Timbe on the losing end in Japan

Kenyan international and Vissel Kobe winger Ayub Timbe made an appearance in a round 13 Japanese J1 league match as his side succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Yokohama F. Marinos on Sunday morning.

Timbe, who played the full ninety minutes in Kobe’s previous 0-0 cup tie against FC Tokyo, was this time dropped back to the bench.

The game played at the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama looked set to be headed into a barren draw until the last five minutes of the game. In the 41st minute, former Arsenal and Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen slotted into his own net to hand home side Yokohama the lead just four minutes to the interval.

Determined to restore parity in the game, Kobe’s head coach rung changes on the half hour mark, bringing on Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta alongside Timbe in place of Daiju Sasaki and Yuya Nakasaka.

However, with ten minutes to go, Jun Amano added a second for the Yokohama to punch a hole in Kobe’s push for an equalizer and secure all the three points for his team.

With the win, Yokohama pushed up to third on the log on 27 points. Kobe on the other hand sit fifth on 23 points.