Review: Cerezo Osaka 1-2 Jubilo Iwata (J1 MD34)

Cerezo attacked hard in the last minutes to close the score to one goal, but a mistake early in the game led to a loss for the first time in five games.

The team went into the match against Jubilo Iwata, the 34th game of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League, looking for a third win in a row. The starting eleven was the same as that which had won the last two matches in a row, and the 3-4-2-1 system continued, with Hiroto Yamada being subbed for the first time in 17 matches since the Meiji Yasuda J1 League match against Kyoto Sanga F.C.

The game kicked off as the rain began to fall, and the visitors took an unexpected lead in the fifth minute when goalkeeper Kim Jin Hyeon's attempt at a quick goal kick hit the back of Shunta Tanaka and bounced off him, allowing Ryo Germain to score the opener. A run of three consecutive games without conceding a goal prior to that was easily broken. From then on, Cerezo had more time on the ball against Iwata, who was playing a 5-4 defensive formation. In the 15th minute, Cerezo broke down the left flank with Ryuya Nishio starting the move, and Leo Ceara headed in Hiroaki Okuno's cross, but the ball was blocked by the opposition defence. The slippery, rain-soaked surface and the impatience after conceding so early in the game meant that mistakes were made in passing and Iwata's defensive blocks could not be broken, but towards the end of the first half, as they became more intent on getting behind their opponents' defence, they created a series of chances. The first of these came in the 45th minute when Sota Kitano latched onto a Lucas Fernandes pass from the left. However, his shot went wide. In first-half stoppage time, Tanaka's shot from a corner went over the bar. After conceding the goal, Iwata's counter-attack left the defence exposed, but Kim Jin Hyeon remained calm and unperturbed. He also made a couple of good saves to prevent a second goal.







In the second half, Cerezo, a goal behind, got into the opposition's half and created more chances. In the 47th minute, Kitano received the ball between opposing players and took it to shoot, and in the 51st minute, Hirotaka Tameda earned a free kick after dribbling into the box and being fouled just outside the penalty area. The decisive moment came from a corner kick in the 51st minute. Tanaka deflected Fernandes' kick in at the near post and Tameda met it at the far post, but his shot was blocked by the opposition defence. Cerezo continued to attack, but with them still a goal behind, manager Akio Kogiku made his first substitution in the 62nd minute. Kitano and Okuno were replaced by Capixaba and Satoki Uejo. Uejo was placed on the volante and Capixaba behind the striker. Soon afterwards, in the 63rd minute, Ceara dived to meet Capixaba's cross, but he could not get oa step forward. In the 71st minute, after a frustrating spell in which Cerezo were unable to break Iwata's defence, a pass in midfield was intercepted and Ryo Germain scored his second goal.





The game became even more difficult for Cerezo, but the players did not give up and fought back, and in the 78th minute manager Kogiku sent Hayato Okuda and Masaya Shibayama onto the pitch in place of Reiya Sakata and Hinata Kida, switching to a 4-3-3 system. In the 88th minute, Uejo won the ball on the front line and quickly cut inside to the left. Ceara met Capixaba's fast cross. The first time he slightly missed the target, but the second time he adapted well to score and get within a goal. Soon after, Hiroto Yamada replaced Ryosuke Shindo. With Tanaka back at centre-back, and Uejo and Shibayama playing in the volante role, Cerezo went on the attack with a super-attacking line-up. In added time in the second half, Nishio's cross was flicked on by Yamada and Tanaka reacted to the rebound and was tripped by an opponent to win a penalty kick. Cerezo got a chance to equalize at the last minute, but Ceara's kick was stopped by former Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima and they were unable to equalize. Cerezo lost 1-2 and their winning streak came to an end at two games.





"We lost control of the game in the first half as we conceded a goal early on. We made a lot of our own mistakes and it was a self-destructive game," the manager said, but he also stressed the positives: "We didn't go down 0-2 with a self-destructive result, and we all played without giving up until the end, which was a big improvement." With four games remaining, he vowed to "improve the quality of each and every player and the team's strength to finish the season." Their next game, which will be played in two weeks' time, is against Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, who are again in the midst of the battle to remain in J1. The team will be looking to review the issues from this week's match, including how they started the game, and make good preparations for the next game.