The Story of a Promotion - S-Pulse 2016

BARRY WRITES... 

This piece was previously only available via J. Soccer Magazine. Why not go check it out?
Here I recap the year in spent in J2 while it was still fresh in the memory, and the joyous final day where we clinched our return to the top-flight. 

It's now a little piece of S-Pulse lore, so here it is, free to view, illustrated with some pictures from the time.

In hindsight, what a shame I didn't keep the blog up in 2016 a bit more, especially over that phenomenal 9 game winning streak.

Well, nevermind that. It's now time to enjoy some S-Pulse history!

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A 41 Game Journey

12 months ago, following a long, hard slog of a season, I wrote an article about Shimizu’s impending demotion. We’d refused to replace a failing manager and galloped headlong over the ravine. Months to prepare for the inevitable didn’t make the reality of relegation any easier to take, although for this fan it was frustration and anger felt more keenly than sadness.

The off season saw promotion specialist Shinji Kobayashi take charge. The Nagasaki born former forward brought with him an impressive record of taking teams to the top-flight, having achieved the feat no less than three times. Oita, Yamagata and Tokushima all reached J1 under Kobayashi, doing so on a tighter budget than which Shimizu were blessed. With a proven boss at the helm, and the core of the team staying loyal to badge, fans began the year understandably hoping for an immediate return to J1.

Skip forward to match day 14, and S-Pulse were getting turned over away at low-flying Tokyo Verdy. Ending the first third of the season in 10^th was far from how the orange faithful has envisioned life in J2 panning out. Struggling to make an impact on the division was worrying, and there was a sense that without a change in momentum, we might have trouble even making the play offs. That swing came in the very next game. The record breaking 8-0 win over Gunma was as welcome as it was unexpected. This is what it was meant to be all about! 

 Woah

 Celebrated with all-you-can-eat yakiniku, and 8 beers in 90 minutes

It was the first of nine unbeaten which went a considerable way to bolster the play off hopes, but when Verdy popped up again to throw a stick in our spokes on match day 24, the realists were starting to accept that an automatic promotion spot was slipping away. Defeats to Sapporo and Matsumoto, the two teams occupying those places, seemed to cement that fact. 

With just nine games remaining, and the very next being a trip to 3^rd placed Cerezo Osaka, energies were focused on ending as high in the play offs as possible. Or at least that’s how most supporters were thinking. Kobayashi clearly had greater ambitions. Starting with a stunning 89^th and 94^th minute double to snatch victory at Cerezo, Shimizu embarked on their best run since 1999, winning eight on the bounce. Matsumoto and Sapporo watched with dismay as their respective leads over S-Pulse of 7 and 12 points were whittled away. In Sapporo’s case to just one win, in Matsumoto’s, to nothing.

 

 The final month saw Sapporo's form faltering, Matsumoto steady, but they couldn't match our winning streak

Matsumoto were feeling the pressure

 

With two games to go we looked like being shut out... but Matsumoto then lost!

After win number eight on match day 41, Shimizu moved up to 2nd by dint of the huge goal difference they’d been racking up with abandon. 85 goals tell their own story, and while the 8-0 helped, even without it the goals scored column stood 12 ahead of the next challenger. No small feat when you remember Genki Omae missed three months of the season through injury. Tese worked wonders picking up the slack, ending the season with 26, far and away J2’s top scorer. 

Given the uninspired start to the year, S-Pulse had needed something miraculous to get back in contention. Twelve wins, one draw and just one loss in fourteen proved just the ticket. And so it was that Shimizu headed to Kobayashi’s former stomping ground of Tokushima on the final weekend of the season knowing a win would leave Matsumoto powerless to regain the 2^nd place they’d held for so long. 
 
300 miles was no hurdle for over 3000 fans, but for some of us it just wasn’t possible. With those fans in mind, S-Pulse arranged a fan zone public viewing which was where I and hundreds of likeminded orange-clad fans headed for our date with destiny.


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Match Day 42 – Sunday, November 20^th 2016

7:30am – Up with the lark after a night of panic-ridden, football related dreams. My subconscious acting none too subtle.

9:00am – Wife still asleep as I head out the door. The fan zone being a brisk 20 walk from home, it’s a perfect chance to calm the nerves and enjoy the sunshine.

The calm before the storm, Shizuoka style

Too early for a beer?

9:30am – Our space in line outside the fan zone secured, I’m tempted by a bloke nearby cracking open an Asahi. There’s a supermarket just five minutes away…

 

Making friends

11:45am – Six pack and snacks purchased, I’ve met up with some friends along the way and am back in line ready for gates opening at midday. Time for a cold one.

 The queue before gates opening

12:15pm – We’re inside and we’ve got our space marked out. Currently only two of us, with eight more to arrive by kick off. The banter is good humoured and free flowing, but it masks the nerves we’re all feeling.

Thumbs up who's nervous!

 

The area nearest the screen was standing during the game - we chose to sit

1:50pm – The Orange Wave cheerleader show was fun, and Pulchan’s Rock Scissors Paper tournament was a giggle, but we knew we were just killing time. The big screen bursts into life. It’s on.
 

Around half the total turn out

2:00pm – Kick off!

2:10pm – Matsumoto are losing! Word comes through via those watching on their phones, and excitement levels rise noticeably.

2:31pm – Bedlam. Inukai gets up to head home a free kick past the Tokushima keeper, and all hell breaks loose. When we calm down the realization hits that we’re an hour from home. What we stand to lose starts to loom in the back of the mind.

2:36pm – You can hear a pin drop as Fujiwara scores what might be the goal of the day. It’s OK though. Matsumoto are still losing.

2:48pm – Matsumoto aren’t still losing. A goal in first half additional time sends shock waves around the assembled masses. The referee blows for the break, and with Vortis Shimizu at 1-1, we pass 15 uneasy halftime minutes. 

3:03pm – 2^nd half kick off! Despite everything, we are no better or worse off than we were at 2pm. Everything to play for. We can do this!

3:09pm – Panic. Matsumoto take the lead over Yokohama FC. As it stands we’re down to 3^rd. Nervous glances shared between friends. Despite being in a sea of football fans, I desperately need some alone time. 

3:14pm – You’re joking!? News breaks that Matsumoto have been pegged back to 2-2. We’re back up to 2^nd, but still really need a goal.

3:28pm – Omae is taken off for Kaneko. Warm applause, but there’s an undercurrent of I-hope-you-know-what-you’re-doing,-Kobayashi about it.

3:33pm – Shinji Knows. Tese whips in a cross from the right, and Kaneko slams it home on the volley. Hundreds of fans dissolve into one heaving, yelling mass of orange. 

3:42pm – Matsumoto score. We shrug it off like it doesn’t matter, but we know it does. They lead. We lead. Who will blink first? 

3:48pm – 4 minutes of stoppage time, but while the big screen is big, the clock in the top corner isn’t. Much squinting and checking of a hastily arrange stop watch ensues.

3:52pm – After entirely too much goal mouth action down the wrong end, the ball goes out for an S-Pulse goal kick. Everyone is on their feet. It’s so close we can taste it. Uekusa sends the ball up field… I hear no whistle, but can just about make out an S-Pulse player drop to the ground before my recollection fails me. It’s over. We’ve done it.

3:53pm – Hugs with strangers. Beer flows. Party poppers are cracked left and right. Champagne appears from somewhere. 2015’s year of hurt comes flooding back. Tears. Group photos. Kachiloco. Pulchan.

 

The hours that followed saw countless pints lined up, home and away days reminisced about, and plans made for next season. It’s been a wild ride, but not for one moment was it a walk in the park. The team, staff and fans have travelled the country, made friends, learning and growing as a club. Ultimately, and crucially, we got the job done.

With promotion, a weight lifted from our shoulders. Had we failed to regain our place in J1, who knows what players may have left during the off season? The only right a team has to play at any particular level is the one they earn. 

We’ve done that. We’re back. Now bring on 2017.

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After nearly four years, this brings it all back. That's S-Pulse history, right there.

We're on the eve of the 2020 re-start, with the pandemic necessitating empty stadia. We'll get there, and when we do it'll be all the more enjoyable for it.

Forza S-Pulse!!