BRISBANE STRIKERS v JAPANESE UNDER-21 NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES SQUAD
Kane Framton
Staff Reporter
22/03/2010
The pre-season form of the Brisbane Strikers has been halted by an emphatic Japanese Under-21 National Universities side, who delivered a football masterclass in an 8-0 victory at Stockland Park on March 22.
A representative team composed of university players from across Japan, the match was a showcase of tight passing, fast ball movement and clinical finishing by the Japanese side.
The star of the night was striker Kensuke Nagai, who this year played his first match with the Japanese national team, and is a current member of J-League club Vissel Kobe. He proved impossible to contain, his speed and finishing helping him bag six goals in the pre-season friendly.
After a nervous few opening minutes, the Japanese began to stamp their authority on the game.
As the Strikers struggled to keep possession against the pressing tactics of the visitors, mistakes were made. The Japanese side were keen to test the aerial abilities of the Strikers defence early, with both Hidetaka Kanazano and Kensuke Nagai controlling long balls before taking shots at goal.
The early assault on the Strikers goal continued as Takahiro Nakazato took a shot from close range, with Strikers keeper Seb Usai doing well to deal with the initial shot and rebound. This was followed by a long range effort from Hiroyuki Abe, missing the upright by inches.
Minutes later the deadlock was broken, as Nagai demonstrated his pace by leaving his marker for dead and finishing from close range in the 18th minute.
The game had barely restarted when the Japanese side regained possession, picking out Nagai who showed great composure in the right side of the penalty area, shooting across Usai into the left corner.
The Japanese stranglehold on the contest showed no sign of relenting in the following minutes, as Ishihara delivered a pinpoint cross from the left wing to Kanazano, who fluffed a volley from six yards.
The Strikers defensive pairing of Ryan Sadler and Ben Griffen were having a tough time dealing with the relentless attacking pressure, and in the 30th minute a third goal was scored. A short range shot was deflected behind Strikers keeper Usai, and bundled into the net by Nagai for a first half hat-trick.
The score was 4-0 after 39 minutes, as Nakazato drove at a back-pedalling defence before finding Ishihara unmarked in the penalty area, who made no mistake.
A fifth was almost added minutes later in a fluid passasge of play, when Ishihara was again involved as he released left-back Yudai Tanaka to glide down the wing and cross to Kanazano, who got down well to head the ball into the crossbar.
In a first half dominated by the Japanese, Brisbane struggled to break down the well-marshalled defense of their opponent and managed few meaningful attempts on goal.
Light rain began to fall after the interval, making clean passing more difficult to achieve. It was a tighter contest for the opening ten minutes, with the Strikers finding some much needed possession and attacking pressure. Michael Angus crossed well from the right wing on 55 minutes, although Gareth Musson failed to control the ball with his chest.
On 62 minutes, Matija Simic slid a through ball to Musson, who beat Japanese keeper Takuya Matsumoto one-on-one, only to be called offside.
Ishihara added a fifth for the visitors on 67 minutes, moving into the box unchallenged and finding the bottom corner.
A period of stalemate followed this, as the Strikers found more possession but were time and again frustrated by the superior tackling and pressure of the Japanese side. The Strikers looked to unsettle their opponents with a more physical attitude, but to little avail.
Substitute Matt Thurtell looked dangerous for the Strikers on the right flank, entering the penalty area but failing to find a final ball to put his team on the scoreboard after 77 minutes. Moments later he had a shot of his own from close range, but keeper Matsumoto got down well to parry the ball to safety.
The Strikers seemed to lose heart in the final ten minutes, with Japanese striker Nagai asserting his dominance with three tidy finishes to bring his personal tally to six goals for the night, and the team tally to eight. The final score was 8 – 0 to the Japanese Under-21 National Universities side in an outstanding technical display.
The Sunshine Coast Fire will be next to host the Under-21 National Universities side in what is likely to be a tough encounter. The match kicks off at 6.30pm at One Mile Oval, Gympie, on Wednesday March 24.
Final Score: Brisbane Strikers – 0
Japanese Under-21 National Universities – 8
Goals: Nagai: (18, 20, 30, 82, 83, 90)
Ishihara: (39, 67)
