J-League Team of the Week Round 15: Gamba, Tokyo each send two players

Jun 25, 2012 4:45:00 AM

Goals were in short supply compared to the last round, but as ever there were plenty of inspiring performances to choose from after the J-League's 15th match-day

J-League

Team Of The Week:

Round 15

Weekly Roundup

GOALKEEPER

Shuichi Gonda
FC Tokyo

Gonda continues to impress as the J-League goalkeeper with the most selections to our Team of the Week. In a week that saw 10 goalkeepers keep clean sheets, the presumptive Under-23 starter made two fantastic one-on-one saves as he looks to head to London in good form.

DEFENDERS

Jiro Kamata Vegalta Sendai	Masahiko Inoha Vissel Kobe	Kosuke Kikuchi Omiya Ardija
The three defenders in our three-back system all contributed to clean sheets for their respective sides. Kamata teamed up with Vegalta team-mate Kodai Watanabe to hold firm against Urawa Reds in a match-up between first and third place. Inoha brought a sense of stability to Vissel's back line as the team continues to show signs of improvement under new coach Akira Nishino. Finally, among a back line that worked hard to contain Sanfrecce Hiroshima's attack all night, Kikuchi gave a top-class effort in earning a point for struggling Ardija.

MIDFIELDERS

Shu Kurata
Gamba Osaka

Yasuhito Endo
Gamba Osaka

Shingo Hyodo
Yokohama FM

Tsukasa Umesaki
Urawa Reds

Jungo Fujimoto
Nagoya Grampus

Aria Jasuru Hasegawa
FC Tokyo

At central midfield, Endo finally displayed his quality in a league match while Hyodo took it to Frontale on both sides of the ball in the scoreless Kanagawa Derby. Kurata and Umesaki both showed dangerous attacks from the wings, with the Gamba man scoring an exciting goal against Consadole.

On the second line, Fujimoto scored as well as connected Grampus' attack with his passes and free kicks, while Hasegawa played as both defending midfielder and shadow striker before delivering a blast from outside the penalty area to give Tokyo the lead.

FORWARDS

Kei Ikeda Sagan Tosu
In an inspiring effort on the road, Ikeda's come-from-behind goal gave Sagan a crucial away point and allowed the Kyushu club's Cinderella-esque run to continue.

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