Gamba Osaka came into this game high in confidence and with manager Tsuneyasu Miyamoto once again looking to youth to pay its part as the opposition were expected to be a reasonably easy target. How wrong we were. The game started with Kohei Okuno and Shoji Toyama on the field, alongside slightly more established J3 graduate Yuki Yamamoto, but the young players were given a lesson in finishing by former Gamba Osaka striker, Shun Nagasawa, who grabbed a hat trick with some wonderful efficiency.
Despite a decent opening and plenty of possession our heroes were down 2-0 at half time and substitutions were made: Kosuke Onose and Patric replacing Shinya Yajima and Shoji Toyama. Still 3-0 down with less than 20 minutes to go, manager Miyamoto once again defied expectancy and brought on Shuhei Kawasaki, and then Ren Shibamoto, as he continued to give time on the field of J1 to the young players who he helped through the Under 23 team.
This time around, though, the plan did not work out and Nagasawa completed a memorable hat trick on 75 minutes and the final score went on to be a forgettable 4-0, as Gamba were shocked by the power of their former player! Bring on Urawa Reds and the next game so this game can be forgotten quickly!
Team - Higashiguchi, Takao, Suganuma, Shoji, Fujiharu (Fukuda, 70), Okuno (Shibamoto, 89), Yamamoto (Kawasaki, 73), Yajima (Onose, 46), Kurata, Toyama (Patric, 46), Watanabe
Attendance: 11,567
Despite a decent opening and plenty of possession our heroes were down 2-0 at half time and substitutions were made: Kosuke Onose and Patric replacing Shinya Yajima and Shoji Toyama. Still 3-0 down with less than 20 minutes to go, manager Miyamoto once again defied expectancy and brought on Shuhei Kawasaki, and then Ren Shibamoto, as he continued to give time on the field of J1 to the young players who he helped through the Under 23 team.
This time around, though, the plan did not work out and Nagasawa completed a memorable hat trick on 75 minutes and the final score went on to be a forgettable 4-0, as Gamba were shocked by the power of their former player! Bring on Urawa Reds and the next game so this game can be forgotten quickly!
Team - Higashiguchi, Takao, Suganuma, Shoji, Fujiharu (Fukuda, 70), Okuno (Shibamoto, 89), Yamamoto (Kawasaki, 73), Yajima (Onose, 46), Kurata, Toyama (Patric, 46), Watanabe
Attendance: 11,567