Hibs 1 - 0 Wall Street Geckoes

Well it wasn’t pretty or very enjoyable, but we got the job done on an ill-tempered night in Saitama. A whistle happy referee with a penchant for peculiar decisions and a physical and vocal Geckoes team proved to be a recipe for trouble. We lined up with 3 up front and dominated possession and field position for the first half. Daniel bagged the winning goal mid way through the first half holding off a defender well and finishing coolly after some nice build up play from Andy and Kuni K.
The Geckoes fought hard throughout, with their keeper making several good saves to deny the Hibs a buffer zone. With 10 minutes remaining the Geckoes striker nicked an under-hit back pass from Kenji and was fouled. The foul looked to have begun and finished well outside the penalty area, but the referee awarded a penalty. Gecko’s midfielder stepped up and sent Hitoshi the wrong way, but he somehow managed to save with his feet. The penalty rebound lead to another free kick on the edge of the area. The free kick was crossed in and headed goal ward but Kenji made amends for the back pass moments earlier and headed clear off the line and the Hibs held on for the win. Hitoshi’s was the most notable performance of the evening, and Ike was as solid as ever at the back.

Bevan