Sunday 14 December 2008

The Shizuoka Derby Lives to Fight Another Day!

Although for a while it was looking very much like Shizuoka's second team were about to bid farewell to top flight football, bless their little cotton socks, they just about managed to beat a J2 team and stay up! S-Pulse fans can now look forward to the home and neutral derbies next year. What with Ecopa being our stadium too, we don't actually have an away derby these days!

Well, joking aside, well done Jubilo on staying up. Finishing in the top five every year isn't as much fun without your rivals in the bottom half of the table to make you feel superior. :) The final score on the day was 2-1 to Jubilo, 3-2 on aggregate.

Sendai came achingly, excruciatingly close to an equaliser at the death. It would have put them in J1 on away goals had one their many shots which rained down on the Jubilo goal found it's way in, but it wasn't to be. Well, at least Shizuoka keeps two top flight flight teams, for now at least! Reckon you can stay up next year, Jubilo? The bottom three go down automatically from 2009 you know - there'll be no play off to save you! ;-)

A few pics from your roving reporter in Iwata:
What it was all about

Both sets of fans in full voice

Nice pic, isn't it!

Sendai fans rocking the Yamaha
All over

Gutted, as you might expect

Sendai fans salute their heroes
at

4 comments:

  1. richy14 December 2008 at 22:11:00 GMT+9

    Great pictures. Captured the scene beautifully.
    A pity we lost but at least it wasn't without a fight!
    Looks like I have to wait another year before I can visit 日本平！Damn!!
    Hopefully either Sendai or Gifu will get lucky and get to play there in the Emperor's Cup or something!

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  2. Barry15 December 2008 at 09:44:00 GMT+9

    For some reason I was on form with my pictures! I normally come away from games with a load of blurry rubbish and my finger covering half the lens. :-D

    Even if we miss each other on the cup I thoroughly recommend a day out to Shimizu next season! The Shizuoka Derby is always a cracking occasion, as is the game versus Reds who, love em or hate em, know how to fill an away end!

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  3. Fuz16 December 2008 at 10:04:00 GMT+9

    I think, Shizza, that you are usually pissed and that may be the reason for the crap pics. Were you by any chance, sober on Saturday?

    And Richy, get down the the 'daira and watch us destroy those light blue gits next year. Not quite the same as revenge, but definitely satisfying. :D

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  4. Barry17 December 2008 at 12:58:00 GMT+9

    Well, yeah, you may have a point there, as I only two beers at Jubilo. The correlation between sobriety and good pictures is stark. :-)

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