Yamagata 0-3 S-Pulse

Barry writes:

Yamagata 0-3 S-Pulse
---------------------------------------Edamura 32
---------------------------------------Fujimoto 61
---------------------------------------M. Yamamoto 78

Att. 12543

Line Up

GK Nishibe

DF Ichikawa
DF Iwashita
DF Hiraoka (yellow 66, red 66)
DF Ota

MF Hyodo
MF Honda
MF Ono

FW Edamura
FW Johnsen
FW Fujimoto

Subs Used

Hiroi (yellow 71) on for Ono (68)
M. Yamamoto on for Fujimoto (76)
Hara on for Edamura (79)

Report

Hardly vintage S-Pulse, but a win is a win, and after last week, it'll do. It'll have to. The league title is a virtual impossibility, and the remaining two spots worth having are also other team's to lose, but all we can do is win. FC Tokyo at home next week who haven't won away in the league since July.

Jungo - who is attracting offers from Nagoya and F. Marinos

I thought we looked poor for the first twenty minutes, and I had a sinking feeling that we were going to struggle. But fair play to the boys, they turned it around and took the three points, even after Hiraoka was harshly send off. His second yellow was fair, but the first 30 seconds earlier was not a yellow. Speaking of cards, Iwashita was very lucky not to go in the book when he tumbled over with Yamagata's number 10, Tashiro. As the pair went down, Iwashita seemed to drive his foot up into his opponent's ribcage. Tashiro was, as you'd imagine, raging after, as neither the linesman or ref spotted it.

Job done. Win our next, and if things go our way, we may be back in with a shot at an ACL spot. But we'll see.

Videos

Yet to find decent highlights, but here's a personal video from behind the home goal. Our first and third are captured.

Kobe v S-Pulse (Nabisco Cup Preview)

Barry writes:

Place of our first win of the season back in March, it's back to Kobe we head with the goal of securing our spot in the second round of the League Cup. If we can win, and other results go our way, we'll be through.

Okazaki is away with the national team, Nagai and M. Yamamoto are injured, but apart from that it'll probably be much the same team who beat Chiba midweek.

As for those two injuries, Nagai is out for a month, and Masaki is out for six weeks. Neither should impact too much on our starting eleven over the next few games. Nagai is still yet to score, and Masaki has been played ahead of the likes of Edamura, Teru, Paulo, Jungo etc etc, so any one of them can more than ably step in.

OK, time to head of out, as it's a certain contributor's wedding party tonight! Congratulations Fuz and new husband Hiro! All the best for a lifetime of happiness and fun, every other Saturday of which will be spent down Nihondaira. :)