Anthony Akumu gets first start in five months as Sagan Tosu rout Miyazaki in Emperor’s Cup

Harambee Stars midfield Anthony ‘Teddy’ Akumu’s woes at Japan top tier side Sagan Tosu seem far from over after he was afforded only 45 minutes in the club’s 5-1 win over Tagevajaro Miyazaki in the Emperor’s Cup on Wednesday.

Akumu featured in just his fourth match for the club since joining in December last year having been released by South Africa giants Kaizer Chiefs at the end of last season.

The former Gor Mahia midfielder started in the middle of the park for the side who are currently ninth in the Japan top flight and was taken off at the break with the scores 1-1.

South Korean defender Seok-Ho Hwang gave Sagan Tosu the lead after 34 minutes but Harumi Minamino cancelled the advantage just two minutes later to level the scores before the break.

There was no sign of Akumu, however, in the second half as he was replaced by Japanese forward Yuta Fujihara, who responded by scoring twice, the first of which came 11 minutes after his introduction, after Naoyuki Fujita had made it 2-1 two minutes earlier.

Ryonosuke Kabayama made it 4-1 before Fujihara sealed his brace as Sagan Tosu completed the rout.

It has been a tough time for Akumu in Japan who has only started one game, Wednesday’s tie, and is yet to feature in the league having only been restricted to cup appearances.

Akumu has played a total of 177 minutes in nearly six months, having been afforded 55 minutes twice in matches against Hokkaido Sapporo and Iwata, before getting 22 when Sagan Tosu faced the latter in the corresponding fixture.

To make matter worse for ‘Teddy’, he has not even been in the squad for all of his team’s 16 league matches this season, highlighting just how underutilised he has been.