Gunfight At The Chofu Corral Verdy 3 - 2 Mito

Wasteful? Wasted? A Waste? Rough as a dog`s arse?

Crank up the Verdy Clap-O-Meter readers that was an absolute belter of a game. Goals, chances galore and woodwork rattled like a hundred rattlesnakes trapped in a baby rattle factory. A superb fightback and able to hold on till the end. Superb.

The game was an absolutely wide open free for all, the game finished 3-2 but with the chances that came along it really could have finished a 6-6 draw. It was Mito who were to race out into an early lead taking advantage of some slack defending from Verdy and piling forward early. Mito lined up with a solid front pair with Tokiwa and Okamoto getting into some great positions all evening.
The first came from a long goal kick which was taken down in the Mito midfield and passed onto Yuki Shimada between the centre circle and the Verdy box. He went for goal and the Verdy defence stood off and stood off. Shimada seeing his chance let fly from outside the box into the top right corner, Shibasaki getting nowhere near it.
Mito were to quickly extend their lead a few minutes later through Tokiwa though he didn`t know much about it. Yusuke Mori had given away a free kick on the left side of the Verdy box, the ball was driven in low with power and as Tokiwa went to finish he was knocked over by the covering Verdy defenders with the ball bouncing off his standing leg and in. At 2-0 and up until Verdy grabbed one back just before half time Mito were well worth their lead as, though Verdy were gaining most of the  possesion, it was Mito who were creating the clearer opportunities. Just after the second goal, Mito should have made it three with a free header from six yards hitting the base of the post from Okamoto.
However, Verdy were to bring one back before halftime, Yuki Kobayashi lashed a free kick from distance which was top corner bound until Homma saved, unfortunately the keeper could only manage to parry it into the path of Iio (on for the injured Kawano) who was following up for an easy header.
The second half was set for excitement and it didn`t disappoint. Verdy were to draw level with Mori breaking down the right and sending in an inswinging cross for a flying header from Abe just four minutes after the break. At 2-2 the game turned into a slugfest with both teams searching for the knockout blow, this was end to end football and superb entertainment for the crowd. Just two minutes after Abe`s equaliser Junki Koike drove into the box a unleashed a shot bound for the roof of the net until put off course and onto the underside of the bar by the slightest of touches from Shibasaki. A few minutes later it was Tsuchiya`s turn to rattle the woodwork from a Kikuoka corner. Okamoto should have done better from inside the box, blasting over.
The final goal was to come from ex-Mito midfielder Kikuoka who scored for the second time against his former club in three matches. Takahashi released Maranhao down the left channel, he dummied the defender to make space for the cross and found Kikuoka for a toe poke from six yards.
Verdy remained under the most severe pressure for the remainder but hung on for the win. What the hell do we do now? That`s three cracking results on the trot, I don`t know what to say really apart from that long may it continue starting with Bellmare next up on this weekend.
Mito will be absolutely gutted after that, but for once we took our chances while they wasted a shedload of their own.
Onwards and Shonanwards The Boys March On!!