Vs Fagiano Okayama (home) 8/11/25 J League match 36

Kawasaki Frontale 1 - 1 Fagiano Okayama

It’s taken me quite some time to get round to writing this post, mainly due to the poor quality of the game. Even at the end of the match it was quite hard to recall what had happened in the preceding 90 minutes. Four days later, it’s almost impossible. And when you consider that most of my notes were things along the lines of ‘this is utterly dull’ and ‘complete lack of quality’ I’m going to get this out of the way with not much discussion of the actual game events as nothing much happened, and as I also can’t be bothered anymore, with as little effort as possible too.

Us -

Still mainly plugging away with the same players. No excitement of some youngsters getting a run out even though our season is over and done with. It’s hard to imagine what kind of scenario would result in some youngsters getting a chance as in seasons where we’d already sealed the title we haven’t done it, and in seasons like this where we’ve already fucked everything up, we still seem to be approaching every game as a crucial must win contest. When you consider that we might have a few players maybe retiring or leaving us at the end of the season (the first one, Sung-Ryong was announced today in between writing this and posting it), it also might have made sense to give some of them a chance to play. But no, just the same old stuff, dawdling towards a boring end to what has been a real up and down season. It was nice to see Sasaki back at left back. It was nice to see us fairly solid in defence. Well, right up until Hasebe decided to shore things up to hang on to that crucial 1-0 home win against Okayama. Right on cue, as often seems to happen when he tinkers to make us more solid, we conceded. Hasebe has had a tough year in some respects. He seems to have got no end of bad luck. The defensive solidity that people imagined he’d bring hasn’t materialised and instead we’ve become a team scoring goals for fun. Well, sometimes. On other occasions we’ve been absolutely blunt in front of goal as we were on this occasion. If we could have spread out the goals we’ve scored this year a bit better we would really have been in with a chance in the league. Probably likewise, if we hadn’t defended so badly all year. But this is all stuff for an end of season post really, (if I can be bothered to write it). Yamaguchi was very ready to throw blame around in his post match comments. It was quite unedifying, particularly when you consider some of the goals we’ve conceded this year. But I don’t want to start slagging people off. I will say though that I am worried about next season already.

Them -

Not much to say. I thought it was amusing that Broderson’s first name in Katakana is Subendo. I’m not sure why I enjoyed it so much, but I guess I was trying my best to find entertainment where I could in what was a dull, dull game. Aside from their goal, Okayama could only shoot either directly at the keeper or miles off target, which explains why they didn’t score more. To be fair though, the same could be said about us. Actually even worse could be said about us as even our goal was massively deflected. The height of goalkeeping excitement for most of the match was a keeper bending over to pick up a shot that dribbled into their hands. I’m pleased we managed to score against Okayama, as we’d failed to do so in the away game. This means we’ll finish the season by having scored at least once against every team… Oh, apart from the mighty Tokyo Verdy. That really sums up the season I think. Anyway, this is supposed to be the Okayama section. But the truth is there isn’t much else to say.

Ref -

Thankfully the ref Shimizu didn’t send off two of our players on this occasion. He continued in his previous (before he went nuts in the Fukuoka game) form and pretty much didn’t give anything, and was very reluctant to give any cards. He was even reluctant to let the physios onto the pitch, instead favouring the maxim that time is a great healer. I was worried that if someone broke a bone we might still be sitting in the stadium as Shimizu thought that any injury could be cured by just waiting. There definitely wouldn’t have been enough space on the board to show the additional time. How many minutes are there in nine months? I did like the way the ref overruled both of his linesman early on, within a few minutes of each other. The guy in front of us definitely deserved it as he was utterly hopeless. But anyway, this game was so dull for the most part that he didn’t have much to do. And therefore I don’t have much to moan about!

Another lead thrown away! Another late goal conceded! What a thrilling match, absolutely predictable when you consider that in order to let excitement reach an absolutely peak the league decided to play the last four games of the season over the course of a few months. Fever pitch excitement! Both teams played like they hadn’t kicked a ball for a couple of weeks. So just imagine how bad we’re going to be in the next match which is in three weeks time! Clearly it would be more humane if we could euthanise our season now, (or even better, could have done a few games ago). I feel like I should write a brief end of season piece as there probably is something to be said about our year, but please excuse me for not bothering with anything else. Writing this blog seems to have become quite pointless recently so i think I’ll probably have a rethink before next year’s dull half season of only the most boring away games. Next up Hiroshima and Urawa at home and away respectively, some time before the end of the year. Not much to look forward to, apart from a break from the kind of tedium that was on display in this match. Blessed relief! 

 

Team

GK 98. YAMAGUCHI Louis 
DF 31. VAN VERMESKERKEN Sai

DF 4. JESIEL

DF 22. Flip UREMOVIC
DF 5. SASAKI Asahi
MF 19. KAWAHARA So
MF 8. TACHIBANADA Kento
MF 14. WAKIZAKA Yasuto 
FW 17. ITO Tatsuya
FW 9. ERISON (Yellow card 44') 

FW 23. MARCINHO

Subs

GK 21. ANDO Shunsuke
MF 6. YAMAMOTO Yuki (on for TACHIBANADA 77')

DF 7. KURUMAYA Shintaro
FW 11. KOBAYASHI Yu
DF 15. TANABE Shuto (on for ITO 90+3')
MF 16. OZEKI Yuto (on for WAKIZAKA 77')
FW 29. MYOGAN Toya
FW 41. IENAGA Akihiro (on for MARCINHO 66')
FW 91. Lazar ROMANIC (on for ERISON 66')

Goals

YAMAMOTO (Frontale) 84' 1-0
MATSUMOTO (Okayama) 90+5' 1-1

Highlights  

Vs Fagiano Okayama (away) 16/3/25 J League match 6

Fagiano Okayama 0 - 0 Kawasaki Frontale

Well I guess you could never say that 2025 Frontale is dull and predictable. Although perhaps our football has at times been like that. After walloping Shanghai Shenhua and progressing in the ACL, I guess some people might have thought this would be an easy victory. But of course that wasn’t the case. At the same time, the reputation of Okayama being dull cloggers, extremely defensive and really physical might also have been a common prediction. So maybe this game might have been more like Kyoto at home part 2. Well, that didn’t quite pan out either, did it? Okayama would have been worthy winners, so coming away with a point is a big positive for us. As I write this I’m desperately trying not to fall asleep on a train to Matsuyama. The fact that I’m on a train to a new city is however helping matters when I think about how I feel about this game. Had it come at home and I had to go to work tomorrow, I might have been a bit peed off. But with the holiday only just starting it’s hard to get angry about what was admittedly quite a poor performance. As I’m still quite busy this month, this post is once again kind of brief. But that is also in part due to there not being many positive things to write about in this match.

Us -

A similar team to the one against Shanghai but with no Oshima, which makes complete sense. Yamamoto came in for him and to be honest didn’t do that well. But exactly the same can be said about pretty much everyone. Marcinho had a bad day, and just couldn’t really get going. Wakizaka was pretty much non-existent. Every one of our players was giving the ball away for fun. Normally I’d moan about it being a terrible pitch or a different type of ball here, and whilst some players’ comments seems to be suggesting there was something a bit weird about the pitch, Okayama didn’t seem to have any trouble with it. And maybe a weird pitch doesn’t explain why we often just kicked the ball straight off the side of it. We were definitely having an off day, almost to a man. Our passing was horrible. Time after time we lost the ball under not much pressure whilst trying to build from the back. Nothing stuck up front either. The defence, from the point of view of the result, stood firm, but it was very much a surprise it did, and this was perhaps more due to the opposition than us. The first half we were out possessed 60-40% and were out shot 12 to 2 and didn’t get either of ours on target. In the second half we rallied slightly shooting eight times but still Okayama out shot us 10 to 8, our 64% possession contributing to our improved shot count but also perhaps contributing to the fact that we let them shoot ten times. We did finally get that magical first shot on target though. It came in the 82nd minute and sadly was also our last shot on target. Clearly this wasn’t a great day for us, and it does seem that we’re going to have an up and down 2025. Don’t think I’m pinning it on Hasebe though as in this match the players clearly weren’t up to it. If it wasn’t for an amazing save from Yamaguchi we could easily have lost. And probably would have deserved to. So with that in mind, coming away with a point is a very good thing, I think.

Them -

At the station there was a sign welcoming people getting off the Shinkansen to Okayama, the sunniest city in Japan. Naturally it pissed it down almost constantly from when we arrived till late on in the second half. Okayama were always going to be dull, right? Except they weren’t. They were really good and nothing like the bores I’d been told they might be. Perhaps really good is over-egging the pudding slightly as thankfully, they were as bad at shooting as we were at retaining the ball and getting out of our own half. But full credit to Okayama. If you told someone who knew nothing about the J League that one of these teams came up last year and the other was the champions a few years ago they’d almost certainly get the teams the wrong way round. Also, as Okayama are unbeaten at home this year, maybe a draw’s a good result? At the same time they’ve lost to YFC, and also to Urawa who seem to be a bit shite so perhaps a draw isn’t a good result? One thing’s for sure, the league is all over the place this year. Seems like there are plenty of teams winning and losing games they shouldn’t, so maybe that bodes well for it being an exciting season. And somewhat strangely, I thought this was a kind of exciting game. Perhaps not for the right reasons, but at least an exciting 0-0 draw when we play shit is better than some of the other more likely and considerably more depressing outcomes.

Ref -

In spite of having some preconceptions of the ref, I can’t say he got that much wrong in this game. I thought the yellow cards he gave us were a bit harsh, but when again I would, wouldn’t I? He and his linesman did appear to miss Lucao booting Maruyama in the head, but I haven’t watched it back so I might be wrong about that. This point should probably have been in the ‘them’ section , but Lucao seemed like a player who when he was a youngster always practiced ball skills and weight training but never had any friends to practice passing with or enough space to set up a goal to practice shooting. He was a beast and we couldn’t really deal with him, but thankfully he couldn’t pass or shoot for toffee, (at least in this match). Maybe it was the pitch... Anyway, shockingly no real complaints or comments about the ref apart from a weird gesture he did a few times, both arms aloft and opening and closing his hands as if he was performing an air puppet show. Kind of weird, but if I can’t complain about his reffing that’s got to be a good thing.

So a point gained in what was an entertaining game of extremely low quality. I must say, it’s nice to visit a new stadium and once again go complete when it comes to visiting all the stadiums in J1. It’s also good when you can walk to the stadium from the station. The ground wasn’t as bad as I might have expected. There’s a running track but the views were decent enough. The away section did wobble quite a bit when fans were jumping though which was slightly disconcerting. As was the rhythmic squeaking sound you could hear under the stand when that was happening. But presumably as Japan is somewhat earthquake ready country, the wobble is ok as it means it’s not going to fall to pieces and fall down. I had a fun time. And now we all get a nice break! No games for almost two weeks. The next match will be the Tamagawa Classico away version on the 29th. I think we need a rest so the break is welcome. Perhaps it will also give Hasebe some time to work with the players and tweak things a little further. There have been highs already this year, but an at least equal amount of treading-water-just-as-bad-and-dull-as-last-year games too. Fingers crossed our new manager can tip the balance a little further towards the former over the coming months!

 

Team

GK 98. YAMAGUCHI Louis
DF 5. SASAKI Asahi
DF 2. TAKAI Kota
DF 35. MARUYAMA Yuichi
DF 13. MIURA Sota
MF 19. KAWAHARA So
MF 6. YAMAMOTO Yuki
MF 17. ITO Tatsuya (Yellow card 43')
MF 14. WAKIZAKA Yasuto
MF 23. MARCINHO
FW 9. ERISON (Yellow card 41')

Subs

GK 1. JUNG Sung-Ryong
MF 8. TACHIBANADA Kento
MF 16. OZEKI Yuto (on for YAMAMOTO 62')
FW 18. SEGAWA Yusuke (on for KAWAHARA 84')
FW 20. YAMADA Shin (on for ERISON 62')
FW 24. MIYAGI Ten (on for MARCINHO 75')
DF 31. VAN WERMESKERKEN Sai
FW 41. IENAGA Akihiro (on for ITO 62')
DF 44. CESAR HAYDAR

My Frontale Man Of The Match

 

Pretty much crap all round in this match but given that without his intervention we would have lost, it goes to…

YAMAGUCHI Louis - one amazing save, clawing the ball back with his right hand just as it was about to cross the line. Bravo!

Goals

Not today... (actually, considering the way the game went, that's probably a good thing)

Highlights

Vs Fagiano Okayama (away) 14/8/19 - Emperor's Cup 3rd round

Fagiano Okayama 1 - 2 Kawasaki Frontale (AET) 

We're through! Just about... This game was particularly mysterious as there was no way of watching it apart from going to the stadium. Hardly a vintage performance and finally Oniki decided to play a right back. Two in fact, therefore another player playing out of position! Slightly worrying that we went behind with our two best centre backs playing, who will both be banned for the next league match. Damiao scored again, but very late, and we left it late into extra time to get the winner. Seems from twitter that there were a few dubious refereeing decisions, but aren't there always? Hopefully the squad have been able to get home as all the shinkansens on Thursday morning were cancelled due to the typhoon. A delayed return after a match which went to extra time isn't the best preparation for another away game in Sendai on Saturday. Fingers crossed, eh?

Team

GK 21. ARAI Shota
DF 26. MAGUINHO
DF 4. JESIEL
DF 5. TANIGUCHI Shogo

DF 17. MAWATARI Kazuaki

MF 6. MORITA Hidemasa 

MF 22. SHIMODA Hokuto

MF 41. IENAGA Akihiro

MF 28. WAKIZAKA Yasuto

MF 19. SAITO Manabu

FW 9. LEANDRO DAMIAO

Subs

GK 1. Sung-Ryong JUNG

DF 7. KURUMAYA Shintaro (on for MAWATARI 81')

MF 8. ABE Hiroyuki (on for SAITO 67')

FW 11. KOBAYASHI Yu

FW 20. CHINEN Kei (on for WAKIZAKA 61')

MF 25. TANAKA Ao

MF 34. YAMAMURA Kazuya (on for MAGUINHO 98')

Goals

 

NAKANO (Okayama) 11' 1-0
LEANDRO DAMIAO (Frontale) 18' 1-1
IENAGA (Frontale) 117' PEN 1-2

Highlights