Kashima 2-0 S-Pulse

Well, it took them four attempts, but champions Antlers finally overcame S-Pulse. After beating them twice at Nihondaira (once in the cup, once in the league), and holding them to a goalless draw at their place, Kashima were not about to let themselves lose any more ground on Nagoya and Omiya at the top of the table.

I wasn't either at the game or watching on the box (so sue me) but the stats tell the story:

Antlers -- S-Pa

16 Shots 8
9 Goalkicks 12
7 Cornerkicks 1
22 Freekicks 11

Stats alone are never that much of a gauge, but by the looks of it, Kashima were desereved winners, and we only won when it come kicking them all over the pitch and not having anyone sent off.

Ah well. Onwards and upwards! Next up is Tokyo away this Saturday. Being so close, you'd probably think we'd be going up to the Ajisuta, but you'd be wrong. We already have a previous engagement with a certain band called Radiohead who we're going to see that night. Tokyo are on form, and getting three points from them won't be easy.

OK, I'm off to do something other than type at a keyboard. have a good week!　For anyone who's interested, here's the highlights:

S-Pa 3-2 Kashiwa

This just in: full match report from someone actually in attendance! Click here for Mike Tuckerman's report on events.

Unbeaten in five, in the semi final of the cup and having just completed the double over a team in sixth - with the right spin, even the most mediocre of seasons can look almost presentable! While S-Pa pummelled the Kashiwa goal, and ultimately claimed their seventh win of the season, yours truly was riding a bullet back to Shiz after a weekend away in Chiba. As a Disneyland virgin, I had a thoroughly good time and would recommend it to anyone, but as seven o'clock rolled around on Saturday, much to the better half's chagrin, my attentions turned to my mobile phone as updates poured in from Shimizu.

It didn't take long for the first goal notification. With Okazaki in the starting line up for the first time since Frontale away, he wasted no time in staking his claim to his place by making it one nil in the first minute. The score was doubled by Edamura on eleven minutes, but when the half time score of 2-2 came through, as infuriating as it was, it sadly didn't come as that much of a shock. Losing a two goal lead to Oita not long back softened the blow somewhat... That said, S-Pa came out in the second half and thanks to Okazaki were in the lead again in less than five minutes. We continued to pepper the Kashiwa goal with shots matching our first half tally of seven. Kashiwa only managed two efforts, one less than the first 45. They weren't helped by being reduced to ten men on 78 minutes.

Time for a little more spin / looking on the bright side: We're now up to the giddy heights of 14th, and are only one win from 9th. We're above Jubilo who crumbled to a 3-1 away defeat and who will probably be in the drop zone once Marinos have dispatched Sapporo later today. Perhaps most amazingly, we've only lost once more than Nagoya who sit in second. However, it's Grampus who we face away on Wednesday - not a game I'm expecting a hell of a lot of return from! Still, we have a habit of rising to the big occasions, and Nagoya may well be knackered from being the first team to beat Antlers at Kashima Stadium in God knows how long, so lets have it!

Here's a couple of personal videos from yesterday's game starting with Okazaki's opener:



Okachan's second to make it 3-2 to the Mighty Oranges:



The obligatory post match celebrations:

S-Pa 2-1 Antlers - S-Pa through to the semis!

So that would be the best team in the country? The team that won the double last year and are sitting top of the table looking likely to retain their crown? Yeah, well woteva - we just dumped them out the cup.

Having beaten them in the league earlier this year, and holding them to a goalless draw in the frst leg of this tie, it's becoming something of a habit see off the Antlers. Kashima played by far the best football any team has bothered to at 'Daira so far this season, and to be fair, it paid dividends, with a whole more shots than the home team. Nishibe was tested a few times, and had to be at his best once or twice, but for all the possession and shots, Kashima rarely looked like they were going to get the second strike which would have put them through on away goals.
After their goal came on 57 minutes, it was a nervy last half hour, with the last ten minutes in particular lasting what felt like forever. Saying that, we went close a few times with one-on-ones, and a ball cleared off the line. It was a cracking game, and had I been a neutral, a whole lot more enjoyable, probably! The tension was mad, and the sense of relief in thr ground can be heard on the first of the videos below.

We were missing usual starting members Honda, Okazaki, and Jungo last night which clearly had an impact on Kenta's starting eleven, but apart from Aurerio who was as much of a threat as a lame duck, the team worked their socks off. It's not that Aurerio doesn't try, it's just that he can't seem to cut it at this level. Not surprisingly, he was replaced with Hara on the hour. Special mention should go to Marcos Paulo who is a different player to the one who made his début a couple of months back.

Beating Jubilo comes first, with doing Antlers coming in a distant second, but seeing them off tonight was fucking magic. Next up are Nabisco Cup holders Gamba home and away. Not the easiest of prospects, but one we have no reason to fear. Let's 'ave it!!

Japan 2-1 Australia (U23)

"Get the goal, get the goal, Okazaki, get the goal!"

And get the goal he did! A stiflingly hot Thursday evening in Kobe saw the Japanese under 23 Olympic team face off with their Ozzie counterparts in a pre-Beijing friendly. With Kaito and Honda both donning national team colours, and with Okazaki on the bench, it was a great night for the 'Pulse and one they should be proud of. Having gone 1-0 down to the Ozzies just after the half hour, Japan pulled level five minutes later with a goal from Cerezo Osaka teenager Kagawa.

After that it took till the last minute of the game for Japan to snatch their winner, and who should it have come from but our very own super-sub Okachan! Glancing in a header which foxed Ozzie keeper Federici, the goal came too late for any kind of comeback, and when the whistle went, the bloke with the biggest smile was the man who came on in the 74th minute and won Japan the game! Nice one, Shinji - Shizuoka's proud of ya!

The Slide to J2 Continues

Seriously.

Not having seen the game, not having seen the stats, and not yet having spoken to anyone who was there, I've just had the Mixi S-Pa community message board to go on (and it ain't pretty!). It's far from a satisfactory way to report on a game, so I'm not going to attempt anything other than most cursory overview of tonight's capitulation.

To lose to another 88th minute goal is embarrassing, frustrating and worse than that, leaves us one point from the relegation zone with half the season played. Is this really the difference Jae-Jin made to our team? Were we really that much of a one man team? The obvious answer is no - minus the lanky Korean, we're effectively the same team as last year - a squad still swimming in young talent. The acquisition of Honda and Omae only added to that, so where it's all going wrong is something which needs fixing, and quick. The utterly inexplicable loss of Fernandinho last month is playing no small part in our recent poor form, of that I'm certain.

Before I wrote the preview to this game, I didn't believe Kenta's position would really come under pressure, but questions are now being asked, not least on Mixi, and we need answers in the form of points. Starting Sunday at home to Niigata, a revival is now CRUCIAL. Who'd have thought after finishing 4th in 2006 and 2007 that we'd be down there in the relegation battle? But there we are. Who fancies a Thursday night trip to Mito Hollyhock or Tokushima Vortis next year?

Brilliant.

FC Tokyo 1-1 S-Pa: Through to Round 2! Bring on Jubilo (again)!

It was FC Tokyo versus Shimizu S-Pulse, so what better place to play it than in Nagano? I understand the theory behind teams going on tour for "home" games, (creating new fans in a football-starved corner of the country) but the poor supporters who travel for hours only to stand in the rain in a stadium with no roof... well, they deserve a free season ticket or something. Put in perspective, Tokyo fans got off lightly - Jubilo played their home tie against Verdy in Kagoshima, not far short of five hundred miles from Iwata.

I didn't make the journey, busy as I was halfway up a mountain feeding raw meat to lions (Fuji Safari Park - fun for all the family, and with authentic Turkish kebabs for sale on site, a great day out not to be missed!). My mobile kept me up to date with all the action from the Matsumoto, but it was Tokyo who led for almost the entire game. It took an 88th minute free kick from Jungo to put us through to round two for the first time since 2005:



It didn't look the most threatening of shots, but the movement in the area seemed to fox the Tokyo keeper, and moments later it was all over. It was a timely goal, as had things ended 1-0, Jubilo's victory meant we'd have gone into our final game needing a win. While we're now pretty much guaranteed to win our group, a win for both Jubilo (unlikely) and Tokyo (very likely) on Sunday could see us finish 2nd, although it would mean our superior goal difference having to get reversed. This isn't totally beyond the realms of possibility since whipping boys Verdy have so far let in thirteen without reply. FC Tokyo will have their shooting boots on! Either way, we're through to round two, and a first place finish would mean we meet Antlers home and away in the last eight. Not ideal, but pride won't allow me to accept a beating from Jubilo, even if it meant an easier tie in the quarters. For all the different permutations in the four groups, Dokool over at Aishiteru Tokyo has all the details you could ever need.


Next up is Jubilo at their place. Since Ecopa was built, it's now been six years since we've played them at the Yamaha, and eight years since we beat them there. I was considering giving it a miss as we're already through, but who was I kidding? The chance to give them a doing on their home patch is too good an opportunity to pass up. Tickets are bought for our third derby this year and 2008's BDO2 is coming! I have a feeling a lot of S-Pa will be heading out west on Sunday, even if for nothing more than the nostalgia value of playing Jubilo at the Yamaha, and with only one derby loss from ten, we've got to be confident. Hopefully Genki Omae will get more of a run out, too. He's made brief appearances in our last two Nabisco games, but let's have him out there from the start - go on Kenta, you know it makes sense!

Shimizu S-Pulse, I Hereby Crown Thee Kings of Shizuoka! S-Pulse 4-2 Jubilo

The scoreboard says it all at Derby Day 2 of 4

Leaving home at 8:30am on a Sunday for football is wrong. Just so, so wrong. More so that I was leaving a nice warm futon behind to head out into the torrential rain and gusting winds that were whipping Shizuoka. Having made it to the stadium with my umbrella only once turning inside out, I was in surprisingly good spirits, and as the UK Ultras gradually congregated behind the goal, we were more than ready for our Nabisco Cup derby day.

The rain had been coming down since 8pm the previous night, but the clouds parted at 11am and Nihondaira's pitch looked amazingly good given the showering it had endured. The weather seemed to put off a good couple of thousand fans, as despite having sold over fifteen thousand tickets, less than thirteen thousand bothered turning up. Those who found better things to do missed out on a classic derby clash, with six goals and all the action you could shake a stick at. Most importantly, S-Pa came away with all three points, leaving Jubilo as good as out the competition, and us as good as through to round two:

Group B after Sunday

S-Pa opened the scoring on 14 minutes with a stroke of genius from Hara, who with a couple of perfect touches, knocked the ball over Matsui in the Jubilo goal and then ran it into the net. 1-0 to the 'Pulse, and more looked like it was coming. More came, but not for us - on 36 minutes a sweeping move from the visitors cut us to pieces, and ended in a clinical finish from Cullen. 1-1. A unique characteristic of J. League crowds is the ability to not let an away goal interrupt their chanting. So it was as Jubilo pulled level: while me and Fuz slouched back amid a shower of four letter words, the singing thousands around us didn't even break stride. Total respect to J. crowds - a goal against hits like a Doc Marten boot to the bollocks, and it must take a huge power of will to not give the away fans the satisfaction of seeing you gutted. I certainly can't manage it. I need a good thirty second break to abuse the keeper / defender / ref / weather, take five or six deep breaths, tell myself we can come back, and then force myself to get back behind the team.

After the break it all got a little hazy as the beer started taking hold. The tension of a derby is dispersed in direct correlation to the number of beers consumed, and after number five (or was it number six?), the edge was nicely taken off the fear of losing. We needn't have worried so much though, as on 49 minutes a reckless challenge in the box resulted in this:



Minutes after the above made it 2-1, it was 3-1 with another great finish, this time from Nishizawa. Jungo made it 4-1 with 15 minutes to go, and when we let our guard down to allow the 40 year old Gon to head a late goal, it was far from enough to bring Jubilo back into it. Despite a depleted team due to international call ups and injuries, we crushed Jubilo to claim our sixth win from ten derbies, leaving the blues wondering where their next derby victory is coming from. More worrying for Jubilo must be their upcoming relegation battle. It's still early days, (and we're none too cleverly placed ourselves) but with four defeats on the spin, things are looking pretty grim for Iwata.

Aside from the usual happy tidings that come with a resounding derby win also came the good news that not only Omae Genki, but also Marcos Paulo made their débuts today:

Omae God!

Omae looked distinctly more spritely than the Brazilian, but by the time this was all happening, I was having trouble focussing on what was going on on the pitch. The combination of such an early start, the torrential rain which turned into muggy, sticky sunshine, the countless beers, and the celebrations at hammering our bitter rivals were starting to take over. We went on to to run out 4-2 winners and now only need a point against Tokyo on Saturday to secure our route to the knock out stages. After that we even have the gloating opportunity of an away day at the Yamaha Stadium with us through and them out - fingers crossed, eh!

One team in Shizuoka!

Kings of Shiz!

WE BELIEVE!

S-Pa v Jubilo - Derby Day 2 of 4 Preview

Well, here we go again! With the recent 1-1 draw still fresh in everyone's memories, this coming Sunday we get to do it all again as two teams once again battle it out for the crown of Kings of Shizuoka: Shimizu S-Pulse versus Jubilo Iwata. This time the backstory happens to be the 4th game of the Nabisco Cup group stage. The Nabisco is the J. League's own league cup, and traditionally attracts crowds well below those of the league, but with everything to play for, one of our biggest ever league cup gates will cram into Nihondaira for Jubilo's second visit of the season. For whatever reason, it's yet another Sunday 1pm kick off. I may even start a petition about these for next season - noone should be forced to rise before 10am of a Sunday, even for the footer.

Jubilo won't be relishing their chances given they've only managed one win from the last ten derby day meetings, but S-Pa are without both Ichikawa and Teru through injury, both of which will hit the team hard (not to mention Okazaki, Honda and Aoyama who are all away on international duty). That said, Ichikawa didn't feature in two of our previous cup games, but Teru's presence will be sorely missed. Will this give like-for-like player Marcos Paulo his first opportunity to shine in the first team? So far only making the reserves, and with rumours flying around of discontent behind the scenes, who knows if we'll ever see the ex-Brazilian international grace Nihondaira?

Either way, we're going to miss Teru's influence. He'll be back in two weeks, but Ichikawa won't be seeing action for six - the mid-season Olympic break could not have been better timed! It will also give Kenta some much needed time to assess our horrific start to the season. OK, it's not been all that bad when looked at objectively, and we're only five points off 4th place (Reysol who we took apart with clinical efficiency earlier in the month, are sitting in 4th, which speaks volumes about the randomness of this season), but defeats like those at Albirex and Verdy are simply not acceptable for either the club or it's fans. If we'll be seeing some transfer action over the summer, or if wonderboy Genki Omae will be making his J. League debut any time soon remains to be seen...

So, anyway, yeah, back to the point - the League Cup. Here's how things currently stand:


Clearly in the driving seat, and with the 5-0 spanking of Verdy giving us a huge goal difference advantage, a win could put us through and Jubilo out. Three points on Sunday plus Verdy beating Tokyo, and we'd be in round two barring a goal difference disaster in the final two games. But lets not get ahead of ourselves - we're only half way through the group stage and this season has been nothing if not erratic! With a refreshingly big league cup crowd in attendance, it would be rude not to win our sixth derby from ten and leave Jubilo with just a relegation battle to worry about. My prediction? Not nearly as bullish as last time, but a decent enough 2-0 win for the mighty Oranges - just wait and see. :)

A six foot pole (top left) hurled into the Gamba supporters

In other news: The J. League rules out any punishment for either Gamba or Urawa beyond financial. Good move - way to bottle it. When the next incident happens - and it will, there's a history of intermittent crowd violence in the J. League going back years - can we expect the same worthless punishments from those at the top? Gamba have banned the Black and Blue Squad supporters group, apparently those at the centre of any hooliganism, but Urawa are not able to return the gesture. The reds who destroyed the fence and attempted to attack the visitors were in the more moderate area of Saitama Stadium, and not part of any organised fan group. It can only make you wonder what the nutters down the home end would have done if a water balloon (a water balloon - quick, call the paramedics!!!) had hit a child near them.

In other news: Manchester United beat Chelsea in the Champions League Final.

It's a sorry state of affairs when the biggest club competition in the world can effectively be decided by one man slipping over. I'll never understand the fascination governing bodies have with penalty shoot outs. What's wrong with at least having one replay before resorting to the coin toss solution? Think of all the money to be made in having a SECOND final! PK shoot outs, especially those in finals, just serve to chip away at the credibility of a competition and its subsequent winners. Still, maybe I just don't like pens because England always lose at them...

In yet other news: The domain www.shimizuspulse.com was sitting sadly vacant, and so has since been snapped up by a certain fan blog. For copyright reasons I guess we should state that the website is named after Shimizu's Pulse (my friend Mr. Shimizu who has a very interesting pulse) and not after a certain J. League team who wear bright orange. :) The URL should be active in a day or two, and will point here.

Roll on Sunday. :)

S-Pulse 5-0 Tokyo Verdy

Moments after goal number four (or was it number five?)

It was a special night at Fortress Nihondara as a rampant S-Pulse side ran riot over hapless Verdy. Coming off the back of one of the team's worst ever starts to a season, S-Pulse's confidence was at a low and pressure from supporters to turn things around was immense. Things hadn't been running well thus far, but the Nabisco Cup is always a good opportunity to rest your best players and tinker with those on the fringes as you try to find the perfect formula.

So it was with our line up, with a number of first teamers rested or moved to the bench for the visit of the J. League's most nomadic (and schizophrenic given how many times they've changed their name) of teams. S-Pa's nightmarish start to the season was temporarily forgotten as we proceeded to give the visitors a lesson in the game of football. 3-0 by the break, it was 5-0 at full time, and the bewildered Verdy were lucky to get nil. Had our strikers been more interested or bothered, it could well have been double figures. As the midweek league cup mini-crowd partied after the full time whistle, and as Palchan cartwheeled his way around the penalty area, the hundred or so travelling Verdy fans (had they come down from Kawasaki, or did their supporters move to Tokyo when the team did?) trudged dejectedly down to the bottom tier of the away stand to berate their hopeless heroes.


A hugely reduced crowd nevertheless revels in a 5-0 demolition job

The result leaves The 'Pulse realistically only needing four more points from the remaining three games to secure our way out of the group stage. Next up are local toe-rags Jubilo Iwata on Sunday May 25th, and as the Nabisco Cup goes, there's going to be a halfway decent crowd packed into 'Daira. Having lost only one derby from ten, we're looking solid enough favourites to see off Jubilo and as good as seal our progress to round two. That's in the future - for now we'll remember the goals as they flowed freely into the Verdy net, we'll slightly rue the fact we could have had a cricket score if we'd been trying harder, and we'll look forward to doing much the same against Jubilo on Sunday. :)

(In other far less interesting news, Verdy turned us over 4-1 today. The match was played out as 11000 people rattled around inside the 50000 seater, windswept souless bowl that is the Ajinomoto Stadium. S-Pulse triumph 6-4 on aggregate. :-D )

Albirex 3-0 S-Pulse

Something entirely unrelated to today's game:
So today was the first league game this season I wasn't able to watch, and all I can say is thank God for real life getting in the way. While we got sent packing from Niigata with our tales firmly between our legs, I was far from any TV screen, drinking in the history, admiring the architecture and chatting up the maiko girls of Japan's most ancient city.

So fair play, I wasn't at match, but with the 36000 fans who were there, including the as-always sizable Orange Army, it seems the only people who didn't bother turning up was the S-Pulse team. I didn't see the game, and I know scorelines don't always tell the whole story, but it comes as no surprise in checking the stats to learn we matched them on shots, destroyed them on the corner kicks, yet still came away pointless. The lack of penetration up front is crippling us, and we're looking at a season of horrendous mid-table mediocrity the rate things are going.

Amid the very few positives after today are the facts that we're amazingly still only two wins off the top five, Jubilo got turned over 4-1 at home, and... and... No, that's it. It's double winners Antlers at home on Sunday, and fingers crossed we can capitalise on their champions league exhaustion to start clawing our way back up the table. Here's to that, but in the meantime, here's to remembering that having important stuff to do with people important to you is a shite sight more rewarding than watching 11 men chase a pigs bladder around. Amen to that.

While on my short trip, despite attempting to keep football as far from my mind as possible, it had a funny way of finding me:


Two S-Pulse fans spotted in the grounds of Kyoto's Kinkakuji. They also wisely opted to avoid the trek to Niigata:














If there are any nutters out there who want to see where it all went wrong, here's the "highlights":

S-Pa 1-0 F.C. Tokyo

First home league win of the season...



It was a while coming! After such an indifferent start to the season, while the fact that boos rang around Nihondaira after defeat by Nagoya came as little surprise, the voracity and anger of the jeering did. The fans' point was made, and it clearly impacted on the team. Undefeated in three, things are looking more promising going into the biggest game of the season so far: the Shizuoka Derby. The 5-0 demolition of Verdy was "only" in the League Cup with both teams fielding weakened teams, but the impact on the confidence of the team was obvious. Away at Marinos and home to FC Tokyo, S-Pa came out swinging and looked a whole lot more threatening going forward than they have so far.

The game on Saturday was split down the middle - nine corners in the first half, and none in the second half for S-Pa. The near-opposite was true for Tokyo, who had S-Pulse on the racks for long periods after the break. Any goodwill I had towards accepting 'fair' results has already been tested to the limit this year, so I was more than happy to see us cling onto our 1-0 lead to the end of stoppage time. S-Pa could have taken an early lead with a move which scythed through the Tokyo team and ended in Fujimoto bringing fine save out of the keeper. At the same end in the second half, a wayward penalty area clearance very nearly found the net to level the score. This was after our ninth corner of the game had born fruit in the form of an Aoyama headed goal. The defender rose above all others to head it into the ground. The speed of the bounce foxed the keeper as it bounced up and through his hands. Deep into first half stoppage time: 1-0 S-Pa. It was an open game with several chances for each team, but only one stuck the ball in the net, and that's what it's all about!

A few thoughts on the day: 1pm kick offs don't do anyone any favours. Great traveling support from Tokyo again, although they don't make nearly as much noise as they could, given their numbers. Our season start was pretty awful, but for a missed stoppage time pen we'd be two more points better off, and three of our four defeats were against early high flyers Reds, Gamba and Nagoya, which were always going to be tough.

We're gearing up nicely to take Jubilo to pieces on Saturday in front of a packed 'Daira - a third straight derby win please! Before that, it's Reysol away on Tuesday which is never an easy place to go to. The UK Ultras founder members won't be in attendance, although several of the extended Ultras family will be BDOing it to Kashiwa to fly the flag for Shimizu. Three points would be awesome, thanks very much!