FC Machida Zelvia

If it's successful, all the returns go to a charity we announce on next week's show.

My charity bet this week, Sunday 8:00 AM in the Japanese top flight for Machida Zelvia versus Avispa Fukuoka, and I like the home win here for Zelvia at odds of 19 to 25.

So back in Japan for my final pick of the week.

Home win for a very solid Zelvia side against a very average to poor Avispa Fukuoka team.

We'll move on to another couple of games where both Machida and FC Tokyo kept pace with Hiroshima, and are third and fourth respectively on goal difference, a point off the top after vastly contrasting wins on Saturday.

Uh, in the late game at the Sanga stadium, Zelvia staged a smash-and-grab with Takahiro Akimoto breaking Kyoto hearts with a low drive four minutes from time.

While at Ajinomoto Stadium, a virtuoso performance in the second half from Motoki Nagakura lifted FC Tokyo to a three-nil triumph over his former club, Urawa.

Nagakura surged through the center and drove his left-footed shot past Shusaku Nishikawa in the 63rd minute.

Um, yeah, Machida and Kyoto then.

Mm, yeah.

Johnny, um, Zelvia up to third.

They were this week's, uh, team who, uh, up towards the top of the table, who didn't play particularly well but were a- able to just about do enough to win.

Luke Bratten, uh, Mitchell Duke is obviously here for the half of the season.

He's gone back to Machida Zelvia.

Anthony Caceres has departed as well.

Harrison Sawyer has gone to Melbourne Victory, of course.

They've looked abysmally poor in, in J League plays thus far, and they lost their first match in, in ACL Elite.

I think they lost in the, in the cup as well recently to Machida Zelvia on pens.

Like, it, it's just there's nothing good going here, and it's only gonna get more and more difficult for this, for this team, um, when they, you know...

I...

Almost died.

Holy crap.

Machida Zelvia almost killed me.

Jesus, yo, that was...

And then he went to Machida because everyone's been to Machida.

I think it was Andy Warhol who once said, "In the future everyone will play for Machida Zelvia for 15 minutes." So Kurokawa went there.

But he's been in Bulgaria and Latvia as well apparently.

Mm.

There was a lot of surprise about that, or at least, you know, in the kind of windows building up to the World Cup, right? He kind of came out of nowhere.

But since he's been scoring goals for Machida Zelvia, who are doing really well in J1, he's been scoring goals, as we mentioned in the last week or two, in the Champions League as well, Champions League elite in Asia.

So that is actually another... you know, similar profile, strong, fast, big, can finish striker that is scoring goals at that kind of top level.

Again, not to, you know, disregard what Mo's been doing at Norwich as well.

So yeah, Segawa delivered for Rodriguez yet again.

First, he leveled in the 53rd minute to keeping a ball over the top in on the byline and then curling in from an impossible angle with the Zelvia keeper, Koseitani, jumping off his line, expecting Segawa to cross.

In the 58th minute, a corner was played out.

Endo 30 yards from goal and Endo arrowed an unstoppable drive into the far top corner to give Kashiwa the lead.

Herrington played the full 90 in their loss to Newcastle.

And in the Europa League, Daniel Arzani with a lovely goal for Ferenc Varos, bettered only by Mitch Duke's goal for Machida Zelvia, Derek.

In the Champions League too, To my eye, that was pretty outrageous and the type of goal with the undercut loop that we all try when we've got a ball and a goal at our disposal.

But you didn't see it that way.

And yeah, I think the Cup has its place, particularly with the addition of qualification now for Asia for the ACL2 competition, which is a massive incentive.

We've seen, you know, Sydney... very disappointing that they didn't go all the way when they had their opportunity after the Central Coast Mariners had done.

There is a real opportunity for A-League clubs now to mix it with a few of the, I mean, there's the Machida Zelvias are in ACL2 this season as well.

So, you know, it's not a gimme that they're going to go all the way, but there's a great opportunity to earn some money to put your players and your club in a shop window as well on the continent That is also a great, serious opportunity for clubs, that Asian qualification.

Unfortunately, Eli Adams was an unused sub in that one.

And Machida Zelvia, they went down 4-2.

They did take an early 1-0 lead before conceding four goals in this one.

Teddy Ying, he started up front in this one.