reports

Match Reports 2003/2004

date: Saturday 31st July, 2004
venue: Oi Futo
kick-off: 15:00
weather: Hot and Sunny
pitch condition: bouncy astro
opponents: Hibs, KGFC, Hachioji Wanderers
competition: Paul Adamson Memorial Cup (7-a-side)
score: 1-4 (Calvin), 2-0 (Nate 2), 0-1

Jets Huff and Puff in the Sun

Squad: Eisuke, Fraser, Masato,Tomo, Ryuu, Olivier, John, Nate, Yasu, Sasaki, Ikko, Calvin

Jets 1 Hibernians 4 (Calvin)

The Jets lined up with a 3-2-1 formation, looking to be solid at the back whilst Sasaki pushed forward from midfield to join Ikko up front. It turned out to be a disaster. The Jets were stretched out of position at the back due to the no offside law and Ikko was too often found in defensive positions or without support up front. In the first half the Hibs created numerous scoring chances and after some poor finishing and good saves by Eisuke they eventually broke through with a soft goal; their forward broke clear un-marked on the left and fired a tame shot past Eisuke into the bottom corner. Half time saw the Jets switch things around, but to no avail. On came Fraser, Masato and Ryuu, but the Hibs kept up the pressure and scored again , someone knocking in the rebound following a fine save by Fraser. Two more soft goals followed and the Jets were well and truly beaten. Calvin came on for the last 30 seconds and salvaged some consolation for the Jets, powering a fine header into the net following good work down the left by Ryuu.

Jets 2 Hachioji 0 (Nate 2)

The second game saw a vast improvement from the Jets partly due to a new 2-3-1 formation and partly due to a more aggressive and organized gameplan. In the first half the Jets created a barrage of chances and unfortuNATEly saw many spurned, Nate seemingly intent on trying to lose as many balls as possible in the long grass behind the goal, whilst Calvin and John also went close. Eventually the breakthrough did come though, Nate atoning for earlier misses to power a pass from John through the keeper into the back of the net.

The second half continued in the same vain, with the Jets creating plenty and limiting the skillfull Hachioji players to fancy footwork and no end product. Nate blasted a second into the bottom corner before hachioji wasted a good chance at the end. All in all a fine performance and more in keeping with the way Paul would have wanted us to play.

Jets 0 KGFC 1

The Jets faced a strong opponent in KGFC who were well organized and good on the ball. However the Jets kept up the work rate and passing shown in the previous games to match them stride for stride. A very even first half ended scoreless, with neither side creating more than half chances.

In the second period the Jets again came out guns blzing only to be delivered a sucker punch when an over-zealous ref punished Fraser for handling outside the box, an unforgivable offence in an otherwise superb display of goalkeeping. The resultant penalty (a strange rule, yes) was duly dispatched with aplomb to leave the Jets chasing 2 goals to advance. The Jets gave their all and rained in shots on the opposition goal only to be thwarted time and again. Sasaki hit an excellent rasping drive which their keeper somehow hung on to with John waiting to put away any rebound, whilst 2 freekicks were powered in by Ikko and Sasaki but to no avail. The game ended in a disappointing 1-0 defeat, but the Jets could be proud of their performance in the last 2 games, with everyone getting stuck in and giving their all.

The only consolation was that the Hibs and KGFC beat the top two from the other groups and went on to contest the final, with the same ref punishing KGFC in the same way to give Hibs a penalty. The game then went to extra time before the hibs won on a penalty shootout. Most of the Jets stayed behind to watch and then the trophy was presented to the Hibs by John, the stand-in captain for the day. We will be back next year to try to win it back for our friend Paul.

JR

date: Saturday 24th July, 2004
venue: St. Mary's
kick-off: 11:00
weather: blazing hot
pitch condition: bouncy astro
opponents: Turtle FC
competition: Friendly
score: 4(3)-(0)1 (Mike, Mark, Nate, Gary)

Jets Slap Turtles back into their Shells

On a hot day, on a bouncy pitch, the Jets started brilliantly. Mark and Nate were working particularly well together up front, and the wide men in midfield Yoshi and Mikey seemed to be able to beat their men easily. The first goal arrived after just 5 minutes or so, and it was a beauty. A neat move on the right involving Masato, Yoshi and Nate saw Mark released down the right wing. It looked like the ball would run out of play, but Eite stuck out a long leg and dug out a lovely cross to the far post. Hanging there like Michael Jordan was Mikey, and he directed a powerful header into the top corner in true Ads fashion. 1-0 to the Saitama boys!

The adoring Jets fans did not have to wait long for the second Jets goal, although this one was not quite so pretty. Tomo or Ikko lofted a ball into Mark's path, and the defender completely lost the flight of it. Mark scampered clean through on goal, only to scuff a weak shot straight at the keeper. Inexplicably, the goalie also made a howler, giving the rebound back to Mark, where he managed to spin round and poke it in from about 2 yards. The game was probably only 10 minutes in, but we were already 2-0 up!

As the game wore on, Turtle also made a few chances. To be fair, Turner and John at centre half were beaten by the bounce and the spin of the astroturf a few times, only for the Turtle forwards to miss when clean through on goal. We had most of the ball, but Turtle were still capable of catching us with pace on the break. A third goal was needed, and it duly arrived. Again, neat work between Mark and Nate saw the Canadian pick up the ball in space outside the box. Mikey was free on his left, and screamed for the pass, but Nate's predatory instincts caused him to ignore his fellow Canuck, and instead go alone. As he hit a low, hard drive into the corner of the net, his instincts were proven correct. Right at the end of the first period, Turtle got one back, when a long cross was left by our defenders, and their long haired-fellow crept in at the back post to nod a well-placed header past the hot and sweaty Eisuke.

In the second period, Nao came on looking very lively, especially when compared to the fast-fading Tomo! Again, we played the ball around nicely, but lacked a little bit of a cutting edge with both Nate and Mark taking a rest. Debutant Olivier looks like an accomplished footballer, and he had an impressive run as both a defender and a forward. Setters looked tidy and solid, and made us wish he could play more often. Ikko and Sasaki both started to run at the Turtle defence, and it looked like we had scored a fourth when Sasaki's driven cross was diverted into the net with his head from at least 15 yards by Mikey. Alas, linesman Nate saw an offside, and then proceeded to argue with the Turtle players about it! The fourth goal did finally come, and it was a bizarre one. Sasaki was fouled outside the box, and shaped to cross the ball in. From nowhere, injured No. 8 Gary appeared, and demanded that he take the free kick. He kicked off his sandals and endured the heat of the astro on his burning feet. In typical , extravagant Garner style he curled the ball over the wall and past the keeper to score with his first and only kick of the game with his bare right foot.

The final period was a short one, and largely event-free. Both teams were hot and tired, and I can't remember any decent efforts on goal. Turtle FC were well and truly beaten. We had two objectives in this game. Prove that we can compete with Division 1 teams, and do Ads proud. We accomplished both goals with aplomb. Well done everyone. Ads, I hope you were watching!

line up: Eisuke, Yasu, Masato, Turner, John, Tomo, Ikko, Yoshi, Mikey, Nate, Mark subs: Sasaki, Olivier, Nao, Gary (for 10 seconds), Nami, Nami's brother Kotaro

GG

date: Saturday 26th June, 2004
venue: Ina
kick-off: 13.45
weather: blazing hot
pitch condition: good
opponents: Hachioji Wanderers
competition: Footy Japan Cup
score: 5(3)-(0)0 (Gary, Nate, Mark, Ikko, Calvin)

Jets Finally Show True Selves Against Hachioji

The final score of 5-0 was, in the end, extremely generous to the men from Hachioji, as the Jets carved open the Wanderers defence at will, and could quite easily have racked up double figures.

The Jets started well, passing the ball around comfortably, and the attacking partnership of Nate and Mark showed signs of promise. The first goal came early, Sasaki swinging in a good corner, and Gary losing his marker to nod home powerfully. A few minutes later, the same scene was almost reproduced when, instead of leaving the ball to the oncoming Adamson, Garner again rose and head goalwards, but this time his effort went over. The second goal came from some good play between Nate and Mark, with Nate evading the challenge of the last defender before slotting home his first goal since his big money move to the Jets on transfer deadline day. The third came from very sloppy defending from Hachioji. Ads took a throw from the right-hand side, the defenders all left it, and Mark stole in and lifted a little lob past the goalie and into the far corner. Perhaps the captain was back to his goal-scoring best? Other moments of interest in the first-half included a fine run from Yasu, which ended in a decent shot sailing just over the bar. Sasaki had a long-range effort saved by the keeper, and Gary produced a good save from the goalie from a tight angle. The defence had no real defending to do against an impotent Hachioji attack, so they took it in turns to make marauding runs upfield. Turner's were fairly effective, as were those by Ads, making an impressive and assured debut at right-back.

At half-time, a few changes were made, with the habitually late Tomohiro joining the fray, along with Calvin and Ikko. The sun seemed to affect a few players in this first period of the second half, as we started to panic and let the Wanderers get into the game a little. Ikko then brightened things up with a fine solo goal, waltzing past 3 or 4 defenders before slotting past the fast-tiring Hachioji Wanderers. Calvin followed suit shortly after with his first goal for a few weeks. One of many magnificent crosses from the right by Mark zipped into the area, and Calvin leapt above their defender, who stood about 6"4' in his stockings, to flick home a fine header. Garner managed to elude his marker 3 times in as many minutes, getting into great positions for headers in the box and inexplicably missing them all. He also thundered a right-foot drive against the crossbar, Musa had an effort charged down, and Mark went close.

All, in all, an easy and thoroughly comprehensive victory, and the visitors wandered back to Hachioji with their tails between their legs.

line up: Eisuke, Yoshi, Paul F, Yasu, Shinichi, Paul A, Tomo, Ikko, Sasaki, Nate, Tomohiro, Calvin, Mark; subs: Masato, Ryan

GG

date: Saturday 19th June, 2004
venue: Ina
kick-off: 13.45
weather: blazing hot
pitch condition: good
opponents: Swiss Kickers
competition: Footy Japan Cup
score: 0(0)-(2)5

Superior Finishing Sees Swiss Through

Mark and Gary decided to start with a somewhat conservative 4-5-1 lineup, with Ryan the lone striker. In the opening exchanges, the strategy largely worked. We gave the Swiss no space in midfield, and they were reduced to lobbing long balls up to their big man up front. Then, after 15 minutes or so, disaster struck. A free-kick from the right-hand side was floated in, and 2 Swiss players were lurking in front of goal like hungry wolves, with Jets defenders nowhere in sight. Having given the Swiss the invitation to score, they gladly took it. As the first half continued, the Jets created a couple of half-chances. Tomo hit a shot from just outside the box, gary fired in a couple of crosses from the right, and Ryan did the same from the left, but we were unable to breach a solid Swiss defence. Near the end of the first half, the Swiss got a second. A harmless-looking cross came in from the left, Mark went to cut it out, but only succeeded in diverting it towards our goal. Eisuke smothered Mark's deflection, but the ball ricocheted to a waiting Swiss striker, who calmly slotted it away. So, 2-0 at half-time, and, without really threatening the swiss keeper greatly, we had kept ourselves in the game, and probably had around 40% of the possession.

At half-time, we decided to go for broke. "What the hell, we could lose 2-0 or 10-0, let's at least try and give them something to worry about" was the general gist of the managerial conversation. As it turned out, we got close to scoring, but couldn't beat the Swiss keeper. Driven by Nate in midfield, the Jets came roaring out for the first 20 minutes or so of the second half, and could have made it 2-2 with a bit more luck. The best chances came to calvin, both from crosses from the left. He latched on to the first ball, and hit it well, only to see it bounce back off the crossbar. Garner followed up, but his shot was deflected over. The second chance was a similar on, but this time Calvin was unable to steer the ball goalwards when a good ball came through from Sasaki. As we pushed forwards in search of the elusive goal, inevitably holes appeared at the back. The Swiss capitalized on them ruthlessly. Number 3 came from poor defending on the left, allowing their right winger to get to the byline and cross to the far post. The finish, left-footed on the volley, was clinical. Minutes later, the same player picked up the ball innocently enough on the edge of the box and fired a great shot which rose into the top corner, leaving poor Eisuke with no chance. By the time the fifth goal went in, the Jets midfield was focused solely on getting a consolation goal. We left our defence stranded, and the Swiss were able to add an easy final goal.

So, we played one of the best gaijin teams in Tokyo. We lost 5-0. Strangely enough, most of us went away happy with our performances. The Swiss were better than us, but the gulf in quality was not that great. Their finishing was clinical, ours was not. We'll 'ave 'em next time!!

date: Saturday 27th March, 2004
venue: Ina
kick-off: 13.45
weather: sunny
pitch condition: good
opponents: Senkawa FC
competition: Friendly
score: 1(1)-(0)1

Jets Score In Open Play

line up: Eisuke, Yoshi, Paul F, Yasu, Shinichi, Paul A, Tomo, Ikko, Sasaki, Calvin, Mark; subs: Masato, Ryan

ME

date: Sunday 21st March, 2004
venue: Misato
kick-off: 14.20
weather: sunny
pitch condition: breaking up
opponents: Kanto Celts FC
competition: IFFL Div One
score: 0(0)-(1)2

Jets Lose Again

line up: Eisuke, Matt C, Masato, Paul F, Yasu, Musa, Tomo, Paul A, Mikey, Calvin, Mark; subs: Sasaki, Ikko

ME

date: Sunday 14th March, 2004
venue: Shin Koiwa
kick-off: 19.20
weather: warm evening
pitch condition: astro turf
opponents: Tokyo Lions FC
competition: IFFL Div One
score: 1(0)-(3)4

Jets Score First Goal In Three Games

line up: Eisuke, Masato, Yasu, Matt T, Tomo, Musa, Nao, Ikko, Sasaki, Calvin, Mikey; subs: Mark, Paul A, Matt C, Matt S

ME

date: Saturday 6th March, 2004
venue: Oi Dai Ichi
kick-off: 15.00
weather: sunny and warm
pitch condition: dirt
opponents: Perfidious FC
competition: TML Div Two
score: 0(0)-(2)4

Jets Blow It

line up: Dave, Masato, Yasu, Matt T, Paul F, Musa, Yoshi, Paul A, Sasaki, Calvin, Mark; subs: Mikey, Mikey, Shinichi

ME

date: Sunday 29th February, 2004
venue: Oi Dai Ichi
kick-off: 13.00
weather: sunny and warm
pitch condition: dirt
opponents: San Utd FC
competition: IFFL Div One
score: 0(0)-(0)0

Jets Fail To Break Deadlock

line up: Eisuke, Matt C, Yasu, Matt T, Paul F, Nao, Tomohiro, Paul A, Sasaki, Calvin, Mark; subs: Musa, Mikey, Tomo, Masato, Yoshi

ME

date: Sunday 22nd February, 2004
venue: Toshiba Ground, Shin Sugita
kick-off: 13.00
weather: windy and cloudy
pitch condition: grass
opponents: FC Naig; FC Fellows
competition: Friendly
score: 1(1)-(3)5 (Calvin); 1(0)-(0)2 (Mikey)

Jets Lose Out To Samurai Star

Even though we lost both of the two games yesterday, we proudly report to that, to our happy surprise, a member of FC Fellows happened to be a Japanese famous actor named Shinnosuke Ichikawa who played the role of Musahi Miyamoto in the NHK historical play last year. In that sense, that was a nicely memorial game for us.

line up: Nao, Sasaki, Ikko, Dave, Calvin, Steve, Tim, Musa, Mikey, Roberto, Yasu

YS

date: Sunday 15th February, 2004
venue: Takashimadaira
kick-off: 09.45
weather: sunny spring-like
pitch condition: grass in places, dry and dusty
opponents: Frontier FC, Boss FC
competition: Millenium League
score: 3(1)-(0)0 (Mark, Gary, Calvin); 1(1)-(1)1 (Paul F)

Intergalactic Jets Reach Final Frontier

The Saitama Jets continuing their recent good form at Takashimadaira last Sunday, as they eased to a comfortable 3-0 win over Frontier FC.

The day started badly, with a few players running late, and others unable to appear at the last minute. After delaying the kick-off, we eventually started, with latecomer Tomohiro putting his socks on as we kicked off, and Nao still trying to find a car park. Once the ref blew his whistle, however, this lack of organization was nowhere to be seen. Frontier had a couple of decent players, and tried to play neat, controlled football, but they were overwhelmed by the power and skill of the Jets.

Sasaki on the left and Ikko on the right provided valuable width, and Gary and Tomohiro won most of the ball in the centre of the park. Mark and Calvin both looked lively up front, with Calvin doing a particularly good job of holding the ball up and laying it off to the two wide men. The defence consisted of Brolly, Chunk and Masato, with Farthing carefully marshalling the troops, and Yasu in goal was left a spectator for much of the game.

The best early chance fell to Eite, who was put clear by a beautiful through ball from the magical right boot of the returning Garner. For some inexplicable reason, the veteran striker lofted the ball high over the goal (I think - please correct if you missed in some other way!) The pressure was all coming from the Jets, and Sasaki put in a couple of good, deep crosses from the left which almost resulted in clear chances. Eite then made up for his earlier howler by latching on to a hopeful through ball from Gary, cutting inside the defender before firing high into the net from an almost impossible angle. Vintage Eite, cried the fans.

At half-time, Mark was replaced by Musa, and Farthing by Nao. The relentless Jets pressure continued, with Ikko teasing the opposition defence relentlessly. The second goal came from a rather odd corner,which Ikko aimed at the 'big man' Calvin at the front post. The ball was deflected skywards, the defenders stood and watched, and Garner marked his return by nodding the ball past the helpless goalkeeper from about 8 yards. 2-0 to the boys in blue.

It was almost 3 moments later, when Calvin laid a clever ball off to Gary, the midfield maestro then picking out Musa making an intelligent run forwards. Musa timed his run to perfection, shrugged off the attentions of an over-friendly defender, then scuffed the ball wide. His first Jets goal wiill have to wait a little longer.

The 3rd and final goal came when Ikko danced around a little on the right wing, before laying the ball off to a fast-tiring Garner. He whipped in a quick cross, Beckham-style, between the keeper and the last defender, where Calvin was waiting to pounce. The finish was simple, but the positioning, to get in the right place for the tap-in, was so perfect, it was like watching Tony Cottee.

There were no more goals, and I cannot remember the opposition really troubling our stand-in goalkeepers Yasu and Masato (?) Farthing came back on, and found himself, improbably, on the right wing. He made a couple of good chances, but there was no-one there looking to pick up the pieces. As the dust rolled in, the Trek to Takashimaya looked to be worth the effort, as the Stars of the Jets wrapped up their first Millenium League victory of the season.

line up: Masato, Matt C, Yasu, Paul F, John B, Ikko, Sasaki, Tomohiro, Gary, Calvin, Mark; subs: Musa, Nao

GG

date: Sunday 8th February, 2004
venue: Nodai
kick-off: 15.15
weather: sunny spring-like
pitch condition: grass in places, dry and dusty
opponents: Kanto Celts FC
competition: TML
score: 5(3)-(0)1 (Mark(2), Nao, Ikko, Bobz)

Jets Back On Track

Saitama Jets produced their best performance of 2004 destroying the Kanto Celts 5-1 on the Nodai grass on Sunday. The Jets raced to a 3-0 lead in the first half with two goals from leading scorer Eite. Ikko scored a screamer in his first game back since December and Nao and Bobz wrapped things up.

line up: Eisuke, Tomohiro, Yasu, Matt T, Paul F, Yoshi, Paul A, Nao, Sasaki, Calvin, Mark; subs: Dave, John B, Bobz, Musa, Matt C, Masato, Ikko, Simon

ME

date: Saturday 24th January, 2004
venue: Ina
kick-off: 10.00
weather: sunny winter day
pitch condition: good
opponents: Nova FC
competition: TML
score: 4(1)-(1)2 (Mark, Calvin, Dave, Gary)

Jets Fight To First Victory

The Jets battled out to a to win their first game of 2004.

line up: Eisuke, Musa, Yasu, Matt T, Yoshi, Matt S, Sasaki, Gary, Paul A, Calvin, Mark; subs: Dave, John B, Tomo

ME

date: Sunday 18th January, 2004
venue: Ina
kick-off: 10.00
weather: sunny winter day
pitch condition: good
opponents: Shane FC
competition: TML
scores: 0-0

Jets Manage A Draw, But Fail To Score

We drew 0-0. Decent enough game, we were all over them, but just couldn't score - quite frustrating. Since it was league, and we looked capable of scoring at any minute, I didn't change the team in the 2nd half. This was probably a bit unfair on both Tim and Musa, who ended up only playing 30 minutes out of the 80. Calvin played 40 minutes, as did Yasu, Chunk, Masato, Tomo K, Gary, Setters. Tomohiro played 45 minutes or maybe 50. New boy Bobz played 20 or 25 minutes. 17 showed up in the end, with Setters and Bobz (more later) the unknown attendees. Setters said he told Yasu by phone that he was playing...

line up: Eisuke, Paul F, Yasu, Matt C, Paul A, Matt T, Nao, Calvin, Tim, Musa, Sasaki; subs: Masato, Tomo K, Gary, Matt S, Bobz, Tomohiro

GG

date: Sunday 11th January, 2004
venue: Oi Dai Ni
kick-off: 09.00
weather:
pitch condition: hard
opponents: Vagabonds FC
competition: TML Div 2
score: 0-5

Jets Open With A Loss

Thanks and apologies to everyone who did actually bother to show up on Sunday - hope the rest of your day's were better.... the honour roll is as follows: Yasu, Nao, John Brollie, Simon, Tim, Musa, Calvin, Sasaki and myself.

There was no Roberto, Wataru or Calvin's mate - apparently Roberto couldn't come; tried and failed to get in touch with Wataru and Calvin's mate was pissed and stranded somewhere.......luckily Tim came because he thought the list of players was rather short - cheers Tim!

Basically we had 9 players for the first half and even though they are old bastards and were pretty shite (reckon we would give them a 9-0 whipping with a full strength squad) they still had the sense to use the extra players they had and pass it around us. Sasaki turned up late after being lost and boosted us to 10 - not really enough...

Didn't help it was damn early, freezing and nobody knew we were playing on that excuse for an astroturf pitch which is basically concrete (as opposed to the dirt pitch) so we all strugged with footie boots.....all in all a complete write off of a morning and all the players were justifiably pissed off and disilusioned that people who said they were coming didn't and they had got up damn early for no particular reason....

Hope we can have a slight improvement next Sunday.

line up: Yasu, Nao, John Brollie, Simon, Tim, Musa, Calvin, Sasaki, Matt C subs:

MC

date: Tuesday 23rd December, 2003
venue: Kitamoto
kick-off: 11.00
weather: sunny and warm
pitch condition: good dirt
opponents: Celula FC
competition: Friendly
scores: 3-4 (Paul F, Mark(2))

Eite Scores Aagain, But Jets Still Lose

line up: Eisuke, Masato, Mark, Paul F, Simon, Musa, Ikko, Sasaki, Steve C, Calvin, Yasu; subs: Nao

ME

date: Saturday 20th December, 2003
venue: Aoto
kick-off: 18.10
weather: cold and windy night
pitch condition: hard
opponents: Auslese FC
competition: Friendly
scores: 2-3 (Mark(2))

Eite Scores And Parker Plays, But Jets Still Lose

line up: Eisuke, Masato, Tomo, Mike, Yasu, Matt S, Gary, Ikko, Sasaki, Calvin, Steve Parker; subs: Mark, Musa

ME

date: Sunday 14th December, 2003
venue: Misato
kick-off: 14.00
weather: sunny
pitch condition: bumpy, grassy in patches
opponents: Nishikase Reds FC
competition: IFFL Div 2 West
scores: 2-1 (Paul A, Sasaki)

Sasaki Seals Promotion

line up: Eisuke, Masato, Tomo, Tomohiro, Yasu, Paul A., Gary, Ikko, Sasaki, Mark, Mike; subs: Wataru, Yoshi, Nao, Matt S, Musa

ME

top