Review: Jubilo Iwata 1-1 Cerezo Osaka (J1 MD19)

Despite a late onslaught, the team failed to score, resulting in a disappointing draw to end the first half of the season in 7th place.

Six days after defeating Urawa Reds in the previous round, Cerezo Osaka traveled to Jubilo Iwata in the 19th round of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League in search of back-to-back wins. There was one change to the starting lineup from the previous match. Satoki Uejo replaced Vitor Bueno in the starting lineup.

The game started out with Cerezo playing better, winning a succession of corner kicks. The team kept possession of the ball, took control of the game, and picked up second balls to force Iwata's defensive line down. In the 12th minute, Lucas Fernandes and Capixaba both crossed the ball in succession, and Cerezo looked for scoring chances from both sides of the field. However, they were unable to penetrate Iwata's central defense. There were no decisive chances, and three of their four shots in the first half came from outside the box. On defense, the team responded with a compact formation with a solid lineup. The top two players, Matheus Peixoto and Ryo Germain, are among the strongest in the J1, but Ryuya Nishio and Koji Toriumi at center back kept them in check. They also did a good job of intercepting crosses from the flanks. Nishio was particularly impressive in this match, as he did a good job of covering to prevent goals in the 34th and 36th minutes when he was targeted behind Hayato Okuda. The first half ended 0-0, with the score remaining unchanged due to the concentrated defensive efforts of both teams.







In the second half, Iwata was on the offensive from the start. Iwata competed for the ball and took it, aiming to shoot. In the 49th minute, goalkeeper Kim Jin Hyeon made a good save on a corner kick, and in the 52nd minute, Kim Jin Hyeon and the defenders put their bodies on the line to prevent a goal from being scored. The team managed to avoid conceding a goal, but a corner kick awarded after that resulted in a goal. Ko Matsubara scored with a powerful shot that was difficult for the goalkeeper to stop. The goalkeeper had no choice but to praise his opponent for the shot, but after the match, the players cited the process leading up to the shot as an area of concern. In the 59th minute, the opponents had another chance to score on the counterattack, but their final shot went wide and a second goal was averted. Then Cerezo fought back, with Masaya Shibayama and Ryo Watanabe coming on in the 62nd and 67th minutes respectively to revive the attack. Shibayama led an attack down the left flank and Kakeru Funaki's cross was met by Watanabe, but his shot went just over the crossbar. In the 71st minute, Leo Ceara was brought down by an opponent in the penalty area after a through ball from Shibayama, but the whistle was not blown. However, Cerezo equalized in the 76th minute. Ceara headed home a corner kick from Fernandes, showing great physical strength despite being surrounded by defenders.







The Sakura ace's 14th goal of the season gave Cerezo a boost, and from that point on, they went on the attack in the final minutes of the match. In the 80th minute, Fernandes' free kick was turned in by Watanabe, and Ceara and Nishio dove to score. In the 86th minute, from a short corner, Fernandes' cross was flicked in by Nishio at the near post. Watanabe was on hand in the far corner, but his header went just wide. In the 88th minute, Shibayama received a pass from Shunta Tanaka, cut inside and shot. It was a near-goal, but the ball flew wide of the goalkeeper. In the last minute, Yuichi Hirano and Jordy Croux came on for the final goal, but it was just one step short of it. They were unable to finish the first half of the league with back-to-back wins. After the game, Ceara, who scored the equalizer, said: "Today's draw hurts us if we want to go to the top of the table. We created a lot of chances, so we had to score (to turn the game around)," revealing his disappointment. Cerezo had 11 shots in the second half alone and should have scored to turn the game around. Looking ahead to the second half of the league season, manager Akio Kogiku said, "We need to grow from a team that never loses to a team that wins. With consecutive home matches against Sagan Tosu and Nagoya Grampus next week, the team will look to pick up more wins and move closer to the top of the standings.