JustOneThing - I Head Into The Hills To See A Game Of J-League Football

It was ten years ago when I last went to watch a professional football match in Japan. I went see our local J League team, San Frecce, play at their home stadium way up in the hills outside Hiroshima.

The main factor behind my decision to go ten years ago was that I had been given two free tickets. My daughter was nine at the time. I bought her a purple San Frecce shirt and took her to see the match.

I suppose she enjoyed the occasion, but didn't seem very enthusiastic about the game itself. One factor in play at that time could have been the "embarrassed to be seen out with my foreign Dad" factor.

Here's a photo of me at the game back in 2012:

I posted a less than enthusiastic match report on my blog. In it I wrote that,

In many ways this game seemed more like a choreographed event than a football match, from the managed chanting of the two opposing groups of fans to the neat passing (more often sideways and backwards, but then a sudden, accurate, long low-pass forwards), the lack of urgency, the absence of physical challenges, the lack of shots on target – the lack of shots in general, and the final result, 0-0.

Blog post: https://davidhurleyinjapan.com/diary/j-league-football-san-frecce-v-omiya/

That lack of urgency has been a big factor in my not returning for ten years.

Another factor is how far away the stadium is. To get there from my place you have to,

• catch a tram and go two stops to the railway station
• catch a train and go three stops.
• change train and head up a single track line for several stops
• catch the Astram metro train and go ten stops to the end of the line.

If you are really unlucky, you'll spend a total of one hour simply waiting for the next train to arrive.

San Frecce vs Cerezo Osaka

So what were the factors that caused me to go and see San Frecce play again, after an interval of ten years?

The first factor, just like ten years ago, was the offer of free tickets!

The manager of our futsal team contacted me the other day invited me to join him and some of the other team members for the match as he had a bunch of free tickets.

That sounded like fun, so I accepted.

Another factor that caused me to accept the invitation was that this weekend is one of the few in which I have both days off, so I would still be able to enjoy some time to myself, which I really need by the end of a busy teaching week.

One extra factor was that it would give me a nice topic to blog about! Ten years ago I was blogging, but my blogging activities did not generate any income as they do now. So yeah, let's go and get some nice photos and videos of a day out watching footie in good company in the hills of Hiroshima!

I made my own way to the stadium. I have just arrived and took a selfie to show the others where I was standing - they had my free ticket so I needed to hook up with them!

Here we are in the stadium! Crazy shaun, me, Jeremy, Yuuichi our futsal manager, and a couple of others.

Here's a Short vid I made of the Cerezo Osaka away fans with their flags and drums.

https://youtube.com/shorts/IfsddKfjy88?feature=share

And here is the view from our seats:

Okay so how about the game this time?

Well, the first half played itself out much like the game I remember from 2012. Lots of passing and effort, but not much to show for it.

However, I enjoyed the half more than the other game I saw. The main factor in my enjoyment was that it was a bit more physical than what I remember from ten years ago. Even better, it was our boys in purple who were putting it about and wearing down the away team.

Nevertheless, the game was not so gripping that I was unable to wander down to the beer stand for further refreshment several times during play, avoiding the half-time rush, and not missing any significant action.

Goal! 0-1

The second half really came to life when Bruno Mendes scored for Cerezo Osaka in the 54th minute. The goal seemed like it had been coming for a while.

No Goal! 0-1

Three minutes later San Frecce scored a tap in and we went a bit crazy only for VAR to rule it out for offside. Ah well, back to the beer.

Goal! 1-1

Then, in the 79th minute came the play of the match, well worth the long journey to see it unfold. I felt something special was about to happen. Two factors that led to the goal were (1) a nice layoff by Makoto Mitsuta, which (2) gave the striker, Gakuto Notsuda, just the right amount of time and space for a beautifully placed shot that beat the central defender and the goalkeeper. 1-1!

Here's the official highlight video of the play:

Penalty!

Then, in the 85th minute Douglas Viera won a penalty...

Goal! 2-1

...and slotted it home to give San Frecce a fine comeback victory!

So it turned out that the key factor in the victory was the manager Michael Skibbe's decision to bring on Douglas Viera as a substitute in the second half.

I was well pleased to have seen four goals in the second half and travelled back home feeling very satisfied with the evening.

The Screw-up Factor

However, I really screwed up my homeward bound journey!

The "screw-up factor" came in two parts that contributed to an extra 35 minutes of waiting time for me...

Part 1. Wrong Station!

I was sat on the Metro reading a Kindle book on my phone when I heard the name of "my" station being announced, or so I thought. So I jumped up and hopped off, only to realize when it was too late that I had got off several stations too soon, at "Ohara" and not "Omachi." Oh dear!

Still, it was only ten minutes wait for the next metro.

Part 2. Where's My Freakin' Ticket?

When I got off the second metro at Omachi, I got to the ticket barrier and couldn't find my ticket. I stood aside and fished around in my pockets, my wallet, my pockets again, and then my wallet. After everybody else had gone through the barriers I found my ticket tucked inside a credit card pocket in my wallet.

I got to the station just in time to see my train pull out of the station... and the next train down the little old single track line was not for another 25 minutes.

Ah well, just carry on reading my Kindle book, I suppose!

The Kindly Gods Reward My Bonhomie?

Just as I got off that train, the connecting train pulled into the station a few platforms away. There's no way I would catch it, I thought, so I did not leg it down the stairs in a vain attempt to try and do so... I was resigned to another 20 minute wait...

But to good fortune the train still had not left by the time I got to the platform - I have no idea what factors were in play to keep it there unless the gods felt I had suffered enough and born my ill luck with sufficient bonhomie to permit me to board the train.

I hopped on, the doors shut and off we went. Swings and roundabouts, and the books are more or less equal when when you factor everything in!

Cheers!

David Hurley
#JustOneThing

#InspiredFocus
David Hurley