S-Pulse 3-1 Oita Trinita

Barry writes:

Well, I'd have preferred this scoreline last November, but beggars can't be choosers!

The players line up

It was a vastly changed starting 11 from Kenta as he continues to search for the best combination. Nishibe was out, and replaced by the safe hands of Kaito. He showed time and again how he can come out with confidence and stamp his authority all over the penalty area. He can also do something Nishibe can't seem able to manage, and that's catch the thing. See Jubilo's opener on Black Sunday for a perfect example of the sort of mistake you don't see Kaito making.

In the back saw Ota making his first start, and while he made one or two sloppy errors in judgement, for his début he looked eager and hard working. He was harassing the Oita midfield with steaming runs up the wing, and I'm looking forward to more from him. Okazaki started in midfield along with Edamura, Hyodo and Yamamoto, with Hara and Johnsen up front.

Despite the threat of rain, S-Pulse fans were out in force

It was defender and secret weapon from corners, Iwashita who opened the scoring on 14 minutes, and the lead was doubled when the long legs of Johnsen brilliantly controlled a ball which he then despatched under the helpless Nishizawa. Oita gave their travelling tens some hope on 37 when they pulled one back, but in the second half, while it took until the 73rd minute, we always looked like extending our lead. It came from Johnsen, but a wicked deflection off a defender was needed to steer his shot into the gaping net. That said, he did really well to win the ball and create space for himself, so top work there, fella.

2-0! Goals make us happy :)

An improvement on recent weeks, but Oita, who had lost eight in a row and have most their team out injured or otherwise unavailable, were never going to a the biggest of challenges. We have a few winnable games coming up, so hopefully we'll be climbing the table as the summer heats up. What I wrote previously regarding Kenta's future at the club still holds true, so despite the win, nothing has changed on that front. Away at high-flying Albirex Niigata on Saturday will be more of a measure of where we stand.

A pitiful away support (and the drizzle) kept the crowd below 14000

Next up is Yamagata in the league cup this Wednesday. Not to be underestimated - Jubilo 2-6 Yamagata anyone? :-D - we should have what it takes to claim all three points and take a huge step towards qualification to the next round. With such a hectic schedule of late, we can expect to see the likes of Jungo, Nagai, Paulo and perhaps even Tsujio start, all of who were rested against Oita.

Line Up:

GK K. Yamamoto

DF Takaki
DF Aoyama
DF Iwashita
DF Ota

MF Okazaki
MF M. Yamamoto
MF Edamura
MF Hyodo

FW Johnsen
FW Hara

Subs used

Hiraoka on for Iwashita (63)
Ito on for Hara (77)
Paulo on for Hyodo (91)

Videos:

Iwashita's opener on 14 minutes:



Johnsen's first. 17 minutes:



Oita pull one back on 37 minutes:



Johnsen's second on 74 minutes:



Loco Loco celebrations after the whistle.



Links:

Read The Rising Sun's report here, and click here for Mike Tuckerman's take on events which, I'm sad to report, will be his last from Nihondaira for the foreseeable future. Good luck fella, and if you're ever back in town, drop me a line!