Kawasaki Frontale UK (川崎フロンターレ): yajima

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

[+/-]

Yokohama F Marinos v Kawasaki Frontale

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

[+/-]

Kawasaki Frontale v Kataller Toyama

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

[+/-]

Kyoto Sanga FC v Kawasaki Frontale

J.League Division 1: Sun, 26th July 2009

	3 - 1
DIEGO 18', 57' ANDO 49'		YAJIMA 05'

Venue: Nishikyogoku Stadium
Attendance: 9,002

A desperately poor display against Kyoto Sanga saw Frontale's mid-season wobble take a further stuttering step on Sunday night.

It was all looking so promising when Yajima rose unmarked to nod in an early corner. But Sanga's slow start to the game continued only until the 18th minute when they were awarded a controversial penalty for Ito's challenge on Paulinho.

The ins and the outs of the incident are not really important as the referee's decision is final (however wrong it might be!). But Diego's expertly-dispatched penalty kick certainly put some fire in the bellies of a home team who had thus far looked merely lukewarm.

Sanga had the better of the rest of the half, forcing a string of fine saves from Kawashima. Renatinho and Yajima appeared to be on completely different wavelengths for Frontale, with Yajima in particular proving ineffective at either retaining possession or closing down his opponents.

At half time Sekizuka brought on the man everyone was calling for - Juninho. However, instead of removing Yajima, it was Vitor (still on the mend after several weeks on the sidelines) who made way.

Juninho undoubtedly added some oomph to the Frontale frontline. But with the midfield a man lighter, Sanga quickly gained a stranglehold on the game.

And it wasn't long before the home team made their dominance tell with two quick knockout blows.

First, Jun Ando was given too much time and space and unleashed a swerving drive from 30 yards that found the top-left corner. Then, 8 minutes later, and from similar range, Diego killed the game off with a curling shot into the opposite corner. Some pretty sharp shooting from the men in purple, but the overstretched Frontale defence did little to pressurise their efforts at goal.

Kyoto sat back for the rest of the match, defending their two-goal margin and hoping to snatch another on the break. And, despite a couple of windows of opportunity for Frontale (a few decent strikes from Juninho and a painfully-wasted header from Yajima), the home defence stood firm.

A post-match inquest might include questions such as: Why didn't Juninho start? Why did Yajima play the whole game despite his apparent incompetence? Why was Vitor withdrawn at half-time, effectively handing over control of the midfield to Sanga?

I'm sure there are perfectly satisfactory answers to all of these questions, but with the benefit of hindsight these are the issues that cost Frontale the game. A game which could have been even more embarrassing had Eiji Kawashima not continued his blistering form in goal.

The good news is that the league's other top teams are experiencing their own problems right now. The bad news is that Frontale really need to be capitalising on this, rather than merely matching them step for stuttering step.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

[+/-]

Kawasaki Frontale v Kyoto Sanga FC

J.League Division 1: Wed, 29th April 2009

	4 - 1
VITOR 17' YAJIMA 63' JUNINHO 73' KUROTSU 79'		KATO 89'

Venue: Todoroki Stadium
Attendance: 16,253

It's not often you watch your team win by three goals and come away feeling like you've just been slapped in the face. But this is one of those rare occasions.

The game itself was a walkover, with Sanga showing levels of commitment more suited to a Liz Taylor marriage. Let's just say Frontale didn't have to be at their best to rack up their four goals. And all that was needed to put the cherry on the cake was a first clean sheet of the season.

But with mere seconds left on the clock, the boys in blue once again managed to rain on their own parade.

Even the replay doesn't make it 100% clear who the culprit was, but via process of elimination, and judging by his notable absence from the post-match comments, it seems to have been Taniguchi (please correct me if I'm wrong). Drifting off into a world of daydream, he dallied on the ball far too long, allowing Sanga to steal possession and swarm in for a late consolation goal.

I may be making too much of it - after all, a 4-1 win is a 4-1 win - but Frontale were on course to come away from this game with a well-earned spring in their step. Instead, one momentary, last-minute lapse has left nothing more than a bad taste in the mouth.

Of course, there are positives to take from the match. Sekizuka took the opportunity to give four key players some much-needed rest. Ito, Mori, Yokoyama and Chong Tese were all left out of the starting eleven, with Murakami, Kikuchi, Tasaka and Yajima coming in.

The alarm bells were ringing at the announcement that Kikuchi would be lining up alongside Terada in the middle of defence. But apart from a couple of dangerously mis-placed passes in the first half, which Sanga should really have punished, he did OK.

The big plus was Yajima notching up his first goal of the season. He should probably have had two on the day, but a nicely finished first-half effort was ruled out by a questionable offside flag.

He may not have that extra edge to his game, like a Juninho or a Chong Tese, but today's performance shows that Yajima can certainly put the ball away when given the chance.

Unfortunately for him, he was forced to leave the field early with what looked like a bad case of cramp. Kurotsu, his replacement and main rival for a place in the team, added insult to injury by adding his own name to the scoresheet within minutes of his arrival.

Saturday's Kanagawa derby is likely to provide a much sterner test. But who knows, with a few fresh faces back in the team, maybe we'll finally get to see a whole match with no costly blunders. What luxury!