|
Hachioji Park, Saturday 30th January.
The JETs simply refuse to accept their place in the TML 'eco-chain' ... They brought half the J-League with them and a tea-cozy but their stubborn resistance was broken by an Aranda special.
Brass monkeys
Even they were in thermals. Chilly it was. BFC resembled 10 Ray Wilkins and an Action Man for the first 10 minutes, square-balling it and tickling the 'new-look' JETs but too polite to go for the kill.
One or two sweeping balls from Aranda to Yamagishi threatened to kick-start things but a lack of incision in the final third meant the JETs were barely stretched.
On the left, Imai took the more direct route with a couple of decent early balls and BFC's opener finally arrived after more wriggle-ry resulted in a free kick after 20 minutes.
Aranda fizzed a wicked ball across the six-yard line and Evans was left with the easy job of sweeping home from close range a chance only David Ngog could have missed.
Shower Talk suggested Evans is now the top scorer across all leagues, although another cubicle countered that 'it could be (YCAC's) Hide Yoshioka' while Aranda yelled 'Give me shampoo!' over and over. And over.
Contact sport
Aranda had yelled at everyone before setting up BFC's goal and he was only briefly silenced, a quick JETs equaliser triggering a renewed bout of Tourette's from the Man from Del Monte. A soft penalty well converted by the Dish Cloth. Harrumph!
Back came BFC and their second came 10 minutes before halftime. Again Imai was the inspiration, although not before 'the crowd' worked a miracle by locating his lost contact lens, knocked out when he won the free kick that led to BFC's opener.
Lone fan Aki rushed on and found the lens, Imai popping it back in just in time to receive a ball from Doyle. A cheeky stepover and shift to the left befuddled the right-back and Imai drove the ball with venom inside the far post before going on a mad, fist-pumping celebratory run that would have made any Argentinian proud. Mustard. Wasabi. Whatever. Two-one halftime.
Credit where it's due. JETs always make things hard. Tackles flew in fast and furious, referee Orlando more often than not on top of things and keeping a lid on potential flashpoints but this was a game of few handbags.
Pomares was booked for going over the top, deserved but it looked worse than it was. The JETs midfielder may disagree, of course. Moments later Sugiura was also sent hobbling from the fray with a badly swollen ankle.
I say, pass the ball, old boy, there's a good sport!
Flashes of Yamagishi circa 2006 vintage appeared, once taking him past five players. A pass then and a BFC goal would have made the highlights reel Sakai was busily splicing together with the video camera, like Kurosawa on MDMA.
Alas, there was once again no final ball. Aranda's fury, vented at halftime, and translated very politely by Sugiura, resurfaced. Moments later it was 2-2.
Poor defending from BFC, bit of pinball and wallop! -- Komatsu restores parity and upsets the 'natural order' of things. It is surprising we are still surprised by the JETs, who can take points off any side on their day.
JETs tails were suddenly up and with Robertson caught forward, it took a superb back-tracking run and tackle from Yamagishi to break up a dangerous-looking counter.
With Aranda barking away in Spanish and a hint of desperation creeping into BFC's play, their blushes were spared with less than five minutes left, the JETs failing to clear Himmer's flick-on and the ball dropping for an angry Aranda.
Don't make him angry. You wouldn't like him when he's angry. He didn't disappoint, a thundering volley dipping into the top corner from just inside the box to give BFC the three points they needed after coming unstuck against Sala the previous week.
Aranda: the keys to the penthouse to you amigo!
Report by Pinky and Diane
|
