See you on the way down.....Verdy 1 - 0 SC Tochigi

So another 1-0 win, another 3 points and up to 8th place. Top of the Pack of the midtable teams with little to play for. It`s not much of a title to win but we`ll take it. It was a sweaty affair at Green Stadium which at the moment resembles more concrete grey stadium with the refurbishments going on there. Looks like it`ll be a tidy stadium when completed though, with no track and for football only. Well done Tochigi City Office for having the foresight to upgrade without feeling the need to put in a running track. Good work.
A crowd of 5,000 showed up for the first summer night game of the season and had quite an entertaining affair to watch with Verdy coming out of the blocks fast with Kikuoka through 1 on 1 with the keeper after only four minutes unfortunately with an all too predictably weak effort which should have been buried. Verdy were on the front foot for most of the first half with Iio just missing the target from the edge of the box after being put through, though his chance was far more difficult than Kikuoka`s. Hiramoto was largely anonymous for the first half yet it was he who got free down the right immediately after halftime and sent over a pinpoint cross for Kawano to again head weakly at the keeper when completely free. This was the second GOLDEN opportunity to score and yet again they missed. Still the season long problem of finishing is haunting the forwards and it was through a stroke of luck that Hiramoto was to score the winner. In the 72nd minute Iio crashed a shot against the bar from outside the box, Hiramoto followed up and had his shot parried by the keeper, given another bite of the cherry he scuffed his second shot across the face of the goal and in off the Tochigi defender. Following this Tochigi came to life and looked dangerous for the first time in the game, though not dangerous enough to break through the reinforced, inpenetrable, iron curtain, barbed wire, monstrosity that is Verdy`s defence this season. Hats off to the boys at the back, they are doing the business. Yokohama FC got promoted a few years back on the back of not conceding and nicking 1-0`ers. Verdy are highly unlikely to be able to get as far as 3rd place but they`ll certainly be a lot higher than 19th come the last game of the season.