S-Pulse 6-4 Sagan Tosu

BARRY WRITES... 

S-Pulse 6-4 Sagan Tosu
Ito 6, 22, 88 --------------- Kim Min-Woo 2, 53
Sugiyama 33 ------------- Toyoda 15
Omae 42 ------------------- Hayasaka 45+4
Hiraoka 79

Att 11846
Nihondaira Stadium, KO 3pm
Shizuoka city, Shizuoka prefecture

Line Up

GK Kushibiki

DF Hiraoka
DF Jong-a-Pin (23)
DF Sugiyama

MF Muramatsu
MF Ishige
MF Kawai (56, 66)

FW Ito
FW Omae
FW Murata
FW Takagi

Subs used

Takeuchi on for Murata (64)
Yoshida on for Takagi (84)
Okane on for Sho (89)

Report

S-Pulse, you never fail to surprise me.

Not a scoreline you see everyday

If there such a thing as perfect game, this might not have been too far off. From the supporter's point of view at least, this has nearly everything you need to make it a Saturday afternoon not to forget. Drama, cards, action and goals. Boy, were there goals. After half an hour we were 3-2 up having been behind twice, and that was only half the story. By the time we sat down at 5:50pm, dazed but happy, the net had been found five more times. Let us recap in Tweet form.

0m Here we go! A grey and drizzling Nihondaira, but the stands are burning bright orange. Come on S-Pulse! Kick off! 

2m Goal for Sagan! Bollocks!

4m Third time this year we've conceded in the first 2 minutes.

5m We won the other two times, by the way. #webelieve

6m 1-1! Sho Ito with a bullet from the edge of the area. #f*ckme!

15m 2-1 to Sagan.

22m 2-2!! Ito Sho from a corner! #expletive

23m Jong a Pin gets a Jellow. Out for the derby. #doubleexpletive

33m 3-2! Our third, poked in from a corner by Sugiyama!

42m 4-2! Omae Genki slams it home from a Murata cross after a counter attack.

45+4m 4-3. On the stroke of half time Sagan Tosu pull one back.

HT Can I catch my breath? 4-3 at half time in a fantastic game of football.

46m 2nd half underway. 7 more goals?

53m 4-4.

61m 5-4 to Tosu... but no! It came back off the inside of the post!

66m Kawai sent off. 20m to go. 4-4. Down to 10 men.

79m 5-4!! Hiraoka nods in from point blank range after a throw wasn't dealt with.

88m 6-4! 10 men! We've only got 10 men! Ito Sho Hattrick!

FT Shimizu S-Pulse 6-4 Sagan Tosu. I need a cup of tea and a sit down. 

As far as memorable matches go, it was right up there with the Kashima game two months ago.We had a couple of enforced changes what with Honda and Radončić out through suspension, but it allowed us to experiment a little and make use of our depth. In particular Kawai and Ito made appearances, not to mention Murata also got a start. With Takagi, Murata and Omae all on the pitch we were as attacking as we've been at any point this season. Sho Ito was the icing on that cake, and he rewarded the boss's faith with a hattrick of some quality.

The first half was a goal rush, but after the break both teams came out determined to settle things down. We especially worked hard to contain Toyoda, and that was a big factor in ensuring the visitors didn't repeat their three goal haul. They only added one, while we went one better, both times with only ten men. Certainly Tosu were pushing for the winner, but we hit them with a couple of sucker punches. Firstly from Hiraoka darting in to nod home a Jong a Pin throw, and secondly with two minutes to go, Ito broke free to put the game beyond doubt.

Negatives are of course four goals conceded at home, but more immediate is the loss Jong a Pin for next Sunday's derby. The Dutchman's absence will necessitate some shuffling of the back line to cover, so we may see a return of Lee Ki-Je or Yoshida to the starting line up. Utility man Kawai will also be out after his two yellows yesterday, so Iwata will be looking toward that news with hope. And they will be needing all the hope they can get, because after they lost again yesterday, on Sunday we can relegate them. Yes, you read that right.

WE CAN RELEGATE JUBILO IWATA

With five games remaining, Iwata sit 10 points off Kofu in the safety zone. Kofu host FC Tokyo at 1pm, and if they win that game, Iwata will be 13 points adrift with only 15 still to play for. Meaning, if we beat them, THEY ARE DOWN.



Regardless of what happens in Yamanashi, a win for us will leave Jubilo in grave danger. They'll probably go down one way or the other, but if it works out that we're the team to do confirm it, it'll be a day unlike any other in the history of the Shizuoka Derby. As it stands it's going to be a derby day unlike any other so far played, and more than enough pay back for our little hiccup in March.

Well, that's a week away, so until then, try to focus on work, family, girlfriends and whatever else you do to fill the gaps between football matches. I know it's dull, but what can you do, eh? Roll on The Derby!!

Videos

All out goals in slow motion (no sound).



Highlights taken off a TV.