Marinos Preview

Just time for a brief preview of Wednesday evening's J1 encounter with Yokohama F Marinos. The key aspect of Omiya's 1-1 draw with Jubilo Iwata on Sunday was undoubtedly the appearance of both Dudu and Rafael as substitutes, potentially heralding a new era as far as the Squirrels attack is concerned. The taller Rafael especially stood out, bringing about - if not actually scoring - Ardija's equaliser and then going close with a spectacular overhead effort that was only just tipped over the bar by Jubilo keeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi.

A key decision for coach Jang Wae Ryong will therefore be whether or not to start for the first time with his two new Brazilian forwards, dropping Yoshihito Fujita and Naoki Ishihara to the bench; returning youngster Masahiko Ichikawa is also coming back in to the first team picture as he recovers from injury. Whoever is selected will face a Marinos side on reasonable form but without experienced defender Naoki Matsuda, who is suspended. The home league game between the two sides six weeks or so ago was a close 0-0 draw, but looming larger in the memory of Omiya supporters is June's 3-1 Nabisco Cup disaster. Wednesday night provides another opportunity for Jang to measure his team's progress.

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