Countdown To Kashiwa, pt 3

OK. OK OK OK. Here's the deal. And it's a big deal. GGOA commenter and Oita Trinita fan Mischa is absolutely right. The Kyushu Turtles' form at the moment is so good that Omiya can't rely on getting so much as a point in the last game of the season - even if it is against the bottom team in the J1 standings. If the Squirrels want to stay up, the time and the place to confirm their place in the J-League's top division is 5pm on Saturday at Omiya Park. A draw in the Greatest Noda Line Derby Ever Seen On Planet Earth will keep Ardija four points ahead of Kashiwa Reysol and therefore in J1 for another year.

Kashiwa, though, have somehow managed to pull themselves back into contention. Three straight defeats against Jubilo Iwata, FC Tokyo and Montedio Yamagata seemed to have totally undermined the improvements which the team had made over the previous six weeks. But then coach Nelsinho somehow managed to coax from his players their biggest win of the season, sweeping aside a lacklustre Shimizu S-Pulse as controversial star man Franca chipped in with two second half goals. The same player also netted as Reysol followed up the defeat of S-Pulse by winning at an Albirex NIigata who are still fighting to finish in the top four.

You can only guess at how Yoshiyuki Kobayashi is feeling about this, but Nelsinho and the rejuvenated Kashiwa squad must be desperate for kick off. Ardija have to meet them head on, with intensity and energy and self-belief. Shin Kanazawa will be missing through suspension from the centre of Omiya's midfield again, although at Yamagata the defensive part of the Squirrels team functioned effectively enough in his absence. Jang Wae Ryong made changes to the attack, surprisingly relegating Rafael to the bench, but wherever the goals come from against the Sun Kings they have to come from somewhere. They have to.

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