It was a nice spring Sunday in Nagano. U-stadium, the home pitch of AC Nagano Parceiro is inside the grounds of Olympic Park in Nagano City. It is one of two stadiums in the park which also features running trails, tennis courts, a sumo ring, and various other recreational facilities. Parking was jammed in all the lots an hour before the game, and it wasn’t clear if it was because of a full stadium, or just a lot of people wanting to spend time outdoors on one of the nicer days in recent memory.
It turns out, the stadium was more full than usual, but not by a lot. 3,155 spectators attended the home opener, hoping to see Parceiro continue their hot start to the 2022 season.
Although Parceiro has always played in the lower division, their stadium is built to top-flight specifications. The views from the seats are nice, and the stadium holds up to about 15,000.
Walking from the far end of the park, past basketball players, and joggers, the sound of the stadium drums could be heard. Upon entering the stadium, a display of the day’s starting lineup is displayed. It was a little surprising to see both Sanda Naoki and Duke Carlos starting out as reserve members. Sanda was the star of last year’s team, and Duke Carlos has been a rising star this season.
Kim Min-ho, the reserve goalkeeper was in the starting lineup. This indicates that Yatagai Soki’s injury might be serious. One big question of the day was how Kim would do in a full 90-minute game.
There was a positive feeling in the stadium. The drums and cheering section were full. The stadium announcer seemed a little extra excited when he announced the lineups. The sun was shining, and there was a beautiful glow on the green mountains in the distance behind the scoreboard.
Kim was tested early due to a few defensive lapses by Parceiro, but managed to stop all shots. Parceiro was pretty aggressive in their own right, fighting for duels and owning most of the early possession.
At six minutes, Nagano took advantage of poor defensive placement by Kagawa allowing Ikegaya Hayato to score on a corner kick giving them an early lead, causing the already enthusiastic crowd to get a little louder.
Parceiro continued to control the ball and earn corner kicks. Kagawa capitalized on a Nagano mistake at 27 mintues when two strikers beat the defense at mid-field. Defender Funabashi Yuma saved an almost-certain goal by chasing the ball down and making a hard tackle that earned him a yellow card.
Four minutes later, Parceiro earned a free-kick and managed another goal when Ikegaya Hayato scored the team’s second goal on a short kick in the middle of a scattered defense.
A 2-0 lead put Parceiro in a great position. Up to this point they had survived some defensive lapses and capitalized on the many chances they created. Kim showed his skills in stopping several Kagawa chances including a few back-peddling catches. Nagano’s next goal would put the game away.
Miyamoto Takuya, who was inactive last week, scored Parceiro’s third goal on a beautiful long-distance strike. It was his second goal of the season, and he is starting to look like a key signing. Nagano headed to the locker room at halftime with a three-goal advantage.
The second half was a physical affair. Kagawa did not give up, and three yellow cards were awarded in the half, two for Kagawa and one for Nagano.
Sanda and Duke were substituted in at 60 minutes. In the first three games of the season, coach Stalph has shown a pattern of putting in fresh legs at about the 60-minute mark. I thought it was an interesting choice to substitute strikers in with a three-goal lead. But, it shows that Parceiro is determined to do whatever they can to improve their league standings. A more conservative coach may have put in some defensive replacements.
Kagawa ended up scoring a goal at 81 minutes. Despite a few close chances, Parceiro failed to score in the second half. Nonetheless, it was an entertaining game from start to finish, and the home fans were thrilled to witness a dominant 3-1 to open the season.
AC Nagano Parceiro currently sits in second place of J3. Next week, they travel to Fukushima United, the first-place team in the division. It is still too early in the season to watch the standings too closely. But next week’s game should be a fun matchup of two teams who are off to promising starts.
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