Iwashita on for Yamamoto (HT) Sugiyama on for Ono (57) Nagai on for Takagi (70)
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Sake.
This cheered me up a little :)
With the rain pouring in Shiz, I wasn't going to sit on the grass watching fireworks, so I ventured out into the boonies of Iwata instead. Watching jubilo crumble to defeat is always highly entertaining, but it couldn't take my mind off the fact we conceded four goals without reply for the second game in a row. Lessons need to be learnt and learnt fast.
Videos
Hiroshima's goals. The quality isn't great, but why would you want it to be?
Takagi on for Takahara (55) M. Yamamoto on for Edamura (68) Atomu on for Hiraoka (80)
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Two teams destined for midtable finishes if this game was anything to go by. Granted, Hiroshima are not a team under reconstruction, so I guess we can take more hope for the rest of the season than the visitors. Maybe that's just my blind optimism, though? :D Fair play to the purple bears, they smashed and grabbed and made off back west with three points.
Ito up front drew another blank with no attempts of note. Not calling for his head, but he needs to start to find his killer instinct sooner rather than later. He's playing up top with Takahara and Omae either side. Takahara was working hard on the left, but he's not got the pace of old to beat defenders every time, and after half an hour was drifting into his natural predatory zone of centre top.
There was no Ono today, presumably rested for the clash away in Nagoya. We did miss his creativity, and Brosque playing back behind the top line didn't really do it for me. I'd have him up front instead of Ito for Saturday, but then I'm not the manager, so it's easy for me to sit here and pretend like I know what I'm talking about. I'm 100% behind Ghotbi while he figures it all out. Game by game, the level of interest re the line up and tactics is above anything in the steady steady Kenta years. Need to get a few three points under our belts though, obviously.
Toshiyuki Takagi - Future S-Pulse Legend
So, good points? Takagi and Atomu both looked good, especially Takagi who had a longer run out. Can't wait to see more of him. Pacey and imaginative. He even had a cheeky crack from outside the area which went just over. 18800 people turned up was above and beyond expectations. A good following from Hiroshima too, but had this been against a nearby team it would have been sold out. Ota was exciting down the wing, but on the left, any chance we can sign Hiroshima's Mikic? He's got a great cross on him, and can turn defenders with with ease. Definitely a dangerman.
Nagoya away on Saturday. Shall I go? Maybe.
Videos
Here's a personal video from the purple zone of their goal. Be sure to DISLIKE it. ;)
S-Pulse 2-1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima Hyodo 15------------------- Lee 81 Iwashita 39
Att. 17143
Line Up
GK Nishibe
DF Ichikawa DF Hiraoka DF Iwashita DF Ota
MF Hyodo MF Honda MF Fujimoto
FW Omae FW Nagai FW Okazaki
Subs Used
Ito T. on for Omae (59) Johnsen on for Nagai (66) Ito S. on for Fujimoto (80)
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Three wins in a row? Blimey. This really has been a season of three halves. The first great, the second apocalyptic, and the third, well, pretty nervy but ultimately good. With this win we've as good as secured a top six finish, one better than last year, but with two games still to play and second place still in reach why stop there?!
Ladies and Gentlemen - the J. League :)
We burst out the gates and had the better of the first twenty or so minutes and had a chance or two to take the lead before Hyodo was there to smash Omae's pass into the back of the net. I'll be honest, when he wound up to hit it I found myself involuntarily flinching given the high probability of it sailing in my direction. And I stand in the back row of the second tier. :-D To be be fair to him, it was a peach of a strike and keeper had no chance.
We extended the lead through Iwashita, who hasn't scored his trademark goal-from-a-corner for a while, so that was good to see. But then we spent most the rest of the game on the back foot. Hiroshima had God only knows how much of the possession, but just couldn't make the last ball most the time.
Out with the old? Sho Ito replaces Jungo
Just when they looked like they wouldn't be able to make the break through, they did, and it ensured a very nervous end to the game. Tempers started to flair and mistakes abounded, but we held on for the win. All credit must go to Nishibe who made a stunning one handed save at point blank range. He managed to turn a bullet header onto the bar and single-handedly (literally) win us the game. Top work that man.
Two games to go. Nothing but two victories is good enough if we hope to claim an ACL spot, and if we beat Kobe on Saturday they'll be relegated. Yes, the title has been decided (not Kashima for once!) and the bottom two teams are already down, but there's still some drama left in the 2010 J. League season!
Videos
Personal cams of both goals. First Hyodo's thumper.
There was a fair amount of booing from our fans at the end, but I was just gutted. It's not like we didn't create. We hit the bar twice if I recall, and the post once. Ono scored for a second game running with a cracking bit of give and go play which cut Hiroshima to threads, but that was all we managed, Hiroshima scored with their first (and only?) shot on target, and for that we're out. No trip to Tokyo next month, and just a rapidly fading chance of the title to cling to.
And to the National Stadium they will go
Oh, but there is the business of the Emperor's Cup game with Mito tomorrow, so I know where I'm heading after work. What else is there to do after getting kicked in the bollocks, but stand up, brush yourself down, and get ready for the next boot to connect? I predict a 1-0 defeat due to a dodgy penalty in the 83rd minute.
Hiroshima 2-1 S-Pulse Lee 55 ------------------------------Edamura 76 Takahagi 68
Att. 5034
Line Up
GK Nishibe
DF Tsujio (yellow 36) DF Hiraoka DF Bosnar DF Ota
MF M. Yamamoto MF Ito MF Hyodo
FW Omae FW Hara FW Edamura
Subs Used
Honda on for Hyodo (60) Okazaki on for Omae (64) Nagasawa on for Hara (81)
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Had it ended 2-0, that would have been that, but Edamura's latish strike ensures we can go into the second leg with every chance of progression. Not that you'd have known it the way the home team were dancing around at full time. Perhaps no one told them it's a two-legged affair.
Anyway, for what was a pretty mediocre performance all round, 2-1 was probably more than we deserved, so I'll grab it with both hands. Omae showed flashes of his high school days brilliance, in particular early in the game he ran at, and beat, three back-peddling defenders, but was finally crowded out when he went for the shot. So he wasn't able to get on the score sheet, but this wasn't all down to him - a large percentage of our forward movement broke down before it got anywhere near the top three due to lazy, sloppy unforced errors.
I'm yet to understand Kenta's fascination with Nagasawa. Johnsen wasn't even on the bench in favour of the two youngsters Nagasawa Shun and Ito Sho. Shun was on for the last 14 minutes of play and managed to get caught off side twice and, seemingly hoping the ref was temporarily blind, control a cross with his arm. If we are insistent on using second string players in games of this import (yes, I know we have Antlers on Saturday, but no Ono even on the bench?), can we try Ito Sho (who has several years experience in Europe to his name) next time?
So not vintage S-Pulse by any means, and if we're to get to Tokyo we have to win at home in ten days. Any win to nil will do. 2-1 will mean extra time. Any other win must be by two clear goals, or we're out on away goals. In short, we're in exactly the same position we found ourselves last year against Urawa. The result? 3-0 to us.
The big match is October 10th, kick off 3pm. It's my birthday the next day (feel free to buy me a beer at the ground), so come on S-Pulse, let's have a another cup final Big Day Out! WE BELIEVE!!!
Videos
Highlights of S-Pulse (none of those nasty Hiroshima goals). You can skip the first three and a half minutes.
I barely mentioned this in my report for the game, but that was due to the TV signal cutting out for the spot kick and my subsequent not bothering to watch it.
The problem with the kick is that the eventual kicker is not clearly identified by the referee prior to it being taken, nor is he inside the penalty area when the whistle sounds. As Sato is outside the box when the whistle is blown, he is ineligible as the taker. The taker should be in the box along with the defending goal keeper.
Read about the rule-breaking penalty on Reuters, here. Okabe has got his punishment, but I think in the spirit of fairness, Hiroshima's goal should be struck off the record, and the three points given to us.
FW Okazaki (Yellow 35) FW Johnsen FW Fujimoto Subs Used
Ota on for Arata (69) Omae on for Hyodo (81) Tsujio on for Ichikawa (86)
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Football is back, and it feels so, so good. And it was an event-filled Saturday for the three of us who trooped over to the S-Pulse Dream House to watch it on the big screen.
It's usually busier...
Barely three minutes in, a Hiroshima forward goes to ground as Nishibe dives at his feet. Penalty given, striker jumps up celebrating. He steps up to take it aaaaaand.... the signal dies.
When we got back up and running (at 1-0 down), it was a frustrating first half as the home team dictated the game. We were playing 4-3-3 as in closed season, and it's going to take a while for things to gel. Fujimoto up front on the right seemed slack on several occasions when his first touch let him down or he was caught napping. Despite a whole lot of huff and puff it just wasn't happening in the first 45, and it took a talking to at half time to turn our game around.
A dead signal meant mobile phone digital came into it's own
The second half we dominated, and when not held back by the diving, simulation and all round dodgyness of the Bulgarian number 2 Stoyanov, we were able to swing in several decent crosses into the danger zone, though we singularly failed to really test the keeper.
Ono was different class, and he demonstrated the impact he's going to have this season. For his first full game I was very impressed with his touch, awareness and precision. Bosnar was also a presence at the back, and one we're going to benefit from. He was sent up for each of our seven corners along with fellow defender Iwashita. Once we've had a few games to let everyone get used to each other I'm looking forward to what we're capable of.
Speaking of Iwashita, anyone who saw today's game will be amazed how he stayed on the pitch till the end. Entering stoppage time, the hot headed newly-wed pushed a Hiroshima player away with his full palm on the opponent's face. Predictably, the Hiroshima player went down like he'd been shot in the head, but regardless of any making-the-most-of-it, any hand-to-face is a red card right there. The ref reached for his pocket and pulled out... a yellow. Absolutely amazing.
Within seconds of this, and with the clock at 92 minutes, we were up the other end with a final throw of the dice. We were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box, Jungo swung it right into the mix and it was met by substitute Omae Genki for his first league goal. It was no less than we deserved, and on balance 1-1 was a fair result.
Love Ono's pose here :)
Videos
Here's the Hiroshima penalty:
And here's our late, late equaliser:
Slightly more extended highlights, including Iwashita's facepalm.
S-Pulse 1-1 Hiroshima Okazaki 44---------------- Sato 29
Att: 18205
Line Up
GK K. Yamamoto
DF Ichikawa DF Iwashita DF Arata DF Ota
MF Edamura MF Honda MF Ito MF Hyodo
FW Johnsen FW Okazaki
Subs used
Fujimoto on for Edamura (57) M. Yamamoto on for Honda (78) Hara on for Hyodo (82)
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We are top of the league, said we are top of the league!
Yeah, well, it's only for a day, but it's been a while. Kashima will reclaim top spot tomorrow if they avoid defeat at home to Niigata, but for now, there's only one team in first place in J1, and that's us. :)
I had no idea what was going on here
Shizuoka had been wet pretty much all week, but praise the football Gods, at 11am this morning the clouds parted and a gorgeous sunny day was the reward for the 18000+ fans who rocked Nihondaira. They had a fast paced (for the most part) game to enjoy with plenty of shots peppering each goal, but the majority, myself included, went home kicking themselves. If we'd made more of our chances we're not only be top, we're be two points clear.
The rain cleared and turned into a beautiful day
Oh, well. I'm not complaining too much. Hiroshima are good, and a hard team to play against. When they have hold of the ball they are not about to give it up easily. If it meant passing it back and forward across their back four till our players (and fans) started falling asleep, then that's what it meant. The moment we grew sick of this private kickabout and committed ourselves, the ball was hoofed 70 metres up the field to their number 14 or 10 who would instigate an attack. To be fair, this style worked, and we had trouble gaining control of the game for most of the first half.
A great away following given the distance, and a rather lovely flag
This was the major theme of the day's play, and it produced a goal for the visitors after half an hour. After the long ball upfield, a good, low cross was played deep into the six yard box and was met by Sato who put it away. Kaito was unlucky not to get down in time to block the shot and it squirmed under him into the back of the net. There was a hint of offside, but that was according to Iwashita, and it's not down to him, sadly. 1-0 to the away team, but it's been nearly a decade and half since Hiroshima beat us at Nihondaira, so they must have known the game was far from over.
A Sanfrecce free kick which came to nothing
Our equaliser came from hero, legend, and all round God-like striker Shinji Okazaki, who placed a header over the keeper and into the far corner with the type of skilled precision many players struggle to manage with their feet. Excellent finish. The second half was mostly ours, but we just couldn't breach their final line of defence. Johnsen went close when he beat the keeper to a cross, but a defender was on hand to clear it off the line.
We swarmed forward incessantly as the clock started running down, but it came to naught. The last chance came when Masaki received a ball in the box with, what appeared to me to be some time to control it before a shot, but he skied it with his first touch. Dang. :(
Next (after cup weekend) is Oita away in a fortnight. If we beat them they go down to J2 with five games remaining. Ouch. A kind of revenge for last year's Nabisco Cup, I guess, but we need to win it to maintain out title challenge and for no other reason. We're top, we're unbeaten in 13 and we have three players off with the national team this week. Things are pretty bloody bright for S-Pulse right now, but now let's get on with the final push to glory - three points in Kyushu, please!
Third draw in a row, and this time a nil nil. Just what you need after a four hundred mile journey! :-D The late report is on account of only having got back from Hiroshima last night. We made a long weekend of it seeing the sights, hitting Miyajima and scoffing unhealthy amounts of okonomiyaki. Brilliant. :)
A good couple of hundred make the mammoth trip out west
As for the game, despite some nice link up work and good forward movement by the likes of Jungo and Paulo, we lacked the final ball time and time again. As a result, our best chances came from long range or set pieces. When we did manage to get a great ball onto Nagai's head it needed a stunning save from the home keeper to deny him.
A second half effort comes to naught
On the bright side, we successfully shut out the second highest scorers in the league, and kept our fifth clean sheet of the season in the process. Yet another draw is not doing us any favours, though, and three points against Chiba today is a must. We have to go to Kashima next week who are, as expected, topping the table.
Goal! Goal! Ooooooh, Goal! Goal! Ooooooh!
The players got our goal call until every last one of them was out of sight and down the tunnel. We demand goals, and starting today against JEF, they must surely come! As of yesterday afternoon nearly 17000 tickets had been sold, so let's not let our orange hordes down!
OK, this isn't really a preview at all. It's just to let you know that I'm off to Hiroshima for a long weekend of football and seeing the sights, so no report until at least Tuesday. Have a good Golden Week one and all!
Barry writes:
This cheered me up a little :)
