A three-minute hat-trick for Llorenç stuns Dorsole as Verdy take a second consecutive title
This past weekend (Oct 12th – 14th), the Japanese league drew to a close at Ginowan Tropical Beach, Okinawa, as Tokyo Verdy vanquished their finalist rivals, Dorsole Kitakyushu, with help from the Spanish number Llorenç Gomez.
It had been fairly plain sailing for the defending champions in the tournament, and even in the semi-finals, when Verdy took on fellow Tokyo side, Tokyo Lequios BS, they managed to score nine goals to cruise into the final in style.
In the other semi-final match, Dorsole Kitakyushu went head to head with Loewe Yokohama. This game was a much tighter affair. Dorsole took a three-goal lead but Ogawa Daisuke and Hirama Naomichi pulled two back to bring Loewe close to forcing extra time. But that final goal never came and Dorsole made it to the final for the first time in three years.
Ahead of the final, the Dorsole captain, Inada, said that his team had “worked all year to beat Verdy.”
The Final
The opening section of the final showed that the captain had not been joking when he chose his pre-match comments. The champions looked like they might stumble at the last hurdle as Dorsole scored in the fourth minute as Matsuoka Tsukasa converted a freekick. It was the first time that Tokyo Verdy allowed their opposition to open the scoring in the competition.
However, a response came from Ozu who rattled in an equalizer just before the first whistle. The second period got underway with the score at 1-1 and almost from the restart Ozu scored again… but this time at the wrong end, after a stray back pass to the keeper rippled his own net.
Only a minute later though, he lobbed the keeper (the opposition one this time) to level things once more. The sides were drawing at 2-2 with Ozu having scored three goals.
The final period saw the Dorsole captain, Inada, strike to retake the lead, but that man again, Ozu, was there to equalize once more. But then a penalty snatched the advantage back for Dorsole yet again.
Time was running out in this end to end game, and Verdy were on the brink of losing their first competitive match since their conception a year ago. But then, the Spanish number ten, Llorenç, came to the rescue.
Out of nowhere, he grabbed three goals in as many minutes to snatch victory, despite a last minute Dorsole goal which brought the final score to 6-5. The champions celebrated in wild relief, and a broken-hearted Dorsole, who had fought so hard, would have to settle for second place.
After the game, Llorenç commented that the level in Japan was much higher than he had anticipated. “I thought I would be able to play more freely, but the pressure applied in these matches was very intense.”
He added that he was “glad to have helped the team perform and win what they have been working towards.”
