13 Nov 2008(Thu)

November 11, 2008: What a time for Klemen Lavric to become the darling of the Omiya faithful!

With the Ardija-Frontale match all square at 1-1 late in the second half, Lavric scored a memorable goal that will be talked about for seasons to come from Saitama to Slovenia...especially by him.

When right back Taishi Tsukamoto knocked the ball into the Frontale box, there didn't appear to be much on for the big man as the cross was slightly behind him. But, with his back to goal, he teed the ball up, turned in an orange blur and rifled a ferocious right-foot shot into the far corner. "Klemen time" had arrived, and Ardija hung on for 2-1 and three precious points in their battle to avoid the drop.

It was a gutsy display by Omiya, who were well worth the win against a disappointing Frontale team. Considering the visitors could have gone top of the table with a victory, you would never have thought so watching their performance, which lacked the urgency and self-belief demanded of the occasion. I was quite surprised that the away fans cheered their team so generously on the final whistle, as it was not a display to suggest they had the right mental stuff to win the championship, despite having the players.

Omiya looked sharper and hungrier all afternoon, and were given a bright start by Chikara Fujimoto on his 300th career appearance in the top flight. The home supporters were even treated to his trademark "Fujimoto Foxtrot" after he had opened the scoring on 26 minutes, prodding home the loose ball after Lavric's low drive had struck the post.

I thought this might wake up Frontale, and switch them on to the task at hand, but when they did equalise nine minutes later it came completely out of the blue. Nakamura's free kick from the left was headed clear by Lavric, only for Frontale right back Mori to meet it with a dipping, swerving volley from 30 metres that flew past a startled Ezumi and into the Omiya net.

I thought I'd have to wait a long time to see a better goal than that at NACK5, but the wait lasted just 42 minutes -- until Lavric brought the orange house down with his cracker after 77 minutes.

Which brings us round to the headline of this article -- based, of course, on the famous old ditty, "Oh my darling, Clementine." I always think of that song when I hear Lavric's first name, Klemen, so what better time to exploit it than this!

I'm sure his agent, who was watching the match along with another J.League client, Sanfrecce manager Mihailo Petrovic, was singing something on the final whistle -- but more like the Abba classic, "Money, Money, Money"...

ends