompetent officials showing about as much authority as Bambi at a deer hunters' convention, the game quickly descended into a contest of kick or be kicked. How both teams ended up with 11 men still on the field is anybody's guess.

Footage of the game has already been banned in several countries, so gratuitous was some of the violence on display. The individual incidents are too many to go into, but the worst was probably a career-threatening, two-footed lunge at Terada's standing leg just before half-time.

And it wasn't just the players. Following a mix-up in which the referee booked Kengo despite Mori's protestations that he had been the offender, there was a mass on-field altercation in which one of Tianjin's staff appeared to kick a Frontale player. Goes without saying that no replay was shown and no punishment will be dished out.

Amateurish, Farcical, Contemptible. Sort it out AFC. This joke's not funny any more.

Hiroki Ito out for a month

Much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, it's been announced that club captain Hiroki Ito fractured a metatarsal in his left foot during training last Friday (1st May).

The scan suggests he'll be out for 3-4 weeks, but it'll surely be longer before he's back to full match fitness.

This doesn't bode well for the big Urawa clash on Sunday. If Frontale defend like they did against Yokohama, it could be a difficult game to watch.

Still, it's a small consolation to know that Sekizuka wasn't picking Igawa ahead of Ito by choice.

Yokohama F Marinos v Kawasaki Frontale

J.League Division 1: Sat, 2nd May 2009

	2 - 1
YAMASE 21' SAKATA 44'		NAKAMURA 87'

Venue: Nissan Stadium
Attendance: 28,016

Another disappointing road trip for Frontale fans as the Kanagawa bragging rights went to Yokohama F. Marinos on a brilliantly sunny Saturday afternoon.

First of all, let me state unequivocally that Yokohama were worth the win. Yes, Frontale missed some decent chances. Yes, Juninho should have had a penalty - shoulder barging is OK, shoving with the palm of the hand is not. But Marinos probably could have hit double figures were it not for some sketchy finishing and a couple of decent saves from old "safe hands".

The big question has to be whether it was wise for Sekizuka to leave Chong Tese and Taniguchi out of his starting eleven. I know there's the small matter of a midweek trip to China ahead, but a) progress in the ACL is already guaranteed, b) top spot in Group H can still be sealed in a couple of weeks in the more appealing surroundings of fortress Todoroki, and c) how much rest does Chong Tese need, having only played the last couple of minutes against Kyoto on Wednesday?

Frontale started brightly enough, with Juninho proving a real menace. The chances that came weren't exactly clear-cut, but both Yajima and Juninho himself might feel they should have opened the scoring.

However, without the bullish target of Chong Tese up front and with Tasaka not providing the same defensive stability that Taniguchi brings, Yokohama started to get a foothold in the game.

The opener was a touch unfortunate. Frontale's defence has been holding the line pretty well this season. However, on 21 minutes, Koji Yamase evaded both the offside trap and the not-particluarly-vigilant attention of Mori to put the home team ahead. The replays were inconclusive as to whether or not Yamase actually was offside, but the linesman's flag stayed down and thereafter Marinos took the initiative.

Yuji Nakazawa missed a great chance to make it two after a skewed attempt at a bicycle kick broke to him 6 yards out. Fortunately for the visitors, an awkward bounce off his standing foot left the swarthy centre-back swinging at thin air.

But just before the break, Yokohama got the second they probably deserved. Mori, who had an all-round bad day at the office, lost possession cheaply around halfway. An early through-ball from Yamase perfectly exposed Terada's lack of pace as Daisuke Sakata shrugged off the veteran defender's desperate challenge and fired past Kawashima.

Terada, who'd just picked up a yellow card when similarly exposed against Kazuma Watanabe, was a little fortunate that Sakata didn't take the easy option of going to ground for a penalty. Hopes of a second-half comeback would surely have been banished with only 10 men left on the field.

Seikizuka didn't have to think too hard about throwing on Chong Tese and Renatinho in place of the ineffective Yajima and Tasaka for the second half. And the pair almost combined to pull one back immediately after the restart.

A defence-splitting pass released Chong down the left, but his cross was played in just behind Renatinho, whose hooked shot went wide.

Although Frontale were looking more threatening after the break, Marinos did well to frustrate their guests. And they continued to find joy when pitting the pace of their strikers against Frontale's pedestrian centre-back pairing.

Watanabe had an excellent chance to put the game to bed, but shot straight at Kawashima. Then Sakata was denied only by the combined efforts of big Eiji's fingertips and the crossbar.

Frontale's best chances fell to the well-rested Chong Tese. A free header from a corner sailed over the bar. And then, when through on goal, the Korean wanted too many touches, allowing Hiroki Iikura the time to close him down and make the save. Maybe he plays better when he's tired.

A lot of Saturday's approach play was sufficiently pretty, but as so often the final ball was rarely up to scratch. Time and again Mori made himself the space to cross. Time and again his delivery was shoddy. And Renatinho, while showing off a nice variety of intricate stepovers out on the wings, failed to deliver much in the way of an end product (much like a poor man's Christiano Ronaldo in his younger days).

He's a terribly frustrating player to watch, Renatinho. But for all the diving, bitching and needless fouls, you can't help but feel there's a real quality player there that just needs time to mature.

And it was the impudent youngster who finally managed to give Frontale the consolation their fightback merited. With time running out, he took a cross on his chest, directed the ball into space and pulled the trigger to claw one back. At least that's how it looked. It turns out Kengo actually got the final touch, but all the credit for the goal should go to the boy from Brazil.

(One increasingly gets the impression with Renatinho that his best position is actually centre forward rather than out wide. He gets himself into some very clever positions in the box, has lightning quick reactions, plus he's good with his head. You just wonder whether he'll ever get the opportunity to play in that role for Frontale.)

So, to date, that makes a measly three points from five away games. But, let's look on the bright side - at least the home form's not proving so problematic. And if Sekizuka's teamsheet tinkering results in legs fresh enough to pick up three points against Urawa next weekend, all will be forgiven.