S-Pulse 1-2 Kashiwa

Barry writes

S-Pulse 1-2 Kashiwa
Bosnar 43 ---------------- Kudo 62
-------------------------------- Leandro 85

Att. 19584

Line Up

GK K. Yamamoto

DF Muramatsu
DF Iwashita
DF Bosnar
DF Ota

MF Jong a Pin (yellow 54)
MF Edamura
MF Ljungberg

FW Omae
FW Takahara
FW Takagi

Subs Used

Takagi on for Edamura (57)
Sugiyama on for Takahara (67)
Nagai on for Ota (85)

Report

Them: Hard to play against, highly motivated, firing on all cylinders, potentially just two wins from the title. Us: winding down, missing our captain, looking towards the cup, nothing but pride to play for. And that was that. They won, we lost and we all went home in foul moods.

Despite all the above, it was very tight game, with the first half especially on a knife edge. The visitors in particular were largely restricted to long range efforts. The second was far more open, no doubt due to Bosnar's unstoppable free kick just before the break. It made Reysol throw everything they had at us to get back in it. They don't play very attractive football, but look at the table - it's been getting the job done.

They penetrated our defences on several occasions with some slick passing, and it was from a swift bit of overlapping that a shot drew a parry from Kaito. That was then headed home by the completely free Leandro to give them the lead. At 2-1 we kept having a go, but the look of a team playing for the title and one playing for pride is impossible to mistake. A late free kick from Bosnar went wide and that was pretty much that.

Kashiwa are now a whisker from the title and it'll be hard too see them blow it against either Cerezo or Urawa. If Nagoya fail to beat Yamagata on Saturday and Kashiwa win, it's all over. This time next year, it'll be us. #optimism

While I'm here, today S-Pulse became only the 5th team in the country to welcome its 5 millionth supporter through the gates. Top work.

Ghotbi Says

Translated back to English.

I have to choose my words wisely. I'm a little disappointed with some of the ref's decision making today. Omae was in the area and got surrounded by two players and pulled down. I'm 1000% percent certain that was a penalty kick. If that had been given it would have been a different game.

We made a mistake for Kashiwa to equalise, and the second goal too came about from a mistake. After their second we changed the system and went with two up front. We created some chances to equalise.

I think Leandro is one of the best foreigners in the J. League, but with his diving he was trying to get a second yellow card for Jong a Pin, and that's disappointing.

Never mind the game, look at this instead

Videos

Eddy's belter. You really don't need to see anything else.



But if you want to put yourself through it, here you go:

Vissel Kobe 1-1 Shimizu S-Pulse

Barry writes:

Vissel Kobe 1-1 Shimizu S-Pulse
Morioka 85 --------------------------- Bosnar 55

Att 12706

Line Up

GK K. Yamamoto

DF Tsujio
DF Iwashita (yellow 80)
DF Bosnar
DF Ota

MF Jong-a-Pin (yellow 77, 77)
MF Ono (yellow 76)
MF Takeuchi

FW Omae
FW Takagi
FW Takahara

Subs Used

Sugiyama on for Takeuchi (53)
Muramatsu on for Takahara (80)
Nabeta on for Ono (91)

Report

Not sure of the circumstances of Jong a Pin's red card, but two yellows in a minute suggests a yellow followed by back chat for the second. That said, you have to factor in that the referee was the notorious Nobutsugu Murakami, the bloke who sent off Kuboto last year without having seen the "offence", so God only knows.

Top scorer Takahara returned after two months on the sidelines, but no Ljungberg today, either starting or on the bench. Expect him back next week when we face a resurgent Kofu who today beat Cerezo 4-0 away, climbing out of the relegation zone at the expense of Urawa who fall to 16th. Can the 2006 champions, who spent most of the next three years booing every opponent instead of cheering on their own team, avoid a second drop to J2? Who knows and who cares. Fuck 'em.

All told, 1-1 away with a man down for the last 15 minutes isn't all bad, but frustrating given we were leading, especially if the red card was contentious. That said, I didn't see the game so I can't comment on incidents or the performance. In fact I'll pass over to fellow S-Pulse blogger Daisuke Matsuura with his post on events in Kobe today, coming straight outta Kansai.

No chance of the league, so the final five games have to be geared towards a top 7 finish and some prize money. Absolutely CRUCIAL is finishing above the scum for a sixth year in a row, and then there's still the Emperor's Cup. If we beat Gainare next month it's a Shiz derby last 16 game in December. Plenty of interest left this season!

Ghotbi Says

Translated back from the Japanese. I'm no translator, so any mistakes are my own.

Both teams were sloppy in the first half. We couldn't play the football we wanted to. We improved in the second half and were able to play own game a little. After we opened the scoring we were could control the game and create more chances. We had an opportunity to get a second, but we let that important chance slip.

Jong a Pin lost his cool when he got the yellow card. He was probably disappointed because it was his fourth yellow so he'll miss the next game. It's his first season in the J. League and is maybe frustrated at the inconsistent level of refereeing. Maybe there's a different standard for foreign and Japanese players...

Couldn't agree more. Just ask Bosnar.

Videos

OK - finally got to see Jong a Pin's red. Moments before, the 168cm Popo clatters the big man from behind knocking him over, which is no mean feat. It went unpenalised but a no less clumsy challenge from Jong a Pin brought out a quick yellow, and another for bouncing the ball away in frustration. The second was just gratuitous and a stupid, game changing decision by a bad referee who lost his cool. Jong a Pin later apologised to the fans and team, but presumably not to the clown in black.

Urawa 1-3 S-Pulse

Barry writes:

Urawa 1-3 S-Pulse
Umesaki 80 -----------Bosnar 24, 86
-----------------------------Takahara 64

Att. 31921

Line Up

GK Usui

DF Tsujio
DF Iwashita
DF Bosnar
DF Ota

MF Ono
MF Hiraoka
MF Brosque

FW Omae
FW Takahara (Yellow 36)
FW Takagi

Subs Used

Edamura on for Ono (46)
Kobayashi on for Takagi (56)
Nagai on for Takahara (77)

Report

With goals from Bosnar (2!) and, of course, Takahara, we beat Urawa this evening. Everything will come Monday afternoon because I'm in a hotel in Yamanashi right now getting an early night ahead of my first half marathon. All I will say is GET IN!!! S-PULSE, YOU ARE BLOODY BRILLIANT!!! :))))))

------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, I never got round to writing much more about this, but in summary it was a good result away from home with a fantastic second goal. A perfect diving header from Takahara after an equally perfect Genki cross. Naohiro is in great shape and if he keeps this up the doubters will be stuffed full of humble pie come December. When you consider he's only been starting as centre forward for the past five games, his recent haul is even more impressive.

It's been a little while, but we all know what he can do, and Bosnar's two free kicks were just unstoppable. Especially his second which must have been moving at some speed. Home to Kawasaki tomorrow under the lights. Looking forward to it. :)

Ghotbi Says

We were excellently organised and could control the game from start to finish. It's fantastic to give the fans a victory with some special goals. We showed our character after conceding to grab a third and wrap up the win.

Let's Talk About ME

If I can be self indulgent for a second, this is what I got up to this weekend (hence the delayed update to these pages).


13 miles before midday on a Sunday? Not something I'll be making a habit of, but might just do another half marathon in the not too distant future. :) I saw a couple of FC Tokyo shirts, a JEF United one and also an Omiya top. I mean to say I saw them as I was leaving them on a cloud of orange DUST. Go S-Pulse!

Videos

Extended highlights:



Bend it like Beckham? Nah, mate. BELT IT LIKE BOSNAR.

Ono Captain / Takahara and Bosnar Vice Captain

Barry writes:

As the title says, and as announced today. Well, the first part of it was a no-brainer, but the other two names are a slight surprise, but only because they're decisions not based on length of time at the club. This clearly is the post Kenta era, and having given it some thought, both thoroughly deserving of the opportunity. Both Takahara and Bosnar are worthy vice skippers, and good luck to them.

Go bananas for S-Pulse!

S-Pulse 1-1 Yamagata (AET) S-Pa win 5-4 on Pens (Emp Cup 1/4 Final)

Barry writes:

S-Pulse 1-1 Yamagata (AET)
Bosnar 109 -----------------Tashiro 107

(S-Pa win 5-4 on Pens)

Att. 11719

Line Up

GK K. Yamamoto

DF Ichikawa
DF Iwashita (yellow 118)
DF Bosnar
DF Ota

MF Hyodo
MF Honda
MF Ono (yellow 41)

FW Okazaki
FW Johnsen
FW Fujimoto

Subs Used

Omae on for Ono (70)
M. Yamamoto on for Fujimoto (88)
Kijima on for Omae (111)

Report

Well, that was a novel way to spend a Christmas afternoon. :) Due to the way the calender fell this year, it was all down to Daira on the 25th for the quarter final of the cup. 90 minutes in the bitterly cold wind, followed by 30 more of extra time, more than once I considered the warmth of my kotatsu and a nicely chilled Asahi. But we're lucky in Japan in that there are very few games held in the winter months, so if I couldn't rouse myself to shout us on to the semi finals, I wouldn't be much of a fan, eh?

It was a long old haul, but we saw it through. The tension going into the second half of extra time exploded when Yamagata took the lead through Tashiro. It left us stood staring in silence at the blue and white masses cavorting around the terraces. It was a scene of euphoric bedlam that would have been pretty impressive were it not so sickeningly annoying.

HO HO HO

But we were soon jumping around hugging total strangers thanks to the big fella Bosar. He rose to flick a corner into the top right which sailed majestically past the despairing keeper. After a couple of close calls for both teams, to penalties it went. All five of our heroes hit the net, and with Yamagata's second kicker's effort being stopped by Kaito, our season is extended another four days.

Wednesday we're all off to Ecopa to face defending champions Gamba Osaka in what is our fifth cup semi final appearance in three years. Only once out of the other four did we get through to the final, so the law of averages is surely on our side! :-D See you there!

Penalty shoot outs - not fun for anyone concerned

Videos

Highlights:



Full video of the shoot out:

Ono's First S-Pulse Goal - Video

Barry writes:

Well, what a cracker, and it was his first for us, so I felt it deserved a little video to commemorate the occasion.


Ono Shinji's 1st goal for S-Pulse


While I've got your attention, football writer and fellow S-Pulse fan Mike Tuckerman, these days reporting from down under, wrote a piece on our very own Aussie hero, Eddy Bosnar. Check it out here.

Kyoto 2-4 S-Pulse

Barry writes:

Kyoto Sanga 2-4 S-Pulse
Yanagisawa 31 ---------------------- Fujimoto 54 (pk)
Dutra 34 ---------------------------------Johnsen 59
Nakayama sent off 69---------------Fujimoto 78 (pk)
----------------------------------------------Bosnar 83
--------------------------------------------- Ota sent off 79

Att. 14016

Line Up

GK Takeda

DF Takaki
DF Hiraoka
DF Bosnar (yellow 84)
DF Ota (yellow 27, red 79)

MF Honda
MF Ono (yellow 1)
MF M. Yamamoto

FW Okazaki
FW Johnsen
FW Fujimoto

Subs Used

Tsujio on for Takaki (HT)
Hyodo on for M. Yamamoto (HT)
Kodama on for Ono (80)

Report

That was one hell of a game of football. Me and Yujiro arrived at Shimizu Dream House for the public viewing in plenty of time - or so we thought. Well over an hour before kick off it was standing room only as the place was swamped with fans hoping to see us extend our unbeaten run to ten games. In the event, that's just what they got to see, but, man, what a ride it was!

Standing room only

After a wretched first half we were two nil down and deserved nothing less. Kenta was still without Nishibe in goal, so rookie Takeda started, and the boss had also chosen to rest regular starters Hyodo and Tsujio. We visibly missed Hyodo in particular, and the first 45 minutes were painful to watch at times. Mistake after mistake after mistake, and when we did get within shooting range we blasted it over time and again. The worst offender was Ono when, after a head down by Johnsen, the midfield wizard was all alone with time and just the keeper to beat. He hit it first time into row Z.

Kyoto were clinical with the two best chances they had, although they should have made it three just before the break. The referee was card and whistle happy all game. The free kick which led to Kyoto's second looked like a fair challenge to me, but I'm not a referee and I wasn't there, so I'll give the man in black the benefit of the doubt. The kick was floated into the box and a purple-propelled header was sent home totally unhindered by anything as troublesome as defenders.

The atmosphere was one of utter dejection, and it felt like our unbeaten start to the season was as good as gone when the first half whistle went. While it wasn't quite as simple as Hyodo and Tsujio's absence causing all the problems, we were a transformed team in the second half when both were back on the pitch.

We were allowed back in the game via a Jungo penalty converted after Okazaki was clumsily bundled over. In the twenty minutes that followed, Mizutani, the Kyoto shot-stopper, pulled off two stunning saves in five minutes to deny Okazaki, but wasn't able to beat Johnsen to a pin point Ono cross which levelled the score. The equalising goal fired us up to the point that to my eyes we looked line a team of lions with had tasted blood and was tearing up and down the pitch eager for more. We were absolutely ravenous, with lightening play between the likes of Ono, Jungo and Johnsen carving routes through the home team and culminating in shots which on another day would have gone in.

The sending off of Nakayama only added fuel to the fire, and the inevitable happened when Okazaki was bundled down in the area for another Fujimoto penalty. It was a soft penalty for sure, but this ref was giving everything. He sent off Ota for a second yellow after a mid-air collision with no malice whatsoever, and he booked Bosnar for, I can only presume, his celebrations after he sent a 35 metre free kick into the back of the net. Bosnar's second goal of the season surprised everyone - the Sky Perfect TV cameraman included - and had the hundreds packed into Dream House dancing in the aisles.

The travelling hordes caught on the big screen

It was a performance of two halves, the first one shocking, the second, at times, awesome. We extended our lead at the top to four points after both Kashima and Nagoya lost, and Kawasaki dropped points in Osaka. There's absolutely no time to let up though, and we should be looking to beat Niigata on Saturday. After the cards for Ota, Bosnar and Ono, we'll be without all three, which will mean some rearranging will be necessary.

Videos

Full highlights (only half of Bosnar's wonder strike, though):

S-Pulse 1-0 Kobe

Barry writes:

S-Pulse 1-0 Kobe
Bosnar 82

Att. 15367

Line Up

GK Nishibe

DF Ichikawa
DF Iwashita
DF Arata
DF Ota

MF Ono (Yellow 70)
MF Honda
MF Hyodo

FW Omae
FW Johnsen
FW Fujimoto

Subs Used

Bosnar on for Iwashita (48)
Yamamoto on for Omae (64)
Hara on for Ichikawa (72)

Report

That was a tough old game, and one we were fortunate to get away from with all three points. We weren't especially good, and looked decidedly blunt up front without Okazaki spearheading the offensive.

We showed flashes of decent play but I spent most of the day frustrated. Kobe kept Johnsen under control, and Omae, on his first league start, didn't ultimately cause the visitors many problems.

Kobe went very close to scoring at least twice, once in the first half with Arata blocking the ball right on the line. A heart-stopping moment. When the game started looking like finishing up 0-0, it was substitute Eddy Bosnar who slammed in a 35 yard free kick. It was low and moved through the wall like the Nozomi Super Express. It managed to wrong foot the keeper, who'd had a good game till then. We held on for a nervy last eight minutes plus stoppage to move top of the table on goal difference.
We'll have to be better next Saturday against Kawasaki, although they'll still be smarting from getting destroyed 4-0 by Marinos. I'll be heading up to the Todoroki and packing my binoculars. From what I hear it's a bit of a distance from the away zone to where the action is taking place.

Some special thanks goes to the head call leader, whose name I still don't know, and didn't think to ask yesterday, for passing me the CD below full of the new chants for this season. Much appreciated, fella! Thanks a lot. :)
Videos

Eddy's cracker:



Full highlights to come if and when I find them. In the meantime, check out Nagoya's opening goal from their 2-0 defeat of Iwata:



This was in the very first minute of play. The Jubilo comedy show coming to a town near you sometime this year. :)

New Kit, Squad Numbers and Catchphrase for 2010

Barry writes:

In a busy S-Pulse Friday, our squad numbers, new kit, and club catchphrase for 2010 were all announced today.

Kit

Click here for the new kit's feature on J's Goal. A nice kit, but it's not very different from last year, is it?

Squad Numbers

New squad numbers are available here, with the biggest change being Kaito Yamamoto claiming the number one shirt from the retired Kakegawa. Nishibe remains at number 21 and maybe this will set the tone for who'll be starting between the sticks this season. We can hope.

Ono takes up the number 30 shirt.

Our new arrivals can be seen in S-Pulse colours for the first time here, and you can read a few of their comments (in Japanese).

Catchphrase

After the last two years of "We Believe" this year sees us change to the wonderful "The Confidence". Bit of a random use of English, but I know what they're getting at. :)

Only six weeks till the new season starts!

Eddy Bosnar Signs for S-Pulse

Barry writes:

It was officially announced today that S-Pulse had secured the services of relegated JEF United's Eddy Bosnar for the 2010 season. The 6 foot 4 inch centre back will help fill the void created by Aoyama's continued absence through injury. The big man's arrival will help shore up the one main area we were lacking in this year.

The man himself said, and I quote, S-Pulse are a big and strong team. I like him already. :)

Merry Christmas!