12 Feb 2016
Doha, 12 February 2016. Kashiwa Reysol cruised to a 4-2 victory over ten-man Aspire Academy in the first game of Day 8 at the 'Al Kass International Cup'.
Reysol had taken the lead after a high ball over the top held up in the wind, allowing full back Toshiaki Myamoto, advancing down the left, to control and cut the ball back to Yamada. His floated cross into the area was met first time by Tanaka, who side-footed a sublime volley across the keeper into the left-hand corner.
The Japanese side held their lead for only five minutes, however, as Aspire forced a derived equaliser. Andri Syahpurta won the ball in the centre circle and fed the advancing Ibrahim, who beat the keeper with ease from eight yards out.
Two minutes of added time were allotted at the end of the half, and Reysol used it to extend their lead in dramatic fashion when Nasser Al-Harrbi was shown a straight red card for preventing a certain goal and Syoda duly dispatched the spot kick to make the score 3-1 on the stroke of half time. In the end it was a 4-2 win for the Japanese side with Yusuf Yusuf scoring the second goal for Aspire in the 90th minute.
“Going into the match against Kashiwa we were aware of the fact that they are one of the strongest teams at the tournament, but for us it is important to measure our standard with these top teams. In preparation for the game against Kashiwa we studied their unique philosophy and set our strategy accordingly. Our boys fought for the game and we are very proud of their performance in this match and throughout the tournament. We will take the lessons we have learned in this tournament and apply it to the team’s development for the next tournament," said Lino Godhino, Assistant Coach of Aspire Academy after the game.
On Sunday, 3:35pm, Aspire Academy plays their last game at this year's 'Al Kass International Cup' in the ranking match for 7th place.