Cerezo Preview

After Omiya's first J1 match of the season, the 1-0 home defeat by FC Tokyo, I commented that, "I'd just feel better if there was a clearer idea where the goals are going to come from," and a month further on, we're no nearer to getting any clarification. Last Saturday against Nagoya Grampus Ardija had a decent amount of possession but seemed overwhelmingly cautious when it came to getting players into the area: a typical attack led to only two Orange men making their way close to Seigo Narazaki's goal.

Because of this, matched up to a strong Grampus back line the Squirrels were only ever going to find the net via a set play or some kind of freak incident and luckily the latter did indeed occur, as Jun Kanakubo reacted nimbly to dispatch a cross/shot from Cho Young Cheol. In contrast, when Nagoya had the ball they were keen to get extra men forward and it was not uncommon to see five or six Grampus players in or around the Ardija box. Only some poor finishing, especially in the very last seconds of the match, enabled Omiya to escape with a draw.

At Kashima Antlers in the midweek Nabisco Cup tie, Yu Hasegawa got his first start as a Squirrels player but neither he, or Rafael as a substitute, or Cho as the most advanced midfielder, could cause serious damage to an unimpressive Kashima team. The urge to bellow at Jun Suzuki WHY THE HELL DID YOU SELL THE BEST FINISHER IN THE SQUAD, YOU FOOL is simmering nicely on the hob here at GGOA Towers, but it's only April and we have eight more months of this still to go. Can another of Suzuki's rejigged midfields get the balance right against Cerezo Osaka? We live in something approaching hope, if not actual expectation.

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