- The Rising Sun News: April 9, 2007

April 9, 2008

Content is Important, but Results Really Matter

After a very busy domestic run of three matches in eight days, the Kashima Antlers and Gamba Osaka could easily have used fatigue as an excuse for turning in less than brilliant performances in their Asia Champions League matches, on Wednesday. Gamba actually played a very exciting and hard-charging match in Melbourne, but three goals conceded despite the relatively cautious formation that coach Nishino adopted raises some question marks about the defence. But the bottom line was that they finished on top, thanks to an injury-time strike from Lucas Severino. Kashima, on the other hand, may have dominated play in their home match, but they had trouble breaking down a tight defensive shell adopted by Beijing Guoan after they were reduced to ten men, after 33 minutes. But they also secured the full three points from their match against the team that is viewed as their main competition in the group. Both Osaka and Kashima can go a long way towards locking up a spot in the knockout round by winning their return matches against the same two opponents, on April 23.

1 - 0 Beijing Guoan (China)

After playing four matches in the space of ten days, and eight over the past four weeks, the Kashima Antlers could certainly be excused if they were starting to feel a little bit out of breath. The Mighty Herd of Ibaraki entered their home match against Beijing Guoan with an incredible string of 14 consecutive league victories without dropping a single point. Indeed, if one excludes the referee-assisted PK shootout loss to Sanfrecce in the Xerox Cup -- an exhibition match in name, if not in importance -- Kashima had not dropped a single point in their previous 21 competitive matches. .

Naturally, it is impossible for any team to maintain a streak of form like this without suffering a letdown eventually. And a tough, 1-0 victory over a ten-man opponent at home would certainly qualify on that count. However, the teams that win titles are the ones who are not only able to dance away to a 9-1 demolition, as Kashima did against Krung Thai Bank in their first ACL mmatch, but are also able to win ugly, from time to time. When Su Tinh was sent off in the 33 minute, after his second reckless tackle in the space of five minutes, the Antlers may have gained a numerical advantage over their visitors but they were also forced to play a type of football that they generally would prefer to avoid. Kashima does have the ability to grind away at a nine- or ten-man defensive wall and eventually find a crack, but this team is far better suited to a flowing, fast-paced match which is exactly what this one was, over the opening half hour. The Antlers seemed to be on the verge of breaking through when Su was sent off (and indeed, his rough challenges were at least partly a reflection of the danger Kashima was beginning to create). But as soon as they were reduced to ten men, Beijing had little choice but to change their tactics and play for a draw. They packed their defence, left only one striker up front to chase long clearance passes, and settled in for a seige.

A great deal of credit must be given to the Chinese team, who played unforgiving defence and did a good job of holding the Antlers at bay, yet never resorted to any excessive physicality (apart from the two early studs-up challenges by Su). While Beijing Guoan did collect five cards, three of those were earned by their strikers, for wild theatrics in the vicinity of the Antlers penalty area. Although there may not be any excuses for this behaviour, it isnt too hard to understand since this was the only real chance that Beijing Guoan had to score. The most dangerous chance they got was a PK, awarded on the one occasion that Saul Martinez did manage to con the referee. But keeper Hitoshi Sogahata made a fine save, diving to his right to block the shot.

The only goal of the contest came on a beautiful combination between Marquinhos and Danilo, with the former feeding a perfectly timed through pass to Danilo as he slanted into the penalty box. Danilo met the ball in full stride, burst through on goal, and rolled the ball across the face of goal and into the right corner.

Date:
19 Mar, 2008

Location:
Kashima Stadium

1

0	1H	0
0	2H	0

0 Beijing Guoan

Danilo (53')

Scoring

Cautions

Thiago
Su Tinh
Yang Jin-Chuan
Saul Martinez

Sent off

Su Tinh

Melbourne Victory (Australia) 3 - 4

Gamba Osaka fought back twice from deficits against a very hard-charging Melbourne Victory, and restored parity each time. Most teams would have contented themselves with the fact that they had managed to overcome both the home team's best attacking efforts and the vagaries of "home pitch" officiating, and settled for a draw. But the Osaka Boys are not "most teams". Coach Nishino has always been the sort to roll the dice and go for the win, regardless of the risks or the venue. And this strategy paid off in a big way, as Lucas Severino came on to score an injury-time winner and put Gamba in an extremely favorable position at the top of their group.

Gamba has been slow off the mark in many of their matches, this year, and the clash against Melbourne was no different. The home team attacked from the opening whistle, and needed just four minutes to take the early lead. But the goal seemed to wake them up, and Gamba started to develop their rhythm and ball possession as the first half wore on. In the 32 minutes Takahiro Futagawa let loose a cannon shot that rocketed into the roof of the Melbourne net from almost 30 meters out. Five minutes later, Bare won a leaping battle at the right post and headed over two defenders to give Gamba the lead for the first time.

But Melbourne was certainly game for this sort of slugging match, and they equalised in the 42 minute, thanks to a "fortunate" non-call as Danny Allsopp ran down Satoru Yamaguchi in the Gamba box, but the whistle remained silent and Vargas was able to snatch up the loose ball and poke it past Yosuke Fujigaya. The benefits of "home cooking" continued on the stroke of half time, when Bare appeared to have put Gamba ahead once more, with another powerful header. But after the ball bounced -- apparently inside the goal -- and was swatted out by the keeper, the referee claimed that the ball had not crossed the goal line. The two teams went in at half time with the scores level.

For 20 minutes of the second half, the two teams battled back and forth, each seeking to claim a crucial advantage in momentum, as well as the go-ahead goal. The home team struck first, again from Allsopp who was definitely the star of the contest for Melbourne. But the Aussies' lead lasted only three minutes, as Gamba roared back once again, and this time Yamaguchi was the key target on a corner kick, as Bare played the decoy. Yamaguchi slipped in behind his marker and headed home to knot the scores once again, with about 15 minutes remaining.

As we said at the top, a lot of teams would have looked at the score line, considered the venue, and decided that a draw was reward enough for their hard work, after a 14-hour flight to Australia. But Gamba is a team that attacks and attacks, regardless of the situation or score line. And their intensity paid off when Lucas Severino raced onto a cross from Mishihiro Yasuda, on the left flank, and headed it into the back netting to give Gamba a thrilling late victory. .

Date:
19 Mar, 2008

Location:
Telestra Stadium, Melbourne