Match Review 20th Sec : VS Giravanz Kitakyushu at Honjo Athletic Stadium on June 28

Okayama 3 Giravanz Kitakyushu 2

The weather was relatively ideal for a football match in the Sunday's evening. Allegedly, 3,504 fans came to the Stadium.

This match, the head coach, Nagasawa placed a young defender, Shinohara as a starter for the first time in 19 secs since the opening match this term. A playmaker, Chiaki was back on the starting line-up. Tadokoro was not listed on the members for the away match because of his injury. On the other hand, Giravanz's mainstay, Kazama started as a squad.

A minute after the kickoff, an ace forward, Oshitani almost stroke an opener, but, on the other hand, Kitakyushu made an excellent counter attack and a forward, Komatsu scored an opening goal, assisted by Kazama. In 10 minutes, Oshitani equalized the match with a one-touch shot. Later, Fagiano actively attacked to dominate the game. In the 32 minutes, Oshitani showed a memorable goal, bringing forces to Nagasawa's men. In the 41 minutes, a young attacker, Katayama made a decider.

After the interval, Oshitani was replaced by Yajima. In the 49 minutes, a midfielder, Kotegawa took a powerful shot to encourage the yellow-uniformed club. Kitakyushu's head coach, Hashiratani sent attackers into the pitch to change the game, however, Nakabayashi showed brilliant savings even though he got an accident during the added time. Finally, Fagiano won the match by three goals to two, bringing a joy to their supporters.

Match Preview 20th Sec : VS Giravanz Kitakyushu at Honjo Athletic Stadium on June 28

Last term, Fagiano had two losses against Giravanz Kitakyushu and the overall record standing of Fagiano against Giravanz is two victories, three losses and five draws. The yellow-uniformed team were promoted to the division 2 in 2010, one year later than Fagiano. 


The head coach is Koichi HASHIRATANI, who is the older brother of Tetsuji HASHIRATANI, the former head coach of Mito Hollyhock. He has been working for Kitakyushu for three years so far. An attacker, Hara is the player to watch out for. He has already scored six goals so far this season. A leading midfielder, Kazama is also remarkable. He has been ever present this term.


At last sec, Kitakyushu played against Consadole Sapporo in a tie. Giravanz's young forward, Watari equalized the match, bringing one point to yellow-uniformed club.


Giravanz stays 10th position with 28 points as of now. In recent secs, Hashiratani's men have been in a good shape. For Fagiano struggling to score nowadays, the match is expected to be tough, therefore, their attackers are required to rise up to dominate the game.

Every team has their bad days.

Fagiano has been suffering in a slump this season. The reason is obvious that Okayama have struggled to score goals. Their total score of this term is only 17 goals out of 19 matches. I personally feel that this season has been so stressful so far.

I'm also worried about Fagiano Next, who has been relegation-threatened to the regional league. Next have the same problem as the top team. Both teams simply need to improve attacking, but they haven't been able to get out of difficulties. It seems that another chance-taker is needed.

This year, I have been to the stadium to watch their match three times, unfortunately, Fagiano lost all three matches 0 - 1. I even haven't seen them scoring a goal at the stadium. That certainly disappoints me, but I just try to hope that Fagiano will come back into form soon. Look on the bright side!

Combine our hearts!

Match Review 19th Sec : VS Ehime FC at City Light Stadium on June 21

Okayama 1 Ehime FC 2

7,531 fans came to see the derby match named PRIDE OF CHUSHIKOKU. The number of the fans were around 1,000 less than the last year's match. In order to close the gap at the top group, Fagiano were expected to obtain three points. 


This sec, the head coach, Nagasawa placed Sawaguchi and Ito as a starter to overturn the status quo. Tadokoro who left the pitch during the first half at the last sec because of his injuries, was on the starting line-up. A defender, Kondo was back on the reserve list from his injuries. On the other hand, the former Fagiano, Tamabayashi played as a starter.
 

After the kick-off, Fagiano were actively trying to attack, creating lots of opportunities, but struggled to score an opener as always. In the 38th minutes, Tamabayashi stroke a goal, bringing forces to Ehime. Okayama had a stressful time during the first half. 


During the second half, Nagasawa's men still struggled to score a goal. The head coach sent three substitutes in an early time to chage the game, however, in the 61st minutes the opponent's ace forward, Kawahara fired a fatal shot. Right before the end of the match, Fagiano's captain, Iwamasa scored a goal, but it was too late. The result was very disappointing for Okayama. 

Match Preview 19th Sec : VS Ehime FC at City Light Stadium on June 21

Ehime is the rival of Chushikoku region and the match is popularly named as PRIDE OF CHUSHIKOKU, Derby match in the region. The overall record standing against Ehime is five victories, three losses and five draws. Last term, Okayama had a victory and one draw.


The head coach is Ishimaru, who used to lead the youth team of Ehime. This is his second season to work for the top team. A regular defender, Tamabayashi is the local of the town. He used to play for Fagiano before. An attacker, Kawahara is the one to watch out for. He has already scored six goals this season.


At last sec, Ehime defeated Tokyo Verdy in 2 -1  with a dramatic decider during the added time. Kawahara scored the opening goal. It seems that the visitors are in a good shape now.


Ehime stays 12th position with 26 points as of now. The visitors have made a strong showing so far this term. The team has never played in the top league since the team joined the J league in 2006. Fagiano want to attack actively to dominate the match.

Fagiano Next finished at the bottom in the first stage of the season

The first stage of the Japan Football League ended this month. J league associate member, Vanraure Hachinohe won the first stage championship, defeating Next at the last sec on June 6. Okayama ended up at 16th position, the bottom of the leauge.

This first stage, the young team made only four points including one victory and one draw. They have only scored seven goals in 15 matches. Needless to say, Fagiano struggled to score goals. It seems that their performance was beyond expectation because last term, Next finished 11th position out of 14 clubs. 

This season, two worst performing teams by total results of both stages will be relegated to Regional Leagues and replaced by top two performers of Regional Promotion Series. However, if one or two teams will be admitted to J league division 3 at the end of the season, the number of relegated clubs will be reduced accordingly.

Fagiano has currently been relegation-threatened, therefore, at the second stage, they are expected to rise up to stay in the Japan Football League.

Match Review 18th Sec : VS Thespakusatsu Gunma at Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma on June 14

Okayama 1 Thespakusatsu Gunma 1

Fagiano marched into Gunma where they had no good memory in the past seasons. According to the reports, 2,312 fans came to the Stadium for the evening match.

This sec, an ace forward, Oshitani was back on starting line-up from the one-match suspension. He has been struggling to score for a while. A young attacker, Kobayashi was on the reserve list for the first time this term right after he was promoted from Fagiano Next. Gunma's veteran attacker, Nagai was on the reserve list.

During the first half, in the 15^th minutes, Thespa's Brazilian, Kaique took an amazing shot, but a goal keeper, Nakabayashi showed an excellent saving. In the 30 minutes, Yajima scored an opener, bringing a joy to Fagiano supporters, however, two minutes later, Hattori's men equalized the match in a flash. Right after that, Tadokoro was taken out by Sawaguchi because of his injury.

After the interval, gradually, Gunma took control of the game. In the 64 minutes, Chiaki was sent into the field, making the team more defensive. Thespa actively attacked in waves, but struggled to score a decider. In the 82 minutes, a young hope, Kobayashi was placed to change the game. He performed well, however, the match ended in a tie. As a result, Okayama stays 13^th position with 23 points.

Match Preview 18th Sec : VS Thespakusatsu Gunma at Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma on June 14

In the past, Fagiano has not been good with the opponent because the overall record standing against Gunma is 3 victories, nine losses and one draw. Last season, Okayama lost both two matches.  


Hattori, who leads the team as a head coach, is experienced. He has worked for lots of J league clubs before, such as Avispa Fukuoka, Sagan Tosu and Albirex Niigata etc...  The former international, Nagai is remarkable. He has not scored any goals yet this season, however, this veteran forward has made a solid contribution to the team.


At last sec, Gunma was defeated by Tochigi SC, 1 - 5. During the match, Gunma was mostly on the back foot.  Right before the end of the match, Hattori's men scored a consolation goal.


Thespakusatsu stays 14th position with 20 points as of now. The club was qualified for the division 2 after the Japan Football League 2004 season. Since then, Hattori's men has never been promoted to the upper league. This term, Gunma struggles to score goals along with Fagiano, therefore, the match is expected to be relatively quiet game with low scores.

Fagiano can be seen everywhere in Okayama

Once you get to Okayama airport,  you are greeted by Fagiano's welcome message. 

At baggage claim, a bigger message can be seen.

At convenience store in Okayama city, you can find lots of Fagiano flags like the below.

Fagiano-wrapped buses are popular in the city.

It is obvious that Fagiano takes root in Okayama. 





Match Review 17th Sec : VS Tokyo Verdy at City Light Stadium on June 6

Okayama 0 Tokyo Verdy 1

The match took place in the evening for the first time this season. On the same day, Fagiano Next played against Vanraure Hachinohe at City Light Stadium in the Japan Football League, therefore, the total attendance was 10,019.

This sec, an ace forward, Oshitani was not able to play because of the suspension. Instead, an attacker, Someya played as a starter. He was expected to bring Okayama forces with speed. Needless to say, Fagiano's defense had been stable, so all the club needed were goals.

Six minutes after the kickoff, Verdy's midfielder, Chugo scored an opener. That led the visitors to dominate the match. Nagasawa's men were mostly forced to play on their own side and struggled to attack. Fagiano had a stressful time during the first half.

After the interval, Okayama tried to find a way out of the difficulty, however, the wine red uniformed attacker struggled to break Verdy's defense. In the 72 minutes, Soichi TANAKA was sent into the pitch for the first time this term to change the game. Even though Fagiano fought it out to the very end, they took only four shots with no goal during the match. As a result, Okayama got down to 13^th position.

Match Preview 17th Sec : VS Tokyo Verdy at City Light Stadium on June 6

Last season, Fagiano had two victories against Tokyo Verdy and the overall record standing of Fagiano against Tokyo is six victories, six losses and one draw. Both clubs are in a virtual tie as of now.


The head coach is Togashi, who used to lead the youth team of Verdy, so he is totally familliar with the team.  This season, midfielder, Yasuda made a comeback from Gainare Tottori in the division 3. A veteran forward, Hiramoto is remarkable, having scored five goals so far this season. Other young attackers, Sugimoto and Takagi are also the ones to watch out for.


At last sec, Tokyo made an upset victory against Tochigi SC, 3 - 2. Hiramoto scored a goal and young attacker, Takagi stroke a decider.


Tokyo currently stays 8th position with 24 points. Verdy had the golden ages more than 10 years ago in the top league, however, in the recent years, the visitors have struggled in the lower league. In the recent secs, Okayama have struggled to score goals, therefore, their attackers are expected to rise up during the match.

TV program, Get Sports features IWAMASA

This program features the former international, Daiki IWAMASA, who joined Fagiano Okayama this season. It was shot in Japanese, but it is certainly worth watching. I almost cried when watching this.  Check this out!

Match Review 16th Sec : VS Kamatamare Sanuki at Kagawa Marugame Stadium on May 31

Okayama 1 Kamatamare Sanuki 0

On the last day of May, lots of Fagiano supporters gathered at Kagawa Marugame Stadium for the derby match of Seto Great Bridge. According to the reports, most of them came to Marugame by chartered train from Okayama. The total attendance for the match was 6,556.

This sec, the head coach, Nagasawa made up the same starting line-up as the last sec. An ace forward, Oshitani has not scored goals for last seven matches, therefore, he seemed to be greedy for goals. In the home team, a striker, Tetsuya KIJIMA was placed as a starter for the first time this term.

After the kickoff, both teams were solid in defense, even though both created lots of chances with free kicks and corner kicks. In the 17^th minutes, Iwamasa took a brilliant header, but the shot was an offside. It seems that it was the most exciting moment for Fagiano fans before the interval.

During the second half, in the 51th minutes, Sanuki midfielder, Numata took an own goal, bringing the visitors a lucky opener. Kitano's men, then tried to equalize the match with lots of counter attacks, however, Okayama's goal keeper, Nakabayashi showed good performances to save Fagiano. In the 88^th minutes, Oshitani got a sending off with a red card. After that Okayama barely endured the opponent's attacking in waves and successfully obtained three points. Fagiano stay 11^th position with 22 points.