Kawasaki 1-1 S-Pulse

Barry writes:

Kawasaki 1-1 S-Pulse
Own Goal 65 -------------------Brosque 56

Att. 20973

Line Up

GK K. Yamamoto

DF Tsujio
DF Iwashita
DF Bosnar
DF Ota

MF Jong-a-Pin (yellow 22)
MF Edamura (yellow 18)
MF Brosque (yellow 82)

FW Omae
FW Nabeta
FW Takagi

Subs Used

Muramatsu on for Edamura (65)
Ljungberg on for Nabeta (74)

Report

Under the cosh for the first half, much better in the second. Ljungberg had a big impact again, starting moves and also being there on the end of others, but the 15 minutes he was on wasn't enough to create a winner. Nearly, but not quite. Bare in mind he's still some way off full fitness, but his rapid integration bodes well for the future.

Kawasaki were not playing like a team who had lost 9 of their last 10, and might have grabbed a winner. But they had no hope of dealing with Takagi who just won't allow himself to be denied. A surging run down the left, he beat two players before darting into the heart of the penalty area and poking a shot into the bottom corner. Sugiyama could only parry it out to a waiting Brisque. 1-0 to the good guys.

At 1-0 down the home team were really going for it and when Juninho's stab was deflected home by Jong a Pin's leg to level the score it was deserved. A draw was probably fair, and given our injury reduced team, not an altogether bad result. An even better result was Kofu doing Gamba 2-0 - especially because I had a few quid on it. :)

Next up, relegation threatened Niigata in the second leg of our League Cup 2nd round game. We lead 2-1 from the first leg.

Goal!

Ghotbi Says

To be honest, I though the 1st half was very sloppy for both teams. We created a few half chances and a penalty that wasn't called. But I thought the 2nd half we started better and created a nice goal, but our reaction after the goal was poor. Kawasaki created some good opportunities and we were not in control, and they equalised.

But after they equalised, especially after Freddie came on, we controlled the game and had some wonderful chances to win. There are some positives to take out of the game, Nabeta had a good game.

We are playing without some of our key players and without your more experienced players you make mistakes. The important thing is getting Ono and Takahara back and Ljungberg fully fit. Once those three players are back you'll see a different team.

Our fans were wonderful from the beginning to the end, they cheered us on and I'm grateful for them.

Videos

Personal video of Brosque's goal.

S-Pulse 2-3 Kawasaki

Barry writes:

S-Pulse 2-3 Kawasaki
Brosque 20 --------------- Inamoto 4
Ono 45 (pen) ------------- Yamase 13
----------------------------------Bosnar (og) 81
----------------------------------Igawa sent off 54

Att 12217

Line Up

GK Usui

DF Tsujio
DF Iwashita
DF Bosnar (Yellow 58)
DF Ota

MF Ono
MF Hiraoka (Yellow 60)
MF Brosque
MF Edamura

FW Omae
FW Takahara

Subs Used

Kobayashi on for Ono (46)
Takagi on for Hiraoka (65)
Nagai on for Omae (80)

Report

What a cock up. After working so hard to get back into the game we blew it despite the man advantage. Was it laziness? Complacency? Or just the underdog rising to the occasion as so often happens? The way I saw it, we just never calmed it down and made Kawasaki cover the extra space. Under the humidity and heat we had half an hour to stroke it around and fatigue the away team, but just couldn't figure it out. They got a bit of luck late on via Bosnar's attempted clearance finding the net and then we fell apart and lost all composure. We ended the game walloping long hopeful balls forward to nowhere.

Decent turn out for a week night - double what Jubilo had actually :-OThe whiniest team to visit Nihondaira so far this year

Moan moan moan - the entire outfield team no less

I hope we learn from this as a team. Fair play to Kawasaki, they totally deserved the win given how they responded to their red card. They created more than us in the second half despite most with the man less. This year is as good a chance as any for them to grab some silverware with the league wide open. I wouldn't begrudge them it for one moment but for one man.

Juninho's diving and play acting reached levels of farce. The man, while a talented player, is at times an embarrassment to watch. Can you imagine a game where all players were Juninho? It would resemble an undulating ocean of 22 bodies falling over dramatically then springing up when the freekick isn't given. The pitch would be a blur of outstretched arms and pleading eyes appealing emotively to the referee, and the game would be abandoned after five minutes as everyone gets sent off either for their constant "fouling" of Juninho (ie, every time they went within touching distance of a Juninho), or, if the referee isn't a complete simpleton, for play acting. Thank God there's only one of him, but even one man flailing around like a fairy is too many.

Onwards and upwards! Home to the only undefeated team in the country on Sunday - Vegalta Sendai. There seems to be the sentiment running through some websites that they are getting the benefit of some very sympathetic refereeing this season, so I'll take my very best ref berating voice with me up to Daira on Sunday evening.

Ghotbi Says

We started badly, especially the opening 20 minutes. We were always slow, a metre off the pace. And that's why we were 2-0 behind at home. But we responded magnificently and could get two goals of our own, and before half time we had a chance to take the lead.

We started the second half well, but after Kawasaki had a man sent off we didn't use that to our advantage. With a man extra I hoped we would have used the space of the pitch, and passed the ball around. Kawasaki gained courage after their red card and we got complacent and lacked motivation.

The referee influenced the game too much. Takagi's shot which hit the bar was the turning point. The hardest thing to take about this game is not the result but the fact we couldn't control the game in the second half. Even at 3-2 we had time, but we just started throwing long balls forward, and maybe that was a result of the players' frustration and tiredness.

Videos

Alex's header from Ota's cross to grab our first of the night.



Some Kawasaki highlights showing Takahara going down veeeeeery easily for the red card, and also that their third was an own goal by our boy Bosnar. It's not clear it was a shot or even if it was on target before Eddy tried to clear it. How on earth it can be credited to Kobayashi is a mystery to me.

S-Pulse 2-0 Kawasaki

Barry writes:

S-Pulse 2-0 Kawasaki
Fujimoto 16
Okazaki 47

Att. 18792

Line Up

GK Nishibe

DF Ichikawa
DF Iwashita
DF Hiraoka
DF Ota

MF Hyodo
MF Honda
MF Ono

FW Okazaki
FW Johnsen
FW Fujimoto

Subs Used

M. Yamamoto on for Ono (69)
Bosnar on for Iwashita (74)
Ito on for Okazaki (87)

Report

Not got a lot of time to write much tonight as I have to hit the hay early. Off to Tokyo tomorrow before flying to England Tuesday for my brother's wedding. I've barely started my packing, so have it all to do!

Yep

Well, while I'm still awake, I'll put on record that we were a changed team after the Niigata and Iwata games. Much, much better stuff, and we came away with a deserved three points tonight. Kawasaki were, as we all know, dangerous going forward, but their frailty at the back (and wobbliness in midfield) was exposed time and again. We ourselves were perhaps fortunate to end the game having conceded none, but with a little better finishing, Frontale could have been facing, maybe not a cricket, but certainly a baseball score.

Yep

It was a cracking game, and I'm sure the neutrals among the near 19000 present (if there were any) had a great time. For the rest of us, it was nerve-wracking stuff. Check the highlights below for an overview of the game.

I'd better get myself to bed, but before I do, please take a bow Juninho. Your diving and play acting tonight was the most embarrassing display by a professional footballer I've ever witnessed live. Here's a tip for you: if the ball gets away from you in the penalty area, at least make sure you're within two metres of the defender before you trip over your own feet and tumble to the floor. One or two times you got away with your diving but doing just that - falling over when somewhere near your opponent - but your attempt at winning a penalty was just laughable, and I hope you felt as ridiculous as you looked.

And, yep

No game this weekend due to internationals, but Wednesday sees us take to the Ajinomoto Stadium for leg one of our Nabisco Cup quarter final with FC Tokyo. Bring it.

Videos

Full highlights:



And, go on then. Here's a video I took of our penalty.

Kawasaki 0-0 S-Pulse

Barry writes:

Kawasaki 0-0 S-Pulse

Att. 17716

Line Up

GK Nishibe

DF Tsujio
DF Hiraoka
DF Bosnar (24 yellow)
DF Arata

MF Ono (11 yellow)
MF Honda
MF Yamamoto

FW Hyodo
FW Okazaki
FW Fujimoto

Subs Used

Johnsen on for Yamamoto (70)
Takaki on for Tsujio (78)
Ito on for Fujimoto (84)

Report

After a combination of Google Earth's Street View research and blind luck on the trains I arrived at Kawasaki's Todoroki Stadium in plenty of time for Saturday's early kick off. I wasn't alone, as hundreds of S-Pulse came up for this contest between two teams who will surely be in the upper reaches of the table come December.

An excellent turn out

I'll be honest, the view from behind the goal was pretty awful. The terracing isn't really steep enough and the added drawback of the running track made it hard to follow play with any certainty. Things seemed better from upstairs, but that was full to overflowing with our travelling army long before kick off. The Todoroki was a nice place to visit and I'd go back, but not to stand where I did this time. When it came to watching the game I was getting so frustrated with the view, I ended up expending most of my energies in just cheering us on. Anyway, moan over.

The view behind the goal required binoculars

We had something of a makeshift starting line up. With Iwashita out for a month we had a re-jigged back line with Hiraoka and Tsujio both starting, but things held together well. We also had Hyodo playing up front in place of Johnsen. The Norwegian didn't make an appearance until the 70th minute, with Hyodo then (mercifully) dropping back into his regular place in the centre of the park.

It took a while for the chances to start coming, and Fujimoto drew a fine save out of the Kawasaki keeper from a free kick, but even when both teams found their shooting boots, real goal scoring chances were still pretty few and far between. Kawasaki's Renatinho was diving around at every opportunity and I'm sad to report the referee was getting played hook, line and sinker. He even succeeded in getting a yellow card awarded to Bosnar after launching himself in the air at the Aussie's challenge. Oh, well. Such is life, and players will keep trying it all the time the refs can't do their jobs properly.

Despite the early yellow, Bosnar wasn't put off his game and was instrumental in our defence keeping a third clean sheet of the season. The big man had an excellent game. Ono too, despite getting several knocks throughout the game, was different class and everything was channelled though him, though he picked up another yellow. He does like a a good chat with the ref, of that we've come to see. If he can remain injury free he's going to have a huge say in where we end up at the end of the year.

All over and a point keeps us near the top of the table

The biggest worry from the game was the lack of real fire power we displayed. Johnsen was only used as a sub and we missed his presence. If it's just a one off remains to be seen, and his ability (or not) to start games could prove a bit of a hindrance this year. We don't lack back up in strikers, but none of Hara, Nagai or Omae have the height of the big fella.

The game ebbed and flowed, with each team trying hard to carve routes through each other. Not a great deal of success was had, and our one or two shooting chances were blasted wide (Hyodo and Johnsen, and Ito at the death). As the clock started ticking down things seemed to kick up a notch as both teams went for the killer punch, but nothing was doing and the whistle went at 0-0.

So all told, a draw was probably fair, and a draw away at Kawasaki was no bad result. It certainly didn't leave me spitting fire like last year's injury time free kick dodgyness. We're proving a hard team to score against which is a very good thing. Next up is Shonan Bellmare in the Nabisco Cup on Wednesday in a chance to get our cup campaign off to a winning start.

Videos

The final three minutes from a personal cam:



Our travelling hordes did us proud as ever:

Kawasaki 1-1 S-Pulse

Barry writes:

Kawasaki 1-1 S-Pulse
Ito 92 ------------------------------Iwashita 77

Att: 20,689

Report

Just when we threaten to put a run together capable of closing the gap on Kashima we go and let three points slip through our fingers in the most infuriating of circumstances. Yeah, I'd have probably taken this result before the game, but going into three minutes of stoppage time 1-0 up we conspired to give away countless free kicks and hand a share of the spoils on a plate to the home team.

The string of free kicks awarded by the ref ultimately culminated in a foul perfectly positioned for an excellent cross to be swung on to the head of Ito. He put it home and Iwashita's opener was cancelled out. Kawasaki had been all over us for the final ten minutes, hitting the post once and making Kaito work his hardest as they swarmed all over our half of the pitch, so the goal wasn't a great surprise.

Kawasaki have to next face Kashima, Urawa and G. Osaka in three games which will pretty much make or break their season. As for us, we have the (on paper) less daunting prospect of Omiya, Yamagata and Kobe. All winnable, and if we hope to make an ACL spot, then we pretty much have to take maximum points from them. Before all that, it's FC Tokyo in the semi final of the cup. Home on Wednesday, away on Sunday.

Line Up

GK K. Yamamoto

DF Ichikawa
DF Aoyama
DF Iwashita
DF Ota

MF Edamura
MF Honda
MF Ito
MF Hyodo

FW Johnsen
FW Okazaki

Subs Used

Paulo on for Hyodo (67)
Fujimoto on for Edamura (74)

Links

Click here for The Rising Sun's report of the evening. In my report above I held my tongue regarding the free kick which led to the goal as I didn't want to sound like it was just sour grapes talking, but Matsu at The Rising Sun clearly had an issue with it too. It certainly felt like we were giving away a crazy number of free kicks in stoppage time, and maybe I wasn't just being paranoid after all...

Highlights

Further to my above comment about the free kick, I just found this video which shows first, Ichikawa getting called for offside when he was a good yard or two onside, and then second, Okazaki getting penalised for that foul. Hard to see too much without a replay, but any contact seems pretty minimal and the Kawasaki player went to ground only when it was apparent the ball was getting away from him:



Just to be clear on that "offside":

1

2

Not only is he clearly onside, he's in his own half! In this video you can see Kenta's reaction who is right behind the linesman and had the same view of it. I'm not sure I subscribe to the crooked official theory, but both this and the free kick appear to be very poor decisions by the linesman and the ref. Very bad officiating by rookie referee Masaki Nabeshima, and these mistakes changed the outcome of the game. Permission to feel hard-done-by?

Full highlights:

S-Pa 1-0 Kawasaki

S-Pa 1-0 Kawasaki Frontale
Okazaki (16)

Att: 17256

Some days are just made for football. Some days, to be anywhere else other than behind the goal at Nihondaira, ice-cold beer in hand, would be a crime. Today was sunny, hot, and the crowds were out in force for an action packed game, and a massive three points for S-Pulse.

Few places I'm happier than under the giant flag at 'Daira

We started the game with Hara partnering Johnsen at the top. Okazaki was in midfield, but he moved back to the familiar territory of up front after Hara was subbed at half time for Jungo. It only took Okazaki 16 minutes to grab the only goal of the day, and ensure his third straight game with a goal. A good picture of a celebrating Okachan can be seen here along with some more official pictures.

The goal was a cracking header and it came off a pinpoint Hara cross. The goal should by rights have never been. Only a totally inexplicable (and for the S-Pulse fans behind the goal who got a front row view, totally hilarious) falling over of Kawasaki's number 26 led to Hara gaining possession and getting his excellent cross in. Okachan, as befits his national team member status, made no mistake in slamming it down low past the keeper. Not long later, another fall from a blue and black defender almost let us in to make it 2-0, but we didn't capitalise.

We had several more chances in the first 45 but they all ultimately came to naught. These included Junpei finding himself through on the keeper much like in the Kyoto cup game, but he could finish it this time around.

First half free kick action for us

Kawasaki are no slouches, and the team that won 5-0 in midweek (albeit against relatively weak opposition) will probably feel hard done by to not have got an equaliser. They are a fast moving, dangerous outfit, and when in full motion they had me hiding behind my flag for fear of what might be coming. Our defence held firm for the most part, but on a couple of occasions we got away with murder when inability to deal with the advancing blues had them swamping our penalty area.

Yajima back at 'Daira - He got booed and didn't score :)

We went close a couple of times in the second half, even hitting the woodwork at one stage, but when the whistle went it was a great deal of relief that swept around the stadium. Today was a big, big three points. Frontale will be there or thereabouts come December, and they gave us a hell of a test today. See how they pushed it right to the wire with this video of the last minute:



We've now won three in a row, with none conceded and in fact have let in the joint least of anyone in J1. We have strength in depth in midfield and attack, and our back line is pretty solid. Next week is the derby, and three points there will put us anywhere up to 2nd - as if destroying Jubilo isn't motivation enough! See you all at Ecopa then!

Line up!

GK Nishibe

DF Takaki
DF Aoyama
DF Iwashita
DF Kodama

MF Hyodo
MF Edamura
MF Yamamoto
MF Okazaki

FW Johnsen
FW Hara

Subs Used:

Fujimoto on for Hara (HT)
Ito on for Edamura (75)
Paulo on for Hyodo (83)

Videos!

Full Highlights:



Okazaki's goal (personal cam). Sadly, the comical fall by their number 26 isn't included.



Loco Loco, joined in for the first time by the players! :)



More of the same, but this one shows just how Palchan managed to convince half the team to join in. :)



Read Mike Tuckerman's report of the game here.

S-Pulse 2-0 Kawasaki Frontale

Special feature: Courtesy of fellow S-Pulse supporter and J. League follower Mike Tuckerman, we present an interview with a Japanese S-Pulse fan. In an interview fully in English, Shimizu-born Yuichi Korenaga discusses S-Pulse's current season and football in Japan in general. Full interview can be found here.

Probably one of the better pictures I've managed at the 'Daira!

A classic Saturday afternoon down the 'Daira. Sunshine, beers, mates, goals, a clean sheet, a near-full house. There are certain days where it all just seems to fall into place, and as I left my flat at 11am and saw the clear blue sky overhead, I had a feeling things were going to go our way.

For those who read anything into past records, Kawasaki, who have never won at Nihondaira, were always going to be fighting fate. As it turned out, their poor record under Fuji's shadow continues, and with it, their title challenge takes a huge knock. With it being as open as it is, they're no means out of the race, but dropping points as both Kashima and Oita won again leaves them with a lot to do to get back into it.

The first S-Pulse goal was a lovely worked piece of play, and it had goal written all over it from the outset. It came on 24 minutes and Edamura, after the cross was headed back across goal, was there to slam it home under the Frontale keeper. Frontale's undeniable ability up front was, for the most part, well neutralised, although a couple of occasions saw them go close.
Our second goal came from one of our 11 corners and it was man of the moment Kazuki Hara who put it home. After a poor clearance attempt the ball fell to his feet and he calmly put into the net in front of the two tiered bank which was full to bursting. The poor lad lost his mother earlier in the month, but he's been one of our several break-though players this season, and another goal was no more than he deserved.

The after-match party was as good as ever, and as we had a do pre-arranged back near the station, we rushed off to that with the win just adding more reason to get happily battered. And get happily battered we did.

Next up, outside title hopefuls Gamba Osaka. They have a game midweek they simply have to win, away to Urawa in the semi-final of the Asian Champions League. Fingers crossed they'll be shattered from that, and we can continue our great run. Last year's Gamba fixture was one of the games of the season, so a repeat of the 3-1 scoreline would be just great, thank you!

Time to go, but thank you S-Pulse - you made my birthday celebrations all the more brilliant! Enough from me, time for the highlights!



And here, taken on my camera, is Oja no Hata, our victory song, and which, after four years, I'm embarrassed to say I'm still learning the words to!

S-Pulse v Kawasaki Frontale (preview)

It's now pushing a month since the last home game down at the 'Daira, and personally speaking, I can't bloody wait to settle down in the sunshine tomorrow with a six pack! Now the humid hell of the Shizuoka summer is behind us, tomorrow is set to be a balmy 23 degrees in a breezy Suruga Bay. With the hottest months now behind us, it's back to the earlier kicks offs, and a 3pm start on a Saturday will feel just like being back in the UK!

It's probably a combination of the good forecast, S-Pulse's better form of late (four wins from five - only defeated away at Kashima), and the fact Kawasaki are in with a decent shout of the title that tomorrow won't be far off last season's near-capacity crowd of 19k. It's a measure of how open this season is that even a team with a real shot at the championship have only won twice in their last five games. Many people's tips at the start of the season, Frontale have come through a couple of dodgy patches and are still up there, so good luck to them. I'm expecting a big travelling following tomorrow.

There's a maximum of 18 points to play for, and it's still amazingly tight at the top. Out of the five (and at a stretch, seven!) teams in with a shout, first time champions would be Oita, Kawasaki or Nagoya. Since the turn of the century there's been five different winners of the league (six if any first-timers prevail this year), six different winners of the Emperor's Cup, and, after the final next month, seven different winners of the Nabisco Cup. I should also mention that the only teams to have won the league twice this millennium are now both fighting for their J1 lives! Japanese football is incredibly open, and it's one of the reasons I am so consistently enthralled by it.

With the prospect of title glory, Kawasaki will be coming to Shimizu with nothing less than all three points in their sights, but with S-Pulse fresh off the back of a 5-1 demolition job of (outside) title hopefuls FC Tokyo, it should be a hell of an encounter. Okazaki and Kazumichi will be back from their national team exploits, and I can't see much being changed from the team that took Tokyo to school.

So, 8th with six games to go... hardly ideal, but after our wretchedly inconsistent first half of the season, it's a far sight more healthy looking than a couple of months ago! There's been a handful of games me and Fuz came away from feeling pretty hard done by this year, but we also rode our luck a few times, so our current nearly-but-not-quite position is entirely fair. We have to set our sights on cup glory and then the derby the following Saturday. Before all that though, a 3-0 victory tomorrow would be wonderfully appropriate! Why? Well...

Yours truly turned 30 last Saturday, hence my preference for the 3-0 scoreline! Drinks will be taken after the game, but if anyone wants to reward me for staying alive three decades, feel free to present me with a can of beer at any stage during the match. :) I'm the bloke standing next to Palchan in the pic on the right (yeah, I know, I know. I don't look a day over 21). "Beer" is the stuff in cans with "Asahi" or "Kirin" written on the side, and "present me with", well, I'm sure you can figure that bit out. ^^y

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.

Kawasaki S-Pa - Preview

This Thursday, 15th placed S-Pa make the not-so-long trip up the Tōkaidō to face many people's pre-season tip for the title, Kawasai Frontale. Currently sitting in 11th and having been decidedly hit and miss so far this season, S-Pa can steam into this one without too much to fear. Sadly neither me or Fuz will be heading up to Kawasaki, but a good number of the extended UKU family will be at the Todoroki with an army of S-Pulse who will be filling their end and doing their bit for the cause.

Despite us sitting just above the drop zone, it's (probably) far too early to be worrying that Kenta's position at the helm may be at risk. The J. League is also free (for the most part) of the managerial merry-go-round (© every British tabloid ever) which blights English football, but Marinos, who are just one space below us, sacked their manager and head coach this week. It's also a fact that only one S-Pulse manager has ever made it past three years. That was Steve Perryman who had us up there only missing out on a championship title on penalties. Kenta really needs a win right now. I can't help starting to wonder how long he's going to get to turn things around. Local legend though he is, another couple of dodgy home defeats and an exit from the Nabisco next month could see things get very uncomfortable for him. What we need is a solid away performance to get us back on track and help swell the gate on Sunday for our tie with Albirex.

Well, with a stupidly busy week keeping me from any extended preview, I'm off to my bed. Two days at the office and then it's off for five weeks. With my big bro hitting Japan for a fortnight on Saturday, we'll be off to 'Daira on Sunday and off on a BDO to Omiya next week - bring it!