Economic Report and Test

Mito released its financial report regarding the previous year's economics.

The club posted its first loss in recent years, despite already having the lowest budget among pro teams. The operating loss came to 9,000,000 yen, or about US$90,000. While of course a very small loss for a pro sports team, it is still a loss. There are two ways that the same figures could turn into a profit this season: 1) get an average of 250 more paying fans to home games, or 2) get a shorts uniform sponsor. Given the tepid crowd even at a successful run as we have seen during the first part of this season, either may be a tall order.

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This entry is the first being sent by e-mail, with a picture attachment. Will I pass the test?

Mito 4 - 3 Okayama

As the score indicates, yesterday's match was very exciting but much of the credit can go to weakness on both teams. Passes were sloppy while both keepers were a step slower than usual. Both teams relied on crosses to be finished off for goals and all but one goal per team was scored in this way. A strong attacking midfield on Okayama's side and Mito's consistent links to forward Arata were the only quality play to be seen in the game.

I worked assisting the away fans (80 strong) who came to Hitachinaka for the game. They were very concerned when in the middle of clear skies, a 30-minute pocket of severe storm came through. Strong winds blew away the tent and promotional materials, torrential rains soaked everything and everyone down to underwear and socks (which would remain uncomfortable all day), and thunder brought fear that those making the 20-hour round trip would leave with a postponed game as their memory of Ibaraki. As suddenly as it came, the storm would subside, and mild wind and sunshine would only bring fears of sunburn. For anyone wondering why the ball occasionally stopped in an invisible puddle on TV, only 3 hours before the match began, the play surface was almost entirely underwater. This is par for the course when on the beach so it will be nice when Kasamatsu becomes the secondary ground upon Mito's new stadium being completed.

Memories of the potential disaster faded as the match started, especially for the very vocal Okayama fans who are still excited about their team's success and progress in recent years. They continued yelling and chanting even when Mito opened the game with the first two goals. Forward Arata took a good pass and made a good goal, and only a few minutes later defender Ozawa made his first professional goal being open in front of the goal. As what has become unfortunately customary for Mito lately Okayama would pull it back to a draw before the half was out, and the second half would begin tied at 2. The second goal was especially painful, being an attempted sliding clear from captain Owada right into the Mito net. His missed pass against Kusatsu had cost Mito that win and tied the score at 2 apiece, and now this own goal did the same thing. He usually does well of course but in a tight standings race these mistakes are especially disappointing.

Mito would quickly bring it back with two more goals from Arata in a four minute span and continued pressure, but defensive lapses continued and Okayama scored their 3rd with twenty minutes to go. Mito still fired away and didn't try to waste time until the very end and Okayama kept trying to make it a very harrowing final fight. After a failed Okayama free kick, the final whistle blew and Mito actually held the lead for a win for the first time in a while.

Mito retains 4th place in the standings with the win of course, but a surging Sendai and surprisingly strong Tokushima are just below. The only other high-schoring encounter of the day was Tochigi's surprise 3-all draw against 3rd place Kofu, who are now just one point above Mito. There is a small cushion between the top six teams and the bottom two thirds and any of these teams could be in the top three after the next match. Even more unpredictable in that on Wednesday, Mito plays at Sendai and Shonan plays at Kofu. Given the right results, any in the top five could lead the league this time next week. As far as long term hopes go, Mito has only played (and beaten) Tokushima so far this year, and in addition to Sendai has yet to face Shonan, Osaka, and Kofu. Only if remaining in striking distance of third place after all those matches will Mito fans breathe easily and believe in promotion chances. In addition to goals, Mito also happened to lead the weekend's teams in number of shots taken, and is currently second in the league in number of goals scored and are the only team to have an average of more than 3 goals per game (for both sides) in all matches played. If you like games with shots taken and goals scored and don't care about who fires them, Mito is your team to follow.

Arata's 3-goal game made a big impact in his personal rating and he will surely end up statistical player of the round. His hat trick brings the tally of goals up to 8 for the year, two more than 2nd place Kagawa of Osaka. He had a promise of 20 goals scored for 2009 and the current pace is enough to double that. He has scored more goals this year so far than the entire squads of Yokohama, Toyama, and Tochigi. His number of goals tied Okayama not only yesterday but all year, and he's also on par with Gifu through match 10.

A clue to tomorrow's game?

I just drove by the cheapest hotel in town, and saw Fagiano Okayama flags flying there. Surely the players stay there tonight, as I did at one point in the past. It's good for what it is, but rooms are cramped, beds are hard, and even double rooms have no private bathroom as all must use the public bath at a reserved, limited time. Nearby only a convenience store and fast food are able to be eaten. Plus, it's still a 30-45 minute bus ride to the stadium.

I expect the Okayama players to be less rested and more annoyed than other away teams that arrive the night before. Okayama forward Nishino, their most prolific scorer and only dangerous player, played for Mito the past 3 years. He would probably be meeting people and visiting places in his short time back and for that reason as well Okayama may be weaker than usual.

Mito 0 - 1 Yokohama

Mito lost in the last minute to Yokohama in a reversal of the reeling feeling of winning last minute against Toyama and a return to the disappointment of the last minute draw against Gifu.

Nothing much to say other than that both teams fought hard the whole time. I guess Mito's 7 game streak of no losses and Yokohama's winless streak of 8 had to cancel each other out.

Mito remains in 4th place with teams below chomping up and the reach for promotion a little bit further. A loss against Okayama on Sunday would mean the start of a need to fight back up, but a big win could pull Mito back into 3rd.

Mito 2 - 1 Toyama

Mito's first match against newly promoted Toyama turned out to be a nailbiter. It seemed that the streak of draws would continue as the game came to a close, but the last offensive play of the game saved it.

While Toyama was outclassed offensively it was tenacious defensively, and both teams shared only 7 shots in the first half. Fortunately for Mito fans one of those resulted in a goal from Arata. A long ball was successively headed forward and landed in front of a speeding Arata who toe-kicked it into the cross bar, bouncing down and inward for the goal. The second half showed a more intense Toyama that played more aggressively to tie it up. They would eventually do so, with Mito's defense bundled together too much and a free Toyama forward made contact to knock it in. Both teams successfully shut down the other and very close to the final whistle, a Toyama player collected a second yellow to be sent off. Unlike the Gifu match, though, that team would not overcome the odds to score in the final minute. Instead, mito's free kick as a result of the foul bounced off a Toyama player, fell sloppily in the middle of four unguarded Mito players directly in front of the goal, and Arata just kicked it directly past the keeper as if it were target practice; the shot looked like a penalty kick with the keeper not knowing it was coming. Less than a minute later the final whistle would blow and Mito had the win.

Unfortunately, Kofu would top Yokohama by one more goal, and now holds third place over Mito via goal difference. Fortunately for Mito the streak of quality play continues: 8 straight matches scoring goals, 8 straight matches of taking the lead at some point (with 7 of 8 matches scoring first), and now unbeaten in 7 straight matches. While spectacular for the club this is standard practice for the strongest teams in the division and it will have to continue for the entire 51 match season for Mito to remain a top club. This will become more difficult as traditionally strong clubs are coming up and as many other teams splurge to get their perfunctory mid season foreign striker.

Mito 3 - 3 Gifu

Certainly this result is better than losing 1-4 as had happened in the two team's previous meeting, but the allowance of the draw on Saturday was the biggest disappointment since Mito's last minute draw at Hiroshima last year.

I missed the first part of the match at the while at the main gate for the first 15 minutes. Gifu scored very quickly while forward Endo would tie it up soon afterward. From my new position of caring for people in the VIP seats, I could watch the rest.

The first half saw Mito dominate with high pressure and taking advantage of Gifu mistakes. However, there were very few serious chances that resulted. Two of those few would be converted, with Arata taking a keeper's missed pass and placing it in as he will tend to do, and the third goal came from Kota Yoshihara who effectively drove in the ball off a rebound. Coming from behind to lead 3-1 made Mito seem unstoppable at halftime.

Gifu's coaching staff must have been very inspiring at halftime though as that team came out much more aggressively. It seemed that Mito would be holding its own through all of it though, when with very little time to go a Gifu player tripped/was pulled down in the penalty area. The converted PK meant that Mito would be up by one and go from attacking to killing time. That didn't go very well and despite having one player sent off, Gifu seemed able to always get the ball away and push forward. With less than a minute to go a Gifu corner kick bumbled around until it could be headed in, and the game ended in a draw.

Despite the heartbreaking draw, Mito stays in third place on the standings. However, the cushion is gone, and the top two teams have pulled ahead even further. The next few games seem winnable until tougher opponents linger on the horizon. Those matches will need to be won and good showings are needed against tougher opponents for Mito to continue its surprising fight at the top of the division. If Mito is still in striking range after round 17, hope for J1 promotion can sprout. As the past two draws have shown, Mito makes enough tactical mistakes to cause concern.

Practice Match: Mito 2 - 0 RKU

Mito played top university side and JFL member Ryutsu Keizai University at Twin Field yesterday afternoon, winning the match two goals to none. RKU played a full power side while Mito played a sub side mixed with some starters.

The matchup was held partly because one of the RKU forwards, 3rd year student Ryota Nakahama, switched over to a Mito uniform and joined the squad. It was his tryout to see if he might fit with the team under JFA summer play analysis, as several have done under Mito in recent years. He played well and submitted the assist for both goals.

Mito scored one goal in each half through forward Takasaki. It will be all that he can do until the Yokohama match on the 19th as his yellow card at Kusatsu will keep him out of the Gifu match on Saturday.

Mito 2 - 2 Kusatsu

Mito remains in 3rd place after a hard fought match in a crisp and cloudy Maebashi on Saturday. Two Mito players on loan recorded first-ever pro goals and as always, Mito brought out one of the most exciting matches of the day.

The North Kanto derby has been getting more press than usual thanks to the introduction of Tochigi to the mix, and the addition of an official trophy with league backing has made the matches more important than the usual fare. While the lowest standing title possible in the country, probably less prestigious than even a JFL league title, it would mean the first trophy any of the three sides would win in their respective histories. Both teams clearly wanted to win to gain in standing and before the match, Mito players had suggested that this was the most important match of the first half of the season for many reasons.

While both teams have better records than expected in the young season, Mito was on a four game win streak and in great form, so it was surprising to see them allow the first goal for the first time this season. It was a tap-in that keeper Honma had no chance to answer. Before the first half ended, though, midfielder Morimura received a pass and fired from beyond the penalty box into the upper left corner. Kusatsu's keeper could only get his fingertips on it and the score was tied at one-all going into halftime.

The new half saw striker Takasaki brought in and he made his presence felt, looking very much like Arata in style. He received a quality through-pass from Morimura and kept slightly ahead in a foot race with a Kusatsu defender. Going half the field length, he always stayed a pace ahead until one-on-one with the keeper and he popped the ball into the far post, which then bounced into the net. Mito's lead would be short-lived though as captain Owada would make a rare mistake with 20 minutes to go. About to pass the ball back to keeper Honma, he was unaware of the Kusatsu forward racing towards him. The resulting collision had all three players make contact with the ball as it started rolling slowly towards the Mito goal. The Kusatsu player ran hard to make sure it would go in, but it would be unnecessary as nobody else would be able to reach it.

While conceding a goal (and joint 2nd place in the standings) through an error like this was painful, in the end the draw was probably the fairest result. Mito outshot Kusatsu and created more convincing chances but Kusatsu's defense was strong and the midfield showed a lot of quality, mistake-free play. Those watching the match were not only treated to a great show but also a preview of what could be North Kanto's year to shine in Japanese soccer. Kashima always has strength in J1, and now Mito and Kusatsu are showing new power in J2. Below the pro levels, Arte Takasaki are showing the most surprising rebound in quality and are a team to fear in the JFL and Ibaraki's Ryutsu Keizai University continue to be the most respected university team in the country. Only one month down but if this continues, the U-shaped contiguous area composing Tokyo, Saitama, Gunma, and Ibaraki will be the heart of Japanese soccer in 2009.