'Keisuke Honda taught me how to kick' - Aoyama after scoring in Sanfrecce Hiroshima's 1-0 victory over Auckland City

Dec 6, 2012 3:57:00 PM

The 26-year-old revealed how advice given to him by the CSKA Moscow midfielder helped him to score the solitary goal in his side’s Play-off win

Toshihiro Aoyama was the difference in Sanfrecce Hiroshima’s in 1-0 triumph over Auckland City, as his wonder goal managed to beat Tamati Williams who was impressive all night.

After the match, Aoyama shared how the ball was different from what he was used to, and that he heeded an advice from Japanese international Keisuke Honda to make the shot.

"The ball is different than what we use for the J-League, so sometimes it was a little bit difficult, but I had an image of how I kicked the shot when I was training,” he said.

“I don't exactly remember how I kicked the shot, but I tried to kick the ball at full power and Auckland was unable to respond.

“Keisuke Honda told me a long time ago how to kick a no-spin ball, so I'd like to make sure that's part of my ammunition in the future.”

The 26-year-old midfielder also felt that Sanfrecce Hiroshima could have scored more goals in the match, adding: "I'm not changing everything but our style is to attack. So maybe that's why I've been involved more with scoring attempts.

“But we as a team have a grand picture, so I'm not playing selfishly, we're playing as a team. We were only able to score one goal but if we'd capitalized on the opportunities we had we would have scored more.”

For Auckland City goalkeeper Tamati Williams, the Aoyama's match winner was out of this world.

"I’ve never seen a ball move like that," said the part-time model.

"But as far as the team was concerned, it was fantastic. It was exactly what we were aiming for all week, and dare I say we had the chance to pull a result. Maybe it was a little unjust."

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