A Short Niigata Preview

Again not so much time for a preview of Saturday's trip to Albirex Niigata in the Nabisco Cup, a competition in which participation for Omiya remains alive after the Squirrels scored three times in a stunning seven-minute spell to beat Nagoya Grampus last weekend. A resurgent and fully fit Rafael found the net twice and there were positive signs, too, from Dudu, who hit the post during that same Omiya purple patch: all good news for Omiya as new coach Jun Suzuki continues his work with the squad. An Ardija win at Niigata would open up a three-point gap between the Squirrels and the bottom half of the Group A table, giving Suzuki a real chance of making progress in the competition.

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