Review: Gamba Osaka 1-1 Cerezo Osaka (Levain Cup Group Stage 2nd Sec.)
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The last match in March. Cerezo Osaka boarded the away stadium and challenged the Osaka derby against Gamba Osaka in the second section of the J.League YBC Levain Cup group stage. The starting lineup was changed for two players from the most recent league match. Leo Ceara for the first time in four official matches, and Sota Kitano, who returned from the U-20 Asian Cup, made the starters.
The first half started in the form of receiving the opponent’s pressure for Cerezo. Even when taking possession, there were many situations where they exchanged passes at low positions, and so they struggled to carry the ball forward as they wanted. It was a development that was forced to be defensive but with the hard defense of CB Matej Jonic and Koji Toriumi, and the good saves of GK Kim Jin Hyeon, they did not allow the opponents to score a goal. In the 36th minute, Kim Jin Hyeon responded to a CK and accidentally received an opponent"s kick in the face. He was unable to stand up, and the match was suspended for about five minutes. During this time, Manager and the players had a discussion, and “by correcting the positions of Okuno, Kitano, and (Matsuda) Riku, the game stabilized a little"" (Manager Akio Kogiku). Carrying the ball forward and increasing opportunities to enter the opposition half, they recovered the inferiority by getting FKs and CKs in quick succession just before the end of the first half, and the first half finished.
In the second half as well, Cerezo received the Gamba’s attacks at the beginning, but in the 52nd minute, they succeeded in taking the lead in an unexpected way. Seiya Maikuma picked up the loose ball which the opponent’s pass exchange was misaligned, dribbled alone, shook off the opponent"s DF with a high and low speed, and shot to the top of a goal net on the near side with his left foot. "From the time I was carrying the ball, I was thinking of going to the finish by myself. It was my first goal in a derby match, so I was really excited." (Maikuma) The spectators on the back side of the away goal got excited for the uniform number 16’s first goal in this season. From here on, Cerezo took control of the match against a faltering Gamba. In the 55th minute, Leo Ceara and Kitano pressed together to steal the ball, and Tokuma Suzuki threw a powerful shot. In the 64th minute, from a thick attack, Matsuda"s cross was followed by Leo Ceara"s volley shot. Also in the 66th minute, they broke through the left side by exchanging passes, and Shinji Kagawa shot at the end. In the 75th minute, in the place of Leo Ceara and Kagawa, Mutsuki Kato and Satoki Uejo were sent to the pitch, and the intensity of the press further increased. In the second half, they did not let Gamba make a decisive scene and continued to lead the match.
However, the Osaka Derby did not end like this. In the additional time of the second half, Cerezo left the vacant space in the vital area just in a moment, and Ryotaro Mashino, who played as a substitute, scored a middle shot. From here on, Gamba"s attack got on fire, and Cerezo went on the defensive, but they did not allow the opponents to make a come-from-behind shot as Ryosuke Yamanaka cleared the ball in front of the goal. Then, on the last play, Cerezo got a scoring chance. Matej Jonic met with a cross from Hirotaka Tameda, who was playing well as a substitute, but his header went just above the crossbar. At this moment, the game was over. After a fierce battle, it ended in a result of sharing 1 winning point. Cerezo missed out on six straight wins in the Osaka Derby of away games, but they could start the Levain Cup without a loss, with one win and one draw from the opening. They would like to make use of this one winning point to advance through the group stage.
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