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Misato, Sat 9th June. A determined Wall Street Geckoes team emerged comfortable victors over a dispirited Sala FC, in the final of the Wall Street Associates/Footy Japan Cup, played on a bumpy field in Misato on Saturday.
 This was never going to be a classic game of football, the lunar-like surface making a flowing, controlled game impossible. However some resolute defending, hard graft in midfield as well as clinical finishing by the Geckoes (not to mention the incessant cheering (and heckling) from their traveling fans), was enough to secure them the much coveted silverware.
It was however Sala that started the brighter of the two teams in the first 10 - Guido’s looping goal kick flicked on to speedy striker Dhugal who fired his shot high and wide. Five minutes later and Shige found Brookey in acres of space on the right flank, his first time cross swung in to Dhugal who sent his header the wrong side of the Geckoes’ bar.
On the 20-minute mark Geckoes began to wake up and mount attacks of their own, keeping Sala on the back foot. An in-swinging corner from stalwart midfielder Brommie forced Sala keeper Sid to punch clear, the first suggestion Geckoes meant business. 3-minutes later and Sala were under no illusions that Geckoes were in this to win in when Kohsuke Imamura with half a sight of goal blazed just wide.
Sala were quick to respond when Brookey’s cross, curling away from Geckoes’ keeper and skipper Rob Keyworth, was headed wide of the upright by the ever-bandana’d Clarkey.
Kohsuke Kitamura and Masa Kenmochi (himself a definite contender for man-of-the-match, for doing the simple things extremely well – great ball control, energy and vision to link intelligent passes with his midfield) started to play with a level of composure that bordered on nonchalance; stroking the ball around at the back from left to right and to the feet of Brommie dropping deep to collect, leaving the Sala strikers chasing shadows.
25-minutes into the game and Brookey, instrumental in most of Sala’s forays forward, sent a dangerous free-kick curling with venom into the Geckoes’ box forcing Keyworth to punch clear through an assortment of oncoming Sala heads. Geckoes quick to counter pinged a through ball to marksman Kazu Kikuchi who, much to the relief of Sid, smashed his half-volley high and wide.
 As halftime approached Sala seemed to get rattled, the Geckoes fans’ possibly, although not un-sportingly, contributing to this with their midday beers and joyful banter, however Geckoes enjoying more possession was probably the major factor in the first real appearances of chinks in the Sala armor that and the fact that Sala narrowly avoided going a goal down when 1-on-1 with Sid, Paul fired a ball that was bouncing and bobbling precariously straight at the relieved looking keeper.
Shige and Yusuke, usually the playmakers in the middle of the park for Sala, were unusually detached and Brian Gallagher and Roody Charles on for Dhugal and Toby were having to drop deeper and deeper in search of the ball. Lenny was, as ever, working hard on the left trying to make something happen, but on the right, with Brookey now on the bench, penetration and ideas on this flank were falling a long way short and on balance Geckoes finished the half the stronger of the two teams.
Back on in the second half Brookey’s corner whipped into the mixer was half-cleared to the edge of the box and Guido’s first time was sub-orbital. Dhugal and Toby back on having taken a breather gave Sala more options and pace going forward and Ian’s cross drilled in hard from the right didn’t give Toby much time to think about it and his glancing header just inside the box went wide of the Geckoes’ upright. Brookey’s sliced attempt from range moments later also missed the target – much to the delight of the Geckoes’ fans whose chants of: “You couldn’t score in a brothel, score in a brothel…” may have been a tad harsh. Let’s face it; he probably could score in a brothel.
 With Brommie now on the bench Geckoes had lost a bit of momentum and grit going forward and when Dhugal was brought down 25-yards out, Brookey’s free-kick was millimeters from being turned in by a Sala head. The clearance fell to Clarkey whose well-struck effort struck a cluster of Geckoes’ legs. Sala, now playing with more belief were winning a number of corners, one of which would have been met perfectly by an aerial Toby who having received more than a nudge in the back before he connected with the ball, sent the ball over the bar and was not amused with the offending defender or the referee for not seeing the infringement.
Sala kept pushing forward and Brookey’s 25-yard drive that flew over the bar was met with chants of: “Come in number 11, you’re time is up…!” by the inebriated Geckoes’ fans. Sala were quick to respond this time with: “He’s better than all of you lot put together!” Which silenced Brookey’s critics for about 4-seconds before the carousing started up again.
Kenta, on in the second-half for Geckoes added some bite and drive to the midfield and his through ball to Kazu, completely opened up Sala’s defense and Kazu teed up strike partner Kohsuke to volley from just inside the left-hand edge of the box and bury the ball with pure conviction in the bottom right-hand corner and well out of the reach of the outstretched Sala keeper. 1-0. Moments late Tom Kiley could’ve made it two, when his first time effort from Kazu’s cross glanced just wide.
Geckoes at this point were stretching the field of play by having their striker play as far forward as possible and nearly extended their lead when trickster Jonathan Rodriguez turned and megged his marker to give him clear shot on goal, forcing Sid to make an excellent goal line save.
Just when Sala, midway through the first half, were starting to string some useful-looking passes together Guido bundled an ever-feisty Kenta to the ground and referee Quentin awarded Geckoes a free kick from 25-yards and Guido a yellow for his troubles. Brommie who may have had his sights set on the top-corner thought better of it and played a short square pass to Rodriguez whose low drive was spilled by Sid into the path of Kazu who spanked it home from 5-yards. 2-0.
After the restart Clarkey found himself 1-on-1 with Keyworth after a deflected ball played him in – the ball just running away from him too quickly and out for a corner. The subsequent corner was cleared to Guido whose effort from the edge of the box failed to hit the target.
With 5-minutes to play, the tireless Kazu, who was put through 1-on-1 with Sid having run from well inside his on half, tried audaciously to chip the keeper who had come out to the edge of the 6-yard box to narrow the angle. The ball lofted over the keeper and looked to be goal-bound, but hit the post and fell into the hands of a grateful (and relieved) Sid. Sid’s quick punt up field was expertly controlled by Toby who turned his defender inside out and buried Sala’s consolation goal in the bottom left hand corner, well out of keeper Rob’s reach. 2-1.
Report by FJ
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