So, um, been a while. Sorry about that. School got hectic as well as some personal matters and I still have a metric ton of game photos to go through in addition to everything else. Apologies for no Kashiwa report (I assure you that with a disappointing 1:0 loss in the rain, you didn’t miss much) and no preview for the Jubilo match.
Fortunately, after dropping two consecutive 1-0 games at home, FC Tokyo went on the road and pulled off a much-needed win against Jubilo Iwata this afternoon. Trailing 1-0 after the first half, Shingo Akamine came back strong in the second half, scoring a brace (that’s apparently two for any Americans who are reading this) and pulling the Gasmen to victory. Notable in the lineup was the return of midfielder Emerson to the squad as a substitute in his first match since his injury sustained during the team’s away campaign in Niigata. Emerson came on for Hanyu in the second half, proving in his fitness that manager Jofuku has one more weapon in a Tokyo offence that lately has struggled to get the job done.
More importantly, around the league a miraculous series of results has brought FC Tokyo to within reach of the top spot in the league yet again. Urawa fell to Gamba Osaka at home in a match that included altercations among the fans, apparently. Kawasaki dropped a 2-0 lead to fall to Omiya Ardija 3-2. Kashima extended its winless streak to 7 games with a 1-1 draw against Kashiwa, and Nagoya beat up on the helpless Consadole Sapporo. Even JEF Chiba has won two games in a row since sacking its manager.
So, what’s all that mean? Urawa and Nagoya are at the top of the ladder with 26 points (with Urawa leading in goal differential). FC Tokyo is alone in 3rd place with 23 points. Kashiwa Reysol has surged to the top of the ladder with 20 points along with Kawasaki Frontale. Kashima continues to struggle, now tied with fellow ACL contenders Gamba Osaka as well as Omiya Ardija at 19 points apiece. Yokohama F. Marinos sit alone in 9th place with 18 points. With a mere 8 points separating the top half of the ladder, it is quite clearly anyone’s season. Well, except for Consadole and JEF Chiba, but there’s always gotta be a whipping boy.
Last season at this point, FC Tokyo was in 13th place and pretty much had no hope of rising any further (indeed, they would finish 12th in the standings). This year, although there have certainly been some bumps in the road, FC Tokyo goes into the 1/3rd-season-break with a strong squad that can easily stay a contender for the remainder of the season and perhaps even vie for the title. Good times ahead for the gasmen!
The next month brings good times as well – this coming Sunday is the Tokyo Derby against the ever-hated Kawasaki Verdy, followed by a “home” match on the 31st against Shimizu at Alwin Stadium in Nagano (hell knows why we’re playing a home game in Nagano, but hey). On June 8th is another Tokyo Derby match (this time as the “away” team) at National Stadium, followed by a friendly versus FC Seoul in Korea on the 15th.
All matches (with the obvious exception of the FC Seoul campaign) are for the Nabisco Cup and won’t count in the standings, but naturally wins against Verdy will do much to rebuild the fan’s morale following the recent spate of home losses. If Tokyo wants to go on to the next round of the Nabisco Cup, the game against Shimizu will be a must-win given the current standings.
In anticipation of the next Tokyo Derby match I’ll try to do a post regarding supporter chants later in the week. Stay tuned!
Just wanted to say I think your site is great, and has given me a couple of ideas to improve my own to act as a guide for fans wanting to follow S-Pulse. Anyway, aside from that, I wanted to say thanks for dispensing with Jubilo! While we’re pretty horrendously placed ourselves, at least they are below us and languishing in the relegation play off zone going into the June break! I hope you beat them again in the cup – and Kawasaki. Something about teams that move cities just makes my skin crawl!
Shizza,
Thanks for the comment! I can’t see how I can help you guys out that much, I’m just kinda trying to stand on the shoulders of giants like Furtho and the guys over at Tricolore Pride.
Looking forward to reading the next round of the Nabisco Cup with you guys – Jubilo certainly doesn’t deserve to advance, to say nothing of the green scum.