NEWS

2022.7.29

Shonan Bellmare 1-0 Gamba Osaka

Gamba went into this away game against former player and coach Satoshi Yamaguchi's team with the need for points and started again with a back three and the youngster Isa Sakamoto on his own up front. Mitsuki Saito was not allowed to play in this once, since he is on loan from Shonan Bellmare (while Kosei Tani, on loan from Gamba, was out of the hosts' line-up). Ryu Takao found a starting place in the back three, while Hiroto Yamami returned to the starting line-up, also.

The 1st half saw a game of end to end ball but few real chances, with Kosuke Onose forcing a save with a right foot shot at one end, and Masaaki Higashiguchi denying Satoshi Tanaka at the other as both teams saw chances spurned, but the breakthrough came for the home team, as a speculative cross was met by a header that Higashiguchi was caught scrambling back across his goal to get to. He managed to get a hand to it, but the ball crept in at the post and the home team crept ahead and it was 1-0 to Bellmare at the break.

Gamba looked likely to get back into the game, however, and substitute Patric headed against the bar early in the 2nd half, and then Shota Fukuoka's follow-up shot somehow went wide when it seemed easier to score. With Gamba looking for an equaliser, space was left and risks were taken and it was Higashiguchi's right-hand post that saved Gamba from going 2-0 down in the 80th minute... and the game changed at this point as Hiroki Fujiharu's long ball clearance found Patric behind the defence and heading for goal only to be dragged down. Daiki Sugioka saw red (a second yellow, actually) but he had saved his team the game as the 10 men of Bellmare played out the clock and took all three points.

Team - Higashiguchi, Takao (Yanagisawa, 70), Miura, Fukuoka, Onose, Kurata, Dawhan, Kurokawa (Fujiharu, 57), Yamami (Minamino, 82), Ishige (Okuno, 57), Sakamoto (Patric, 57)