The old adage about waiting ages for a London bus and then two come at once is quite apt for my away days travel to watch my Japanese team Kashiwa Reysol. Having seen them grab an injury time point in Kyoto five days earlier, I was then in Saga Prefecture to witness another relegation fight against Sagan Tosu. For the record, this match was the one that I planned first before tacking on the Kyoto Sanga one at a much later date.

It has to be one of the most (if not the most!) conveniently located stadium in all of Japan in terms of its close proximity to a train station. Indeed, when I passed through Tosu station earlier in the day (en-route to another place in Saga Prefecture) I could see it looming large right next to the tracks. It was very noticable that that the two stands alongside the pitch were covered but the ones behind the goals were open to the elements and (without looking at my ticket) I was sure that us away fans would be located there as is normally the way.

Planning a trip around football matches really can be quite fun, and with nine J-League teams in this most southerly region of Japan, it would be nice to spend longer in the area combining games with travel. I also watched a J2 match in Oita the night before this one and have actually been to see the Okinawa based team before. Only six more to go then!

With the stadium located just five minutes away from my hotel, and on and off rain (mostly the former though!), I didn’t leave the comfort of my room until around half an hour before the 7:00 pm kick off.

Ever since Covid_19, many tickets have been reserved seating which does make it easier in terms of turning up later than the old days when you had to get there very early to claim a place. It wasn’t a stadium I knew anything about beforehand so only when I entered did I realise it was standing room only on a good old fashioned terrace.

I have to say I was mightily relieved to see that the back third of the terrace was covered by the stand above it so I could stay dry. My allocated space was typically open to the elements but with minimal support for the furthest away day in J1 I was able to stand elsewhere without problem.

With its four individual stands and the rectangular nature of it all, I was quite impressed by the stadium once inside. As I said in the Kyoto Sanga post, it is always wonderful in Japan to watch a match at a ground where there is no running track circling the pitch.

The Japanese are probably the most umbrella-conscious nation in the world. Only a couple of spots of rain need to fall (if even that!) before the majority of people put their umbrellas up. It’s different for ultras watching their teams though!

Difficult to tell but it is raining heavily here!

Whilst I took the safer option further back on the terrace under cover, most fans braved the rain without too much care. It really did absolutely hammer it down with rain at times during the first half but they kept on singing throughout. Big respect to them and all other football fans who regularly watch their teams in the such torrid conditions.

Match details will be brief as always. Tosu took the lead on 37 minutes after a Reysol defender misjudged the bounce of the ball and the Brazilian Marcelo Ryan took advantage. Despite mis-hitting the ball, it bounced down and flukily went up over the Reysol keeper and into the net. Another Brazilain equalised just after the hour mark when Reysol earned a quite fortunate penalty which midfielder Matheus Savio cooly struck right down the middle.

Things got better just a couple of minutes later and there was no looking back after that as the goals began to flow. This season Reysol have managed to create a fair few chances but have struggled to put them away so I could hardly believe my eyes as they converted four times in the second half.

Knowing that I didn’t need to catch a bus or train, and that my hotel was so close by, I was able to hang around post-match to applaud the players when they came round to thank us for all the support and encouragment. I don’t think I’ve ever left a match in Japan feeling as elated as on this occasion. Maybe I was a little relieved too having travelled so far for an away match.

The two away games in five days were admittedly against fellow relegation strugglers but I can’t say I ever thought Reysol would come away with four points out of six. I must be something of a lucky omen but the bad news is that it will be quite a while before I’m next in attendance to see them live.

Final Score: Sagan Tosu 1-4 Kashiwa Reysol

Click here to read ‘An Away Day At One of Japan’s Newest Top Tier Stadiums’

Click here to read ‘TF Top 10……Football Match Day Experiences So Far In 2024 (Part 1)’

Click here to read ‘Kashiwa Reysol Pay The Penalty At The 103rd Emperor’s Cup Final’ 

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