“Their vertical movement was very good, but they lost focus towards the end …” Gamba coach analyses SAFFC

Story by REDintern Noor Farhan. Pictures by Tan Jon Han/Red Sports

Jalan Besar Stadium, Tuesday, 23 March 2010 – Former Asian champions Gamba Osaka overcame Singapore Armed Forces Football Club (SAFFC) 4-2 after being held 1-1 at half-time.

Despite upping their tempo and using the correct tactics, the Warriors’ lapses in concentration towards the final minutes handed the game to the visiting J-League giants in their AFC Champions League (ACL) first round group match.

SAFFC coach Richard Bok reshuffled his pack from the previous ACL match against Suwon Bluewings, with Ahmad Latiff given the playmaker’s role in central midfield alongside Rai Roshan as they looked to Akiyoshi Taisuke and Mustaqim Manzur for pace and width down the flanks.

Singapore Under-23 international Erwan Gunawan provided the guile up front, partnering veteran Indra Sahdan in attack whilst Swede Niklas Sandberg replaced the suspended Ivan Lovric in central defence.

The most notable absentee for Gamba Osaka was their Japan international Yasuhito Endo, who alongside Lucas and Pedro Junior, was among the star players rested for this match.

It was Gamba that took the lead through Hirai Shoki in the sixth minute, with SAFFC defenders suffering from early game jitters. The nippy forward again tried a speculative long-range effort two minutes later but blasted high and wide as his confidence slowly grew as the game progressed.

Playmaker Ahmad Latiff had a relatively good game, pulling the strings in midfield with his accurate long diagonal passes from central midfield, one of which fell kindly at the feet of striker Indra Sahdan who was in a dangerous position at 24 minutes.

However, Indra could not capitalise as Gamba shut the doors firmly, closing down the space just as Indra cut inside and shaped to shoot.

Warriors custodian Shahril Jantan kept up his good form as well, saving a snapshot from former South Korean international Cho Jae Jin's snapshot in the 28th minute.

Their good work soon paid dividends soon after on a counter-attack, with winger Mustaqim Manzur raiding down the right flank after catching the Gamba Osaka fullback out of position. His pinpoint cross found Indra Sahdan, who had the presence of mind to send a looping pass in the direction of Erwan Gunawan who finished with aplomb on 32 minutes to bring the game level at 1-1.

Gamba Osaka could not find an answer as half time approached with their uninspired play up to that point. SAFFC kept the ball wisely with simple and direct one-touch passes to frustrate their Japanese counterparts and run down the clock.

For some reason, it all went downhill for SAFFC seconds after the restart with Hirai Shoki latching on to a high pass to score after 50 seconds, clashing into SAFFC keeper Shahril Jantan in the process. The goal was upheld by the referee and Gamba Osaka went 2-1 up.

The attacks by Gamba Osaka grew in intensity as they attempted to take advantage of Shahril's apparent knock. Efforts by Cho Jae Jin and Takagi Kazumuchi were both saved at 58 and 60 minutes respectively after some good passing from their midfield.

The home side still had an ace up their sleeves as Ahmad Latiff showed his prowess from set-pieces in the 62nd minute. His accurate free kick from outside the penalty box found the resolute head of defender Niklas Sandberg and the Warriors drew level at 2-2.

The J-League giants responded in kind with an almost identical goal, this time from a free kick in the 66th minute. Defender Sota Nakazawa's bullet header found the back of the net this time, with the entire SAFFC defence caught ball-watching as the Osaka side went up 3-2.

The Warriors' red-card curse in their AFC Champions League campaign caught up with them when Akiyoshi Taisuke received his second yellow card of the night for an unfair challenge on his opponent.

With a man down, SAFFC could not cope with the probing runs of the pacey Hirai Shoki as he popped in the penalty box unmarked to apply the finishing touches on an exquisite through ball to make it 4-2 in the 80th minute.

The game ended with Gamba Osaka dominating possession and SAFFC looking clearly second best as they struggled to keep up with their opponents class and experience with only 10 men.

"We weren't too nervous going 1-1 at half-time. We kept calm and composed, as we controlled the game in the second half," said Gamba Osaka coach Akira Nishino in the post match press conference.

"We were surprised (initially) at SAFFC for getting back a goal as they played aggressively. Their vertical movement was very good, but they lost focus towards the end," said coach Nishino.

SAFFC coach Richard Bok thought his team played well.

"I felt that the whole team did reasonably well, not just (Ahmad) Latiff, as they raised their game for the occasion. But think that the four goals we conceded could have been prevented," said Warriors coach Richard Bok.

SAFFC Lineup

Shahril Jantan, Razaleigh Khalik, Hafiz O, Niklas Sandberg, Daniel Bennett, Mustaqim Manzur, Rai Roshan, Ahmad Latiff, Akiyoshi Taisuke, Indra Sahdan, Erwan Gunawan

Coach: Richard Bok

Gamba Osaka Lineup:

Fujigaya Yosuke, Sota Nakazawa, Takagi Kazumuchi, Shimohira Takumi, Futagawa Takahiro, Yasuda Michihiro, Hirai Shoki, Myojin Tomokazu, Cho Jae Jin, Akira Kaji, Hideo Hashimoto

Coach: Akira Nishino

Attendance: 3226