Match Review: Hibernians FC vs FC Nippon

• GK Billy Wyatt
• DF Jack Graham
• DF Marcus Went
• DF Jamie Barnes
• DF Sam McGough
• MD Misra Maayan
• MD Jerome Delcasso
• MD Liam Buckley
• MD Steve Cipriani
• ST David Bolton
• -- Chaouki Saybi

• DF Patrick Parkinson
• DF Hayden Gray

Season Closer

Hibs rounded off the season against an in-form Nippon side who are always such a tough opponent under the lights. It wasn't the best start to the evening. With Pat and the kit stranded on the expressway for 45 minutes but Pat eventually got the kit to the American school and we got underway. It was an even start, but the first chance of the game was taken by Nippon after they got to the by-line as Hibs paused as an offside player dummied and the deep cross was brought down and smashed towards Bill, but he couldn't quite keep it out. The second wasn't long in following after a cut-back for the late arriving no.7 was guided in. His late runs caused Hibs problems and everyone left it to the other as the 7 danced through to face Bill and he calmly scored. Hibs were playing that badly really but Nippon were definitely the better team and they played some lovely football. Bill had a golden 10 minutes where he saved and tackled anything that came his way. Then Hibs got a lifeline when Patrick crossed to the back-post and Hibs' top-scorer produced a stunning header to score as he faded away from goal. A great haul of 13 goals for the big number nine. Jack then had a glorious headed chance when he was left alone from ten-yards and then Maayan found Sam with a beautiful pass and although Sam set himself nicely, he couldn't beat the advancing 'keeper. MoM was Bill for the golden 10 minute spell. Nippon's no.39 was flawless in midfield but the no.7 was the player who really made the difference. Not the way Hibs wanted to end the league campaign and we finish 6th which was not what we were looking for from the season, but we look forward to some cup action.

• Takaki NAKAMURA GK
• Yuki Ichikawa DF
• Katsumi Oku DF
• Takuto Furuya MD
• Yusuke Urata MD
• Seiji TACHIBANA MD
• Takuya Hagino ST
• Takashi Tsutsumi ST
• Shota Adachi --
• Kyohei Kato --
• Koichiro KOSUGI --

• Tomonari Abe DF
• Yusuke Kameya DF
• Akira Yokoyama MD
• Kohei Itadani MD
• Kodai Ochi ST

Great game to wrap up the season

The Japanese team took on Hibs at Singapore American School (The game started a little late due to a late delivery of jerseys because of a car down). The first half was beautifully managed by the Japanese and the team scored 3 with a few more opportunities. The first goal was scored by Yusuke, the new addition to the team who fired a volley shot slightly outside of the box which deflected and found back of the net in the first 10 min. 1-0 Soon after, the Second was scored by Seiji, who ran into the vital and received an accurate pass from Takuya, calmly slotting it into the net with his right inside foot. 2-0 The third was borne by Katsumi, who delivered an amazing through pass to Takuya who found some space behind the defence line. He was onside, and calmly won the 1on1 with the keeper. 3-0 It looked promising, but in the half time, coach Tom reminded the team to keep pushing hard and so did the Japanese. In the second half, fresh force was injected and the new players made numbers of opportunities. There were 3 or 4 occasions where everyone thought we will score, but the Hibs keeper showed unbelievable performance and denied everything. Instead, in the midst of the second half, Hibs managed to get back into the game. A careless build up was caught by Hibs and an accurate cross met the ace strikers head. 3-1. However, Nippon reacted strongly and didn't allow the second goal. A few more players substituted and showed solid performance to close the game. Final score 3-1 and 3 victories in a row! Well done to both teams and special thanks to the referee who managed the game.