11 August 2008

Mito 2 - 2 Kusatsu

Two teams brought each other to their own level yesterday. Mito has not tied a match in the past 4 months, but did so with draw-happy Kusatsu. In return, Kusatsu seemed to bring a higher class of work and effort against one of the most exciting teams in the division.

I worked most of the game at the away gate and could only see the second Mito goal of the four. Both teams would score once in each half. The first half saw forward Arata jump to fifth in the league with scoring as he tied the match for Mito. Mito would take the lead very shortly into the second half with a header by defender and captain Hiramatsu from a corner kick. It was basically identical to his first career goal earlier this year. Kusatsu would then tie it up. With five minutes to go, Kusatsu would draw a red card to go one man down, and Mito would come very close to taking the game. In the end, though, the Kusatsu keeper could keep things even.

During halftime I took part in the North Kanto Derby competition, where Kusatsu representatives and Mito representatives race around the track in a relay. I took the dizzy bat leg, and the Mito side won for the second time this season. I also had an interview with someone from NHK Ibaraki.

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