Score: Hidekazu Otani (Kashiwa – 74 min)

Booked: Yohei Kurakawa (Kashiwa – 77 min), Naoki Ishikawa (Kashiwa – 89 min)

Date: 12 May, 2008

Venue: Ajinomoto Stadium

Attendance: 17,122

Intelligent defensive midfielder Hidekazu Otani’s goal drew Reysol’s three straight win for the J-League Division 1. FC Tokyo’s aggressive offences annoyed many times but several counter attacks by Reysol were sharp and dynamic. Right winger Keisuke Ota and the left winger Minoru “Minoroony” Suganuma exhibited the sharp performances during the match.

On 74 minutes, Hidekazu Otani scored his second goal of the season by a rebound ball from the keeper which was originally caused by Popo’s corner kick. Otani’s positioning was fantastic because he scored the goal absolutely no pressure from FC Tokyo’s defenders although number of FC Tokyo’s defenders was in there.

After Otani’s goal, FC Tokyo switched on to aggressive offences. The home team substituted two strikers after 75 minutes. However, both Yusuke Kondo and Sota Hirayama’s efforts were in vain in front of Reysol’s tight and tough defences.

Goalkeeper Takanori Sugeno showed once again a superb performance. He entertained three straight shut-out games.   

Reysol scored 19 points and climbed up to the 5^th position in the competition.

J-League Division 1 Standings (as at 11 May, 2008)

Pos      Team                            Pld.      Pts.      Diff.

 1         Urawa Reds                   12         26         +14

 2         Nagoya Grampus           12         23         +6

 3         Kawasaki Frontale         12         20         +3

 4         FC Tokyo                      12         20         +3

 5         Kashiwa Reysol             12         19         +4

 6         Kashima Antlers            11         18         +8

 7         Yokohama F Marinos     12         18         +5

 8         Oita Trinita                    11         17         +3

 9         Omiya Ardija                 12         16         +1

10         Gamba Osaka               11         16         0

11         Vissel Kobe                   12         15         0

12         Arbirex Niigata               12         15         -4

13         Shimizu S-Pulse            12         15         -4

14         Jubilo Iwata                   12         14         -2

15         Tokyo Verdy                  12         14         -5

16         Kyoto Sanga FC            11         14         -5

17         Consadore Sapporo        12         10         -11

18         JEF United Chiba           12         5         -16

Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Stadium, which is located in the heart of Kashiwa City of Chiba Prefecture in Japan, serves as the home stadum of Kashiwa Reysol, one of the football clubs of the Japanese top-flight division. The stadium is as known as “Hitachdai”, the name of the location itself, just like several football stadiums in England.

Hitachidai is one of a few football-oriented stadiums in Japan. Whilst most J-League clubs are obliged to use government-affiliated stadiums (with tracks!), Kashiwa Reysol can use this fantastic stadium exclusively because the club owns Hitachidai.

Although the stadium can only provide relatively small capacity, the atmosphere is fantastic. Most of away teams say Hitachidai is one of the most unwelcomed stadiums because they always feel huge pressures from home supporters.

How to Get to the Hitachidai

From downtown Tokyo, you can use JR Joban Line Rapid Service trains from Ueno station. Approximately 30 minutes travel to JR Kashiwa station, which is the nearest station to the HItachidai. About 15 to 20 minutes walk from JR Kashiwa station to reach the stadium. Some shuttle bus services are available from the station, but most of the supporters choose for walking along small path called “Reysol Road.”

Name: Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Stadium

Location: 1-2-50 Hitachidai, Kashiwa City, Chiba

Pitch Width: 105m x 68m

Capacity: 15,900 (seated 12,000)