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YC&AC, Sun 24th February. Following up on the previous week’s disaster at Todoroki, February 24th was another day for calamity football, only this time the wind was stronger. I’m not sure how to describe a game when one of the highlights was a goal kick nearly being blown back for a corner kick. Yes, there was tension and there were battles, but the quality on display meant that the two spectators had more to say about grand old Deutscheland than they did about what was transpiring in front of them. Both teams had brought pretty decent sides – the one big miss for the YCAC was the energizer, Tyson, who probably found some advertisement in Roppongi a little too tempting the night before. I’m sure she just wanted to learn some English – go easy on him Steve. Fortunately for the Swiss, he showed up about 1 hour after scheduled kick-off and wasn’t himself. The Swiss as well had issues around kick-off. A fire on the train line meant that they were missing 3 players and Peter, the keeper, had mysteriously misplaced his contact lenses – at home! Luckily, some leeway in the starting time allowed both teams time to get a full team together.
To the game, the Swiss lost the toss and this was literally a blow. The cunning intellect of the YCAC management showed as they chose to take the wind at their backs. Unfortunately, the rest of the team was not on the same page and it took them 20 minutes to realize just how strong it was. Both teams produced little of note early on as the ball bounced high on the bumpy field and controlling it was a mess. The first chance did fall to the YCAC as some poor defending on the left produced a cross from the young blondie to an unmarked Kobayashi in front – luckily, he blasted over from about 15 yards out. Coming back the other way, Seiji worked a nice ball to Taka and he sent in a low cross which bounced through to Kirk at the far post. Unfortunately, he showed what a donkey he can be sending it high from about 10 yards out with the onion bag beckoning! The wind at their backs meant that the YCAC had the ball in the Swiss half more but the red & white defense was well organized and safety first meant that quick clearances limited the danger. The Swiss started to create a few more chances with Kirk getting in behind the last marker – Cho sent him through for one only to see his shot to be blocked with the left corner begging for a small round companion. A few mintutes later, a chance was pushed over the line for a corner. Fortunately, a little practice before the match produced the goods - Aoki drove in a ball towards the penalty spot, Kirk outjumped his marker and headed it down for an onrushing Suzuki to knock it by the keeper for a 1-0 lead. It was a rare combination on a day where any skill displayed could make the difference – set pieces would prove to be dangerous all day. The rest of the first half didn’t produce much to speak about. Joe Takeda had about 3 or 4 free kicks from the left hand side which he sent high into the wind and over the line. The Swiss didn’t get out of their half too much and it was the occasional counter attack but there was very little for the YCAC keeper to do – he did look a little fatigued from picking the first one out of the net.
About the second half, I want to say that something of note happened – and it did with about 10 minutes left, but there was such a big gap in between. There was a lot of running, some strong tackles, the occasional dribble – only to be lost or kicked out of bounds, and of course, the mandatory ‘Oy, Ittai, Ittai, ‘ref!’ from the multi-national crew on display. However, to be honest, very little happened from a football perspective. The only thing really worth talking about was the Swiss’ second goal. JP had sent Kirk into the right corner with an early clearance – he was marked by Steve Taw so he passed back to Cho who had followed the run forward. The pass back found him in space about 25 meters out – with defenders closing he cracked a dipping shot and it went in just under the cross bar. It was a great shot and pretty much sealed the win. The last 7 minutes were full of more grunting and whining but the YCAC couldn’t break down the Swiss defense with the elements clearly working against their skillful forwards. Very few passes were connecting and the high balls were too difficult to direct. It was a frustrating day for both sides and the Swiss were lucky to come out victors. Perhaps the previous game against the Celts had prepared them for this disaster.
Before the game, Steve Taw had mentioned that the Swiss had knocked the YCAC out of the Cup for the last 4 years – nice to know that some things don’t change.
Report by Cap'n Kirk
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