46 MINUTES.
The teams head out for the second half. Saitama have substituted off one of
their midfielders, but I've decided not to make any changes just yet. We're
doing well enough, so there's no need to
change anything just yet.
This time it's us who get to kick off. Sanae knocks it
back to Konoko, who hits it forward towards Yui. She tries to cut through the
Saitama midfield but find herself confronted by an opponent, and her pass
across to Sanae is quickly intercepted. Saitama have started strongly, no doubt
eager to claw back the deficit.
49 MINUTES.
Konoko is in a tense stand-off with one of the Saitama midfielders. She has her
foot on the ball inside the centre circle, trying to find a way past without
giving away possession. The crowd are cheering her name loudly, encouraging
her. Konoko's short, cute stature and bubblegum-pink hair, as well as her
seemingly boundless energy in midfield, have endeared her to Sapporo's fans. She's
one of our most popular players, and almost something of a mascot for the club.
Looking around at the half-empty grandstands, I wonder how many of the people
here came just to see Konoko in action.
Those who came here just for Konoko aren't treated to
much of a show on this occasion. The girl jinks to the left, but her adversary
sees it coming and wins possession with a perfectly-timed challenge. Konoko,
relentless as ever, chases after her, and with Tomoko also closing her down,
the Saitama midfielder is soon forced into a mistake, and possession is ours
again.
55 MINUTES. As
the ball goes out for a Saitama throw-in, I take the opportunity to make my
first two substitutions. Yui seems to be starting to tire, so I replace her with
Ichiko, who'll be receiving her first taste of first-team experience, even if
this is only a friendly. Hinata, who's put in a mediocre display so far, also comes
off in favour of Natsume, who seems pretty fired up and ready to go.
As they take the throw-in, Saitama suddenly break, racing
down our left flank. Shinobu tries to stop the run but their left-winger just
darts past her. The cross comes into the box, but it harmlessly flies over
everyone and out for a goal kick.
58 MINUTES. Fiona
picks up the ball in the centre of the pitch, intercepting a stray pass from a
Saitama midfielder. Another of their midfielders quickly rushes over to try and
reclaim the ball. Fiona manages to keep her away from the ball, and passes it
across to Konoko. Konoko is quickly closed down, and although she tries to get
a pass through to Natsume, it's quickly intercepted. Saitama's midfielders seem
to have improved so far in the second half.
65 MINUTES.
Saitama are building up an attack on the left flank. Tomoko moves in to close
them down. However, as she makes the tackle, the whistle is blown for a foul.
I'm not too sure about that, but the referee's made their decision, so there's
not much I can do about it now. At least there wasn't a yellow card shown. In
the meantime, I take advantage of the stoppage to substitute Choi in favour of
Naomi, another young player who could do with the game time.
The free-kick is driven in, and a Saitama forward manages
to get their head to it, but Miyuki palms it safely over the crossbar for a
corner kick. The corner is taken short, and after a couple of passes, the cross
comes in from the right wing. It's a poor one, however, and Miyuki catches it
with ease.
70 MINUTES.
One of the Saitama midfielders makes a poor pass, and Fiona is on to it
immediately. Collecting the ball, she charges down the centre of the pitch. An
opposing midfielder closes in to try and snatch the ball off her, but Fiona
easily jinks past her. Ignoring Ichiko's calls for the ball - she's not in as
much space as she thinks she is - Fiona continues to surge forward, all the way
into the penalty area. Before their centre-back can close her down properly,
she lets fly-!
GOAL! The ball rockets right into the top corner of the
net, far beyond the desperate reach of the Saitama goalkeeper. Fiona wheels
away with her index finger raised, her signature celebration. It seems that
despite her age, she hasn't lost much of her old magic. That puts us 2-0 up,
and with only 20 minutes to go, surely the game is ours now.
73 MINUTES. Saitama
are trying hard to get something out of this match. One of their forwards makes
a run, but Suzume brings them down on the edge of the penalty area. The referee
blows her whistle immediately, and as Natsume and Ritsu protest, Suzume is
presented with a yellow card. I figure that if I tell Suzume to calm down, or
substitute her off, I'll just rile her up even further. Besides, even if she
does get a second yellow card, which is unlikely at this stage, it won't matter
since this is only a friendly, so for now I just decide to leave her be.
In the meantime, Suzume obediently lines up in the
defensive wall, as two of Saitama's midfielders debate which of them will take
the kick. Eventually it's decided, and as the referee blows her whistle again,
the player takes her run-up and hits the free kick. It ricochets right off the
wall, and Shinobu manages to pick it up before Saitama can, belting it up the
pitch and away for a throw-in back in the Saitama half.
79 MINUTES.
The pace of the match has slowed considerably as it enters the final stages,
with both sets of players either running out of energy or choosing to conserve
what little remains. This is only a friendly, and one whose result has pretty
much already been decided, so there's no point in tiring yourself out
completely.
I make my final two substitutions, changing to a
laid-back 5-3-2 as we grind out the last few minutes. Fiona comes off to a
round of applause and is replaced by Yuuko, to an equally loud cheer from the
Sapporo supporters. Yuuko's past work at a local maid café means she's very
popular with the club's male fans, perhaps even more so than Konoko. She
happily plays it up, waving cheerily to the crowd as she comes on and blowing
the occasional kiss.
As she passes me on her way to the bench, Fiona looks
back at the spectacle and remarks, "It's a completely different game over
here, isn't it?" Her Japanese is as impeccable as ever.
"It certainly is," I reply, nodding, as Fiona
grabs a towel from the sidelines.
The second substitute is Yura, coming on in place of
Sanae, who also receives a round of applause as she leaves the pitch, having
scored our first goal of the night. Yura is a fast-paced poacher, so with the
Saitama defence exhausted and probably demoralized, she should be able to run
rings around them.
85 MINUTES.
With our midfield weakened, it's harder than ever to break through Saitama's
midfield, but as one of their players brings down Yuuko near the halfway line,
we have the opportunity to break from a free kick. The crowd break into a
chorus of boos, which I can only imagine are directed at the player who fouled
Yuuko - evidently the Sapporo fans aren't too happy about their favourite idol
being dragged to the ground.
From the free kick, the ball breaks to Konoko, who is
still buzzing around as though it were only the first half. She weaves her way
past two Saitama midfielders, but the ball is wrestled off her by a third and
the chance comes to nothing.
90 MINUTES.
The final whistle blows, and just as I'd expected, we've come away as the
victors. I join the fans in applauding my players as they head off the pitch
and down the tunnel. They did well today, and the result bodes well for our league
chances this season.
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