The match took place behind the Sports Centre (luckily, it was only 26 degrees and not over 40!), and, with several of their players still in Saudi Arabia, Arab Team went into the match as slight underdogs. However, this idea was soon swept aside as they opened the match very aggressively and created several early chances. After five minutes Fahad flicked a header past Taka in the Hosei goal, and when Faisal smashed Fahad's pass into the net moments later, the Japanese boys looked to be in trouble.
Gradually, Hosei F.C. got into the game and began to get their passing going, which led to a run down the right by Ken. After beating his defender, he slotted the ball past Said to make it 2-1. Further pressure led to more attempts on Arab Team's goal, and, after Said had parried Ken's shot, Tatsuya tapped the ball in from close range to level the scores.
Arab Team were starting to look tired, and the Hosei boys had everything going their way. A long ball to the strikers was only prevented from reaching its goal when Abdul decided to start playing volleyball instead of football (for which he received a yellow card!). Just when it looked as though Arab Team would hold out until half-time, Toshi smashed a long-range shot past Said to put Hosei into the lead for the first time.
After the interval, the Japanese team continued to dominate and should have scored more goals with Tatsuya missing several easy chances to extend the lead. At the other end, Arab Team were also without success, thanks mainly to a couple of misses from Fahad (including one shot which almost landed back at Normanby House!) and some good saves from replacement goalkeeper Hiro. As the half wore on, Hosei started to sit back, and this gave Fahad the chance to become more agressive; with about ten minutes to go, he beat two men before unleashing a powerful shot which gave Hiro no chance.
Unfortunately for Arab Team, their joy didn't last long; after a couple of good efforts from Fahad and Abdul, they were caught on the counter-attack and Hide struck twice in two minutes to turn the game Hosei's way. Once the fifth goal went in, the tired Arab players were unable to stay disciplined in defence, and the Japanese team took advantage; Toshi scored another long-range goal and Kazuma and Ken both scored from an acute angle before the final whistle was blown.
At the end of the game, the teams shook hands and congratulated each other. For fifty minutes it was a very close game, but Hosei's youth and fitness, as well as Arab team's lack of a substitute, took their toll in the final ten minutes. As to the man of the match, although Toshi played extremely well and led his team throughout the match, Fahad did the same but without as much support from his team, so he is my choice.
Teams:
Hosei F.C. - Taka, Hiro, Kota (injured!), Toshi, Hide, Ken, Kazuma,Tatsuya, Yuki
Arab Team - Said, Hossein, Fahad, Khalifa, Abdul, Faisal
Final Result:
Arab Team 3 (Fahad 2, Faisal)
Hosei F.C. 8 (Ken 2, Toshi 2, Hide 2, Tatsuya, Kazuma)
Thanks to everyone for turning up and giving their best, and, hopefully, next time Kota can stand up for more than two minutes without getting injured!