Review: FC Imabari 3-4 Cerezo Osaka (Levain Cup 1st Rd 2nd Leg)

Hayato Okuda's dramatic goal just before the end of the game helped Cerezo win a hard-fought 120-minute game against FC Imabari in their first official encounter, and advance to the third round of the Levain Cup.

Three days after the dramatic victory over Kashima Antlers in the 10th round of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League, Cerezo Osaka faced FC Imabari in the second leg of the first round of the J. League YBC Levain Cup. Although they had played Imabari many times in training matches, this was the first time they had met in an official match.



There were 10 changes in the starting lineup from the Kashima match, with the exception of Ryuya Nishio. With the next league match against FC Tokyo coming up in three days, manager Arthur Papas decided to make some major lineup changes. However, even with these changes, Cerezo's current attacking style of play remained unchanged. In the 7th minute, Jaroensak Wonggorn was given the chance to go one-on-one with the goalkeeper off a through ball from Reiya Sakata. Jaroensak, making his first official start since joining the club, immediately put on a show, and Cerezo took the lead in the 12th minute. Shinji Kagawa received a vertical pass from Niko Takahashi, and passed it to Hinata Kida, who sent it into the center of the pitch for a good chance to score. Vitor Bueno carried the ball to the right side, where Jaroensak's cross was met by Bueno, who put the ball in the net. The series of flowing attacks was brilliant. Three minutes later, in the 15th minute, another goal was added. This time, Takahashi dribbled down the left flank, and although the ball was taken away from him once, Satoki Uejo, who started the game as a striker, immediately took it back and launched a short counter attack. He sent a pass to Masaya Shibayama on the left side, who broke through vertically and crossed. Jaroensak, running in from the opposite side, met the ball. It was his long-awaited first goal since joining the club and he said with a smile on his face, “I want to thank manager Papas and all my teammates." Despite the change of lineup from the league match, the team scored two goals with a purposeful attack. After a perfect start, the game began to look bleak before the 30th minute. In the 28th minute, Sakata was dispossessed in his own half but goalkeeper Kim Jin Hyeon was able to make a good save. In the 31st minute, a corner kick was awarded to the opponents after Jin Hyeon's vertical pass was stolen, and the goal was scored. The momentum of Imabari's press to get the ball from the front increased, and Cerezo were unable to find time to recover and conceded another goal. In the 33rd minute, an exchange of passes between Kida and Kakeru Funaki in their own half resulted in a mistake, and a cross was quickly put in. Jin Hyeon knocked down an opponent and a penalty kick was awarded. The goal was scored, and the game was quickly tied. "We started the game 2-0 up, we had to control the game better. We showed our inexperience as a team,” said Kagawa. It was a major reflection on the match.





Early in the second half, the team lost the ball on their own right flank, and a cross was turned in on the far side and headed inside for the winner. The team was caught off guard after scoring the first two goals. As the manager recalled, “When we slowed down after scoring the goals, the opponents took over the flow of the game." The team was not able to show the same passing ability as in the first half, and there was a moment when they almost conceded a fourth goal due to Imabari's aggressiveness, but Cerezo held firm and regained control of the game from the middle to the end of the second half. In the 74th minute, manager Papas decided to make three changes. Rafael Ratao, Lucas Fernandes, and Hayato Okuda were brought on. In the 79th minute, Bueno received a pass from Shibayama on the right flank, and was hit by a foot and awarded a penalty kick. Shinji Kagawa calmly slotted home the equalizer for Cerezo in the 80th minute.





The match went into extra time at 3-3. Imabari had the better chances in the first half of extra time, but Jin Hyeon made good saves on two occasions, and Cerezo pushed forward in the second half of extra time. Lucas in the 114th minute and Sota Kitano in the 117th minute failed to find the net, but they finally did in the 118th minute. Takahashi and Kitano broke down the left flank, and Okuda was quick to react to a Kitano cross that was cleared off the line by the defender and smashed a controlled shot into the net to put Cerezo back in front. Manager Papas said, “What I felt this team has grown up is that we were able to continue what we have been doing in training, even when the game got difficult." Manager Papas said, “What I felt this team has grown up is that we were able to continue what we have been doing in training, even when the game got difficult." Of course, considering the flow of the two goals and the team's performance in the first half, the team might have made the game difficult for themselves, but Imabari, which has lost only one of their nine J2 League games so far, is a real team and “difficult opponents” (Bueno). "The game showed us where we need to grow as a whole,” said manager Papas, pointing to the team's need for improvement, but he also praised the team, saying, “We are scoring more often at the end of games, which indicates the growth of the team's spirit." The team will work to recover for the next league match against FC Tokyo in three days, and “keep the momentum going” (Okuda), aiming for back-to-back league wins and a third straight official victory.