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Nagahama Koen, Sunday 15th November.
After a not exactly boring or lackluster game but one with not so much attacking quality Clash managed a 0-0 draw with Shane in normal time and then got into the next round of the cup with a faultless 3-1 penalty performance after keeper Kevin Green’s vital save and three well struck spot kicks.
Nagahama Koen as you would expect for a J1 team’s training ground provides an immaculate surface and for today’s match the weather also provided sun and blue skies. Sadly that wonderful green field is currently confined in usage to about one third of the usual available area and hence this 11-a-side match was played on a pitch that was about three quarter size if we are generous. So you might expect in a cup match and with such conditions plenty of shots and a lot of trouble for the keepers? Sadly that was not the case though the game was well contested and the player’s with limited space provided some pretty if not effective moments of football. This game was a bit like pinball and ended with very few clear cut chances having been created. Shane’s number 10 and Clash’s new boy Rob Snaith provided some silky moments in midfield but their final balls were wasted by the recipients or too short often in Rob’s case.
Shane passed the ball up smoothly from the back through midfield but with little end product due largely to stout defending from Clash’s Rees, Thompson, Doyno and England who were strong and assured at the back. Shane moved some of the pinball like moments into the Clash box a few times during the game but could not find the killer touch. Clash looked for balls over the top most often but were most effective when they played the ball around midfield a little and then delivered dangerous crosses especially through Kataoka in the first half and Drought in the second half. Sadly the strikers could not make the best of these and one superb cross to the back post was dramatically and brilliantly headed away from almost below the crossbar by a Shane defender moving towards his own goal. With the Shane defence just as solid as Clash’s there were few if any chances in the box except with headers. On one of the few occasions the Shane defence slept in the first half a delightful Shiba ball over the top to the unmarked Clash number 8 was sadly headed wide.
It was in truth Shane’s keeper who looked most assured during the game though in fact he didn’t have too much to do. Kevin Green was as usual haunted by flooky crosses that ended up turning into shots and almost creeping under the bar but he was just equal to them. After 80 minutes the game was still 0-0 and so the referee took the game to penalties. Kevin Green’s namesake Robert Green has looked shaky at times this season but is still ridiculously hard to beat from the penalty spot. Before the kicks were taken Kevin and another West Ham fan had a chat about the fact that Green generally doesn’t guess but rather stands up and trusts in his reflexes. So it was with Clash already 1-0 up from the first kick by Kataoka that Green stood up and then moved quickly right to save magnificently the first of Shane’s penalty kicks. Clash went 2-0 up before Shane made it 2-1 and then Shiba made sure of the victory (best of three rather than five here) with the last kick of the game. Clash will continue their Goldilocks search for a pitch that is just right for them next match after one too large and one a tad too small.
By Chris Arnott
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