Takase shows the way as Albirex net first win

Syahrom Sulaiman
info@sleague.com

Albirex Niigata (Singapore) got their season up and running in style with a 3-0 win over Woodlands Wellington on Thursday.

Without a point in their first three games of the season, the Japanese side clearly took the game to the opponents with an impressive display of attacking football from start to finish.

The hosts’ performance even drew praise from their opponents’ head coach Nenad Bacina.

“Congratulations to Albirex on a job well done. They scored three very good goals whereas we couldn’t take any of our chances,” said the Croatian.

“At least in the previous defeat against DPMM we played well, but I can’t say we played well tonight. We did manage to do well in certain phases of the game but not consistently enough to overcome our opponents,” Bacina reflected.

The White Swans showed their hunger when they took the early initiative through the individual brilliance of star striker Akira Takase after eight minutes.

A freekick awarded by referee P Pandian some 30 yards out looked a daunting prospect for an attempt on goal, but Takase’s rasping drive evaded Rams custodian Rezal Hassan and crept into the bottom left-hand corner.

The early goal lifted the White Swans tremendously and it was no surprise that they managed to get their second a few minutes later.

Midfielder Atsushi Shimono dispossessed Luis Eduardo Hicks and sent Kenji Adachihara sprinting clear. Adachihara squared to an unmarked Takase on the right and with the 21-year old bearing down on Rezal’s goal, the outcome was never in doubt. After 14 minutes, Woodlands were already 2-0 down.

The White Swans were capitalising on their speed on the flanks and Takase was nearly on the scoresheet once again following a flowing move on the right.

Once again it was Adachihara who found Takase in acres of space with a delightful pass but this time Rezal managed to foil the young striker’s hattrick attempt.

The hosts were so dominant in the game that it took the Rams until the second half to find their first shot on target.

Winger Jamil Ali, who was inconspicuous in the first 45 minutes, livened up after the interval. Playing a supporting role to Iranian forward Mojtaba Tehranizadeh with regular frontman Zakaria Yousif injured, Jamil eased past defender Shota Matsuoka to find some space in the penalty box but could not place his shot beyond Albirex keeper Yoshito Matsushita.

With little option but to chase the game, the Rams slowly found their passing rhythm and they were beginning to craft a few decent moves which troubled the White Swans’ backline.

Nevertheless, the hosts were still dangerous on the counter attacks and one move nearly resulted in another goal for them.

Takase’s flicked pass found its way to Adachihara and he had the presence of mind to steer the ball towards goal in mid-air, but Rezal produced the best save of the game with an acrobatic effort to tip the ball over the bar.

There was to be no stopping Adachihara though. Substitute Kunihiro Honda swung a cross from the left flank and the 25-year old striker volleyed the ball past Rezal with his left peg to give his side a 3-0 advantage on 69 minutes.

It was a goal that that proved to be the icing on the cake on a night where the White Swans really showed what they are capable of.