Sensai 0 - 3 ntx (371471602)

A brilliantly sunny day had enticed a crowd of 27398 to Chitose Stadium. Tomislav Stilinović was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Clarence Brock and Jan Håkansson. Sensai decided to use a 4-5-1 set up. They fielded: 佐藤 (Sato) - Kurihara, 早川 (Hayakawa), 斎藤 (Saito), Watanabe - 浅見 (Asami), 原 (Hara), 笠原 (Kasahara), 山下 (Yamashita), 柏木 (Kashiwagi) - Levante.

ntx started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: 近藤 (Kondo) - Pova, Sobczak, Kolinčák - Pärkö, Baker, Lyytikäinen, Buchanan, Maita - Rubio Orduña, Dias Filho.

Sensai immediately set off using their skill at pressing their opponents. ntx saw most attack opportunities on the wings. The pressing tactics used by Sensai were successful as the ball remained close to the half way line at all times. Sensai's ability to press all over the field frequently paid dividends. Against a lesser team, ntx could very well have succeeded with their smart indirect free kick routine after 32 minutes. A trio of passes took the ball all the way past the defenders, but by then the intended recipient was already blocked off and the keeper could make a leisurely save. ntx had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially 35 minutes in when A. Buchanan came up alone against 智. 佐藤 (Sato) who managed a block. After 38 minutes, ntx put themselves up 0 - 1, as T. Baker finished off a strike from the left with a real cannonball of a shot. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, 俊. 早川 (Hayakawa) got himself booked. The manager of Sensai was not happy. Sensai's 威. 原 (Hara) left the field after 41 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was 敬. 橘 (Tachibana). It was 0 - 1 at the break. ntx enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 68 percent of possession.

The heat made it a terrible day for A. Sobczak, who seemed unable to keep up with the other players. A defender managed to keep the ball from crossing the goal-line after a curling shot coming in from the right from L. Pärkö after 54 minutes, and prevented ntx from going up another goal. The home crowd was not impressed when J. Lyytikäinen came in from the right, shooting hard to score after 59 minutes. ntx were now up 0 - 2. The players of ntx now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. An accurate cross from L. Pärkö of ntx was met with a wonderful glancing header from O. Dias Filho, hitting the inside base of the post before nestling into the back of the net for 0 - 3. Sensai's 裕. 斎藤 (Saito) got himself booked for a foul. Content with how the game was proceeding, the ntx coach let D. Golle replace A. Sobczak after 70 minutes. 智. 佐藤 (Sato) got a fingertip on R. Rubio Orduña's shot from the left 73 minutes in, and managed to keep the visitors from going up another goal. The home crowd cheered when, after 78 minutes, O. Dias Filho's charge up the middle resulted in the keeper making one of his best saves of the day. After 79 minutes Sensai's 智. 佐藤 (Sato) contracted a slight foot injury, but didn't want to leave the game. J. Lyytikäinen came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal after a pass through the middle. He tried to lift the ball over 智. 佐藤 (Sato) but overcooked it and hit the bar instead. J. Lyytikäinen of ntx received a yellow card after 83 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by ntx, with 71 percent of the ball.

Sensai's best player was P. Levante. 裕. 斎藤 (Saito) turned in a dismal performance, however. ntx's top performer was clearly O. Dias Filho. On the other hand, D. Golle's play was disheartening. The match ends 0 - 3.