"It was a hard game but we knew it would be like this in Oita," said Nishino. "Things got harder halfway through the game [when it started raining heavily] but our players did well."
Bando opened the scoring with just two minutes gone when he tapped home the rebound from Takahiro Futagawas shot before the two combined again for the second, two minutes after the interval. The 27-year-old received a pass from Futagawa with his back to goal and turned his marker before firing in his second of the night and his 12th in the last ten games to take his tally to 13, three shy of current top scorer, Urawa Reds striker Washington. "Bando is keeping his good shape and that has probably come from his attitude, with his hunger and eagerness to improve his game. And the more praise he gets the better he becomes so I hope that people will continue to praise him."
Despite the two-goal winning margin it was far from easy for Gamba who were put under pressure for spells from an aggressive Oita. Trinita thought they had equalised three minutes after Bando had opened the scoring when midfielder Yoshihiro Uchimura sneaked into the space behind the Osaka backline and slotted home from ten meters out. However, it was disallowed after referee Hiroyoshi Takayama adjudged there was a handball in the build up to the goal. The home side continued to put pressure on Gamba’s somewhat shaky back four and came close to finding the net in the 24th minute when forward Shota Matsuhashi hit the post in the 24th minute before Yuki Fukaya headed a corner into the side net five minutes later.
Shortly after halftime a superb header from forward Daiki Takamatsu forced a save from Gamba goalkeeper Yosuke Fujigaya but it was another missed chance for Oita as their seven-game unbeaten streak came to an end at the hands of the reigning J.League champions. Also seeing their unbeaten run come to an end on Saturday was Shimizu S-Pulse who had gone eight games without a loss until they went down 2-1 to Kashima Antlers at the National Stadium in Tokyo. Kashima, with forward Atsushi Yanagisawa and Alex Mineiro on the bench, took the lead a minute from half-time through Brazilian Fernando before fellow midfielder Takuya Nozawa made it 2-0 with a skillful 61st minute lob.
Shimizu pulled a goal back nine minutes later thanks to Takuma Edamura and the Shizuoka side rallied hard during the closing stages with Brazilian forward Marquinhos repeatedly threatening the Kashima goal but their efforts went unrewarded. Nabisco Cup holders Urawa Reds defeated a tenacious Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-1 with Nobuhisa Yamada scoring the winning goal with four minutes left to play. Japan defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka fired the ball into the top corner to give Urawa the lead after 36 minutes but the advantage didnt last long with Brazilian striker Uelseis curling shot from the left palmed into the net by Reds keeper Norihiro Yamagishi four minutes later.
Sanfrecce missed a number of scoring chances on the counter and they were to be punished when Urawa midfielder Yamada latched on to an Alessandro Santos pass at the far post to tap in the decisive goal. Yokohama F. Marinos beat hosts Avispa Fukuoka 3-1 with former Japan striker Tatsuhiko Kubo scoring the opening goal in the 15th minute before being sent off 12 minutes later. Daisuke Sakata and Koji Yamase extended Yokohamas lead in the 66th and 69th minutes respectively before Kazunori Iio scored a consolation goal with a minute left to play.
In other matches, Kyoto Purple Sanga collected their fourth win of the season by beating FC Tokyo 1-0 at home, Nagoya Grampus Eight downed Albirex Niigata 3-1 to snap their winless run at four games while Cerezo Osaka edged JEF United Chiba 3-2 thanks to striker Yoshito Okubo’s 77th minute strike. On Sunday, Kawasaki Frontale will host Jubilo Iwata, while Omiya Ardija will visit Ventforet Kofu. |
