Review: Cerezo Osaka 1-0 Avispa Fukuoka (J1 MD36)

Shunta Tanaka penetrated Fukuoka's defence and scored the winner for Cerezo with a powerful mid-range shot.

Five days after their last match against Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo in the 35th round of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League, Cerezo Osaka returned home to face Avispa Fukuoka in the 36th round of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League. There were two changes to the starting line-up from the Sapporo match. The injured Reiya Sakata and Hinata Kida were left out, while Capixaba started for the first time in 12 matches and Hayato Okuda for the first time in six matches. The back four was used for the first time in six matches since the match against Shonan Bellmare.





As in the last two games, there were times when the opponents attacked at the start of the game, but "it was in our game plan that the game would unfold that way. We made sure to defend thoroughly for 10 minutes. We also made sure to carry the ball thoroughly. Everyone was patient," as manager Akio Kogiku reflected after the match. The team defended calmly and, having learnt from their previous two matches against Jubilo Iwata, were alert at their backs when passing the ball. Once in the 13th minute, they were caught on counter-attack after a lost ball by Okuda, but they entered the game trying as much as possible to avoid being dispossessed unintentionally. In the 14th minute, Cerezo's first chance came from a rebound of an opponent's corner kick. Lucas Fernandes dribbled and passed the ball to Sota Kitano on the left. It was a decisive moment, but the angle was a little off and the shot went wide. However, Kitano again showed his sharpness on the day, and in the 26th minute he had a good chance after starting in the middle of the pitch. He passed the ball to the right flank, where it was finished off by the left-back, Hirotaka Tameda, running in from the opposite flank. His shot flew just in front of the goalkeeper, but it was an attack that shook the opposition defence from side to side. In the 31st minute, after a throw-in, Kitano struck a shot from Capixaba’s cross that was deflected over the bar by a defender, but the goal was close. While Fukuoka's tenacious defence prevented them from scoring a goal, an incident occurred towards the end of the first half when they were attacking in a good rhythm. Fernandes dived to meet Capixaba's cross and collided with Fukuoka goalkeeper Takumi Nagaishi in mid-air. Fernandes was unable to catch the ball and fell. The two players left the pitch due to concussion. In first-half added time, after Masaya Shibayama replaced Fernandes, he played a one-two with Leo Ceara and tried to score with an unmarked mid-range shot, which narrowly bounced off the crossbar.





The second half started well, as Fukuoka attacked at the start, but Cerezo soon regained their composure, and in the 50th minute they had a good chance. Hiroaki Okuno got behind an opposition defender from a Shunta Tanaka pass and fired in a shot that was saved by the goalkeeper. Another good chance in the 60th minute. Tanaka received the ball from the right and sent the ball to the left, where Tameda ran in from wide and shot. However, his shot was blocked by the goalkeeper. Tanaka pounced on the rebound and tried to shoot, but his effort was denied by the goalkeeper. However, learning from this experience, Tanaka said that he was "conscious of swinging his leg over" to score the winner. It was a move that foreshadowed what was to follow. In search of a goal, Cerezo put Ryogo Yamasaki and Hiroto Yamada on at the same time in the 67th minute. Four minutes later, the decisive moment came when both were involved. Yamasaki dropped Ceara's through ball and Yamada made a shot, but again it was denied by a good save. The biggest threat of the second half came in the 75th minute, when a cross from the left flank was met by Wellington, but Tameda pulled his body up to compete with him and his header went wide. Cerezo finally broke the Fukuoka defence in the 81st minute. After several passes had pushed the Fukuoka defence back into their own half, Tanaka picked up a cross from Tameda that was cleared by a defender, and unleashed a shot with his left foot. The ball found the back of the net.







From then on, Fukuoka attacked in search of an equalizer, even making substitutions, but Cerezo's defensive concentration remained unbroken, and Ryuya Nishio made a brilliant tackle to stop a counter-attack in the 90th minute. The game continued to be a meat-and-potatoes affair, with both sides battling for possession. Cerezo eventually brought on Koji Toriumi to consolidate at the back and secure a 1-0 victory that moved them up to seventh in the standings, their first win in three matches since the 33rd match of the season against Urawa Reds. With just three weeks to go before their next and final home game, Cerezo will continue their good preparation by taking on Kashima Antlers, a team they have not beaten in recent years.