Monday, August 31, 2009

R36 vs Vegalta Sendai

Vegalta Sendai 2 - 1 FC Gifu (ht 1-1)

Deep down in enemy(?) territory, Gifu played a great game but were eventually overtaken by a piece of Nakahara magic that gave Gifu 0 points from a relatively well played match. I didn't see the game myself, only highlights, but from what I heard Gifu played pretty good. Nishikawa got the first goal of the game when Shimada attacked a Vegalta defender, stealing the ball and then passing to Nishikawa who did brilliantly to get the ball past a defender and the goalie into the net. Just before halftime though Vegalta struck back through a set play move, and then, with just a minute left in the game were undone by a Nakahara header.

Next game is in Kumamoto where I witnessed us lose 5-2 earlier in the season. Hopefully this time Gifu will get their revenge!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

R35 vs Yokohama FC

FC Gifu 3-2 Yokohama FC (ht 1-0)

FC Gifu showed guts and determination as they came back from 2-1 down to record an exciting victory in front of 9000 fans at Nagaragawa last night. Both teams traded dodgy PK's and then Yokohama hit the lead shortly after. Momentum then began to swing the way of Gifu and they scored two goals through Shimada and Kazunori.
It was a great game, lots of passion from both teams, good crowd, good weather, and all the goodness of Nagaragawa.

Next week is a toughy away to Vegalta Sendai, who Gifu has never beaten. If Gifu wants to get into the top 10 though, a victory here is vital. (Then again, as a Vegalta Sendai supporter also, a loss for them would be disasterous for their return to J1!) Once again I will be sitting on the fence for the Richy derby!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

R34 vs Consadole Sapporo

FC Gifu 0 - 2 Consadole Sapporo (ht 0-1)

In a word, uninspiring. The Gifu fireworks display was supposed to be a celebration for Gifu's first ever victory over Sapporo but instead Sapporo took the three points and left Gifu to taste defeat for the first time at home in 12 games. Gifu consequently were over taken by Kusatsu in the table and are now sitting in 12th.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

R33 vs Ventforet Kofu

Ventforet Kofu 2 - 2 FC Gifu (ht 0-0)

Gifu let three points slip as Kofu came back from 2-0 down to even the scores in Kofu. Two goals by Koichi Satou early in the second half put Gifu ahead but they couldn't hold the lead. Gifu can be proud that they dominated Kofu for about the first 60 minutes, and were only pegged down towards the end.
Still, they should have been able to hold on and claim their first win over Kofu, but it was never going to be an easy task with 3rd placed Kofu in the form they've been in of late.

R32 vs Tochigi SC

FC Gifu 1-1 Tochigi SC (ht 0-0)

Gifu managed a disappointing draw here. Tochigi played alot better in the first half. Tochigi struck first but Gifu were allowed back into the match through a very fortunate PK decision.
Gifu played the better football in the second half but it wasn't enough. Fans of both teams were pretty disappointed with the result.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

R31 vs Tokyo Verdy

Tokyo Verdy 3 - 0 FC Gifu (ht 2-0)

Tokyo showed Gifu what the difference a few players of high quality can be in the battle of the greens. Both teams played a good running game, but Tokyo's Oguro, showed why he is so important to the teams chances of promotion this year. His header after just six minutes put Tokyo into the lead and his constant assault on the Gifu goal always keep GK Noda on his feet.
Gifu played a pretty solid game up front but failed to fire whereas Tokyo had the likes of Oguro and Leandro, who converted their chances.
It was at the back though where Gifu lost this battle. With Akita out, Sazuki joined the fray, but this inexperienced backline was exploited by the free-running Verdy. Tokyo on the other hand kept their defense tight, which was to be expected after the surprise heavy loss to Yokohama FC last week.
So Gifu's winning streak ends at four. Still, we have a 10 game unbeaten streak to extend this week vs Tochigi SC. It will be important for the players to get their minds back on the job for this one, especially with just two days to relax, recuperate and prepare.