No Luck Required!! Verdy 1 - 0 Kashiwa Reysol

Cloudy today folks....

Top of the league, unbeaten at home or away and the meanest defence in J2..... Kashiwa Reysol away is always a tough trip for Verdy and The Boys have recieved some shoeings there over the years. Not last night though!! Verdy turned out their performance of the season and got the better of a team with one foot in J1 already. From back to front, top to bottom the 11 starters rolled up their sleeves and took the game to Reysol. No sitting back, The Boys got into Reysol and upset their passing game and were able to impose themselves to such an effect the Reysol were forced to change formations and make a change after only 20 minutes. Kawano who has been indifferent of late, turned up big time with some top quality passing and the same goes for Kikuoka. The defence was watertight and though Reysol got through a couple of times Doi was on hand to snuff out any danger.

Tomisawa with a salmon-esque leap!! Thump!! 1-0 Verdy!!

Verdy were to take a 36th minute lead through Captain Tomisawa who has been solid as a rock of late. Kikuoka supplied an inswinging cross from the left which Tomisawa came thundering in towards to leap and head powerfully home. Tomisawa has come in for some fully deserved criticism in the past but credit where it`s due, he has been superb since his early season malaise. Looks like Captain Birds Eye might be facing the sack......
The other two talking points of the game both involved Hiroki Kawano. It was he who broke through the Reysol back line only to be dragged back by Reysol`s Korean centre half Park Dong Hyuk. Park got a red card for his troubles and deservedly so. He was the last man, he dragged Kawano down and that was it. Kawano made a bit of a meal of going down but the foul was there. Verdy pressed as you would expect when facing 10 men and sure enough the goal came shortly after. Verdy were to continue to press for a further cushion but it was to be Reysol who would cause most of the danger in the second half. The game swung dramitacally into Reysols favour after a slighly bizzare turn of events. Hiroki Kawano was taking a corner and (probably rightly so) got booked for time wasting. He went ape shit at the linesman, squared up and started shoving  Tomisawa who (along with half of the team) was trying to calm him down. Goalkeeping coach Maeda got involved and promptly got himself sent off, presumably for something he said to the linesman. Anyway, following this the Verdy goal was under siege for the remainder, Doi also got booked for time wasting (this time undeserved I thought) and Verdy held on for the win. So Verdy have now beaten the top two teams away so what now??
Probably uninspiring defeats in the next couple of games...This is Tokyo Verdy people!!!!
Courtsey of our good friend  UltraVerdy, higlights of Verdy`s win of the season can be found here...http://ultra-verdy.blogspot.com/ watch and enjoy!!

You Lucky, Lucky Bastar..........Verdy 1 - 0 Ventforet !!

Apologies for the late posting readers but Tokyo Nerdy troops have been basking in the forests of Ibaraki, tents, (rental) BBQs, (because some spack forgot to put it in the van....ahem), beers and beautiful countryside aplenty. Ibaraki has two football teams in Kashima and Mito. One is good and one isn`t. Though what Mito lacks in football team, it certainly makes up for in countryside. Beautiful forests, mountains, rivers, onsens. Fantastic. Anyway, I digress....I watched the video upon return to Nerdy HQ and saw a ridiculous result following an absolute shoeing by the team in second place..........but you know what readers?? We`ll take the three points, love them and treat them like Jesus` very own pickled nutsack. Unbeliveably precious though a little embarassing to have in our possesion.
What can you say when The Boys have been battered into oblivion yet come out on top?? Jesus is in the line up?? Nope, too many non believers. Mohammed?? Nope too controversial and impossible to spot flying down the wing as no-one knows what he looks like. OK, The Dali Lama? Nope too old and being Tibetan he`s probably crap at football. The Divine Intervention theory is seemingly a non starter.
How about Verdy locked up shop, played possesion football and held out for the 0-0 and scored one on the break? Wrong again as to play posession football you have to actually have the ball in you posession to begin with.  That leaves pure, unbridled, jammy, lucky, lucky, lucky, bastards....."You had a corridor??" "I used to dream of a corridor!! you lucky, lucky bastards......"
Yup, that`s the answer!! Great!! After the nightmare beginning of the season, and the very future of the club still in massive doubt for next year, we`ll take it. Kazuki Hiramoto with his 6th of the season after yet another 1-0 win. Little bit of revenge for the earlier loss in the last minute at Ajinomoto earlier in the season, though this time clearly the WORST team won. Ventforet had the ball from the word go and pressured and pressured the Verdy goal and looked to have taken the lead at around the 15 minute mark, the ball was swung across the Verdy goal from the right and with Doi and all covering defenders beaten, the Kofu attacker inexplicably headed against the post when it would have been easier to score. Following this new "Tallest Player in the J League" (following ex Verdy Donkey Yuzo Funakoshi`s transfer to the Sagamihara Junior High School League) Mike Havenaar did his best impression of "The Donk" after being put clean through from a dreadful Verdy backpass. Lame effort easily snapped up by Doi. Havenaar had a general nightmare and was also at fault for the Verdy goal on the half an hour mark after being outmuscled by Verdy right back Kensuke Fukuda on the touch line, Fukuda went round the outside of the Flaming Great Gallah and swung over a cross which the oncoming Hiramoto was able to attack, and head comfortably into the back of the net. Absolutely against the run of play and worse was to come. Verdy were to have one more effort on goal in the entire match and the Verdy net was peppered, the defence had their pants pulled down at will by the Ventforet frontline but all to no avail. The result is all that matters. We won, they didn`t. Their forwards might have had the biggest off-day since time began but there you go. If the game were replayed ten times over Verdy would lose handsomly most games. But the game won`t be replayed. Verdy didn`t lose and The Boys can be happy in the knowledge that whatever else happens this season (and close season) Jesus` "bits" were safely put in their collective Green jars for future generations to admire and sniff when they think no-one is looking. Onwards and Upwards The Boys March On!!!!

Oguro gone to FC Tokyo.....

Nothing more to say really, he was wasting his time in J2, as we at Tokyo Nerdy stated pre-season, "Why score tap ins in J2 when he could be scoring tap ins at the lower end of J1??" Cheers for the goals and let`s hope the only goals he scores at Ajinomoto from now on are in his own net!!

Snow Brown and (Just the one) Lucky Dwarf...Verdy 1 -1 Tokushima

There is a saying that goes "if you throw enough shit at the wall some of it will stick" and I also have a friend who once wrote an obsenity on a pub toilet wall with his own "business" so I know it to be true. As you can see in the picture, the slogan in the picture is not an obsenity (though the action of writing such a thing blatantly is) therefore this is absolutely not the work of my friend, his word had four letters, started with "C" ended with "K" and had another "C" in it plus a vowel so "give me two from the top, three from the middle and any others you fancy Carol"..... well the wall tonight must have been made from some some hellishly non sticky stuff as the shots rained down on both goals but the keepers made a grand total of 3 saves between them and after a quick check on the Official J-League Spod-o-Meter the three saves came from 24 shots. Doi made one in the first half and another in the second and the Tokushima goalie made one save in 90 minutes. Poor game and an even poorer result given the circumstances in which the goal was conceded.
Wouldn`t you just know it??!! What happens when you sing somebodys praises?? They immediately go out and do the exact opposite of the praise you have just given....after some superb recent performances and what looked like another clean sheet in the bag, the "the reinforced, inpenetrable, iron curtain, barbed wire, monstrosity that is Verdy`s defence this season" were undone in a straw reinforced, feather boa curtain, Barbara-ed wire, ugly bird fashion.....all this immediately after Verdy`s Official Lucky Dwarf Kazunori Iio bagged his second of the season courtesy of a looping header in the 80th minute. Not much to talk about for the game today.....crap result considering the manner of the goal conceded, not much of a game. We still can`t score more than one goal and only 2,500 were there to see it. Hell of a lightning storm tonight though, I must have seen more fork lightning on my ten minute bike ride from the station back to mine than I`ve seen in my ENTIRE life!! So, the evening wasn`t entirely wasted!! C`mon The Boys!!!

Goal Number 5 for the year from Top Scoring Verdy Goal Machine, Kazuki "Goal Machine" Hiramoto!! Cheers Mate!! Eat My Goal!!

If you were on the front row you`d squat surely?? Far to open to innuendo from the less mature end of the internet. Of course you`ll find no such comments here.Iio looks very  keen though Hiramoto is just looking gay in the old sense of the word.....

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.

Two Pints o` Lager and a Packet o` Crisps Please!!!

So the second half of the season kicks off this weekend with the Boys lying in 10th position safely above the wooden spooners but unfortunately too far away to be promotion space botherers. First game back and we`re off to SC Tochigi for a run around at their Green Stadium on Sunday evening. SC Tochigi have been the surprise of J2 this season currently flying high and within touching distance of the final promotion spot. They lost their last two before the break so hopefully The Boys can do the business. However, the old problem of scoring goals is still likely to be at the fore without any summer signings to add to the squad. Nevermind though readers we still have another half a season of more than likely meaningless J2 style entertainment to get through but now is the start of the best time of the season.......THE SUMMER NIGHTGAME SEASON!!!!!!!  For those unfamiliar with Japan, in summer it`s as hot and humid as the devils ballbag in summer and the J-Leauge in it`s entirity play league games in the evenings for the whole of July, August and into September. There can be fewer more pleasant ways to spend the evening than at the stadium, cold beer and food of choice in hand, Jesus!! Even watching Tokyo Verdy at this time of year is a pleasure!! Welcome back one and all Tokyo Nerdy 1969 readers!! Here we go again!!!