S-Pulse 1-0 Urawa Red Diamonds

Barry writes:

S-Pulse 1-0 Urawa Red Diamonds
Omae 63

Att. 21524

Line Up

GK K. Yamamoto

DF Tsujio
DF Iwashita
DF Bosnar (yellow 15)
DF Ota

MF Jong-a-Pin (yellow 38)
MF Ono
MF Brosque

FW Omae
FW Takagi
FW Nabeta

Subs Used

Edamura on for Takagi (55)
Hiraoka on for Bosnar (65)
Nagai on for Ljungberg (76)

Report

Blistering heat, horrible jetlag, but at least we won and made it 4-0 against Saitama's two teams this year. I woke up less than three hours before kick off meaning a mad dash to make it out to Ecopa in time. For a home game, Ecopa's a mission, but it does make a change and means for the big games noone is left without a ticket. All told, less than 22000 is a disappointing gate, but at the end of the day we had 2000 more than could have fit in Nihondaira.

Anyway, we won. On the first half we deserved it. Urawa twice broke through one on one but lacked the quality to make them count. But for our part, Nabeta nearly opened the scoring, Genki would have done had he directed his shot better, and Jong a Pin crashed one shot against the bar, and another was only denied only by an excellent save by Kato.

The second half was much more evenly balanced, but Urawa lack teeth. Escudero kept falling over (diving) and otherwise making a mess of things. He either had a bad game or he's just crap. As time wore on, and especially after we took the lead, Urawa looked more and more desperate and rarely troubled Kaito for all their possession.

Tsujio's excellent trickery down the right wing and dart into the box was enough to give the breakthrough just past the hour. Genki was there to take it down and poke it home in one movement. Freddie had a good game. His vision is excellent and the only problem was his surrounding players not always anticipating him. We've seen this happen with Ono though, so give it time while everyone gets up to speed with the Swede's lightening decision making.

Next week we play Kawasaki who have just won their first game after nine defeats. Fingers crossed it's a mere blip in their otherwise disastrous season. :)

ADDITIONAL: It's worth mentioning this was a game without our captain or top scorer. That's all.

Pictures

The long road to Ecopa
They said it was for "children only" :(
Ole!

New look S-Pulse

You should be in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back, or neck problems, motion sickness, or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure. Expectant mothers should not ride.

Youngberry had a decent game

Videos

Highlights.

S-Pulse 2-1 Albirex Niigata (Nab Cup 2nd Rnd 1st Leg)

Barry writes:

S-Pulse 2-1 Albirex Niigata
Omae 16 ------------------ Honma 6
Brosque 74

Att. 6939

Line Up

GK K. Yamamoto

DF Muramatsu
DF Hiraoka
DF Bosnar
DF Ota (yellow 87)

MF Jong-a-Pin
MF M. Yamamoto
MF Brosque (yellow 87)

FW Omae
FW Takagi
FW Nabeta

Subs Used

Tsujio on for Muramatsu (46)
Ljungberg on for M. Yamamoto (62)
Sugiyama on for Nabeta (82)

Report

None - I was in in England.

Videos

Highlights from the Albirex channel.

iwata 2-1 Shimizu S-Pulse

Barry writes:

iwata 2-1 S-Pulse
Komano 45 -------- Omae 63
Maeda 62

Att. 30516

Line Up

GK K. Yamamoto

DF Tsujio
DF Hiraoka
DF Bosnar
DF Ota

MF Jong-a-Pin
MF Muramatsu
MF Ono

FW Nagai
FW Takagi
FW Omae

Subs Used

Brosque on for Nagai (46)
Ljungberg on for Ono (65)
Sugiyama on for Tsujio (74)

Report

Sorry, you're on your own. I'm 6000 miles away from Ecopa so have no idea how we did (apart from the obvious). I know Nagai got subbed at half time which cannot be good for any hopes of a future with us. It just hasn't happened for him. Ljungberg came on for Ono just after our goal, but like I said, I didn't see it so am waiting to hear from friends on how he did.

Onwards and upwards. Back to Ecopa next weekend for Urawa.

S-Pulse Plus Ljungberg Equals?

Barry writes:

It was halfway through the snoozefest of S-Pulse v Marinos when I checked my phone to see a tweet asking me what I thought of Ljungberg joining S-Pulse. I was completely baffled and just went back to the job of shouting on my team. When the ref mercifully blew the full time whistle, a mate who cheers from a different section came over looking cautiously excited and repeated the news. I had to sit down and have him tell me again very slowly.

It made for an interesting drive home as more and more news filtered through. A picture of the man himself at the stadium, that it was in fact a done deal just waiting on a visa. So this is the ex Arsenal legend now playing for my very own S-Pulse. How nice. :)

34? Yeah, that's about right for a top class European player to play out his last couple of years abroad. Noone is naive enough to think we're getting a player at the top of his game, but it's far from too old and many top players in Japan are around that age. It may well be his swansong career step, but we won't be expecting anything less than 100% from the super Swede. He's a natural talent and can definitley still succeed, but it must be part of the wider team.

A lot has changed since the early 90's when world stars graced the fledgeling J. League with their presence. It's a much more serious business these days, and the addition of Freddie has to be part of the wider plan, not just a ploy to flog a load of shirts and season tickets.

That said, the impact he may have on ticket sales is huge, and that is never a bad thing. It will also raise our profile abroad which is a vast untapped market. His experience and knowledge will be a huge benefit for our youngsters like Takagi and Genki and the potential for a partnership with Ono is mouth watering.

He's not a player with a long history of injuries, but scanning his club record after Arsenal gives us reason to be slightly wary. He's not been at any team for long, and I've no idea what happened up at Celtic, but can we be certain he's going to be here until the end of next season as promised? If we can, then next year may be an extremely exciting one.

For the remainder of this term, let's see him settle in, work hard and build up an understanding with the rest of the team. If this is going to work then that's the absolutely crucial thing - he has to be a cog in the bigger machine, not just the big name foreign star running around on his own.

Welcome though, Freddie - I'm 100% behind you, Ghotbi and the boys, and believe it's going to work. Ole!

Freddie Ljungberg Signs (Seriously)

Barry writes:

After Krueger and Mercury, and ahead of Prinze Jr, the world's third most famous Freddie has signed until the end of next season. The ex Arsenal great is quoted as hoping to make his début in a fortnight - in time for the derby.

In town to sign the contract

Exciting? Just a bit. It's been a good few years since any Japanese team has got hold of a major name, and he's certainly our highest profile signing since Massoro. He's got the remainder of this season to show he's still serious about his football and then next year to fire us to GLORY.

He's a mere pup at 34, which gives him a year or two to terrorise the J. League defences. Can't wait to see how he gels with Ono - it wouldn't be the first time. :)



Yeah, I think he'll do. :) Any chance he'll grow his hair back for a bright orange mohican as per his trademark red one while at Arsenal? We can only hope. :D

S-Pulse 0-0 Yokohama FM

Barry writes:

S-Pulse 0-0 Yokohama FM

Att. 17162

Line Up

GK K. Yamamoto

DF Tsujio (yellow 25)
DF Iwashita (yellow 47)
DF Bosnar
DF Ota

MF Jong-a-Pin
MF Ono
MF Edamura

FW Omae
FW Brosque
FW Takagi

Subs Used

Nagai on for Omae (76)
Hiraoka on for Bosnar (81)
M. Yamamoto on for Tsujio (88)

Report

A game so instantly forgettable it's already retreating rapidly into the dark recesses of my mind, never to return.

Before it's gone for good, it's worth noting that most of our twelve shots were long range efforts and never really looked like breaking the deadlock. Marinos had the more clear cut chances but blew them.

I'm in danger of falling asleep typing this up, so I'm going to leave it. Some matches are just not very good.

Videos

Here you go.

Montedio Yamagata 1-1 S-Pulse

Barry writes:

Montedio Yamagata 1-1 S-Pulse
Yamazaki 80 ---------------------------------------------- Iwashita 55

Att. 6942

Line Up

GK K. Yamamoto (yellow 72)

DF Muramatsu (yellow 46, red 89)
DF Iwashita
DF Bosnar
DF Ota
DF Jong-a-Pin

MF Ono
MF Edamura

FW M. Yamamoto (yellow 66)
FW Takahara
FW Brosque

Subs Used

Omae on for Takahara (20)
Hiraoka on for Jong a Pin (71)
Nagai on for M. Yamamoto (82)

Report

In the end, we were lucky to get the draw, but this was a game we should have had wrapped up by half time. Despite the early blow of losing Takahara, to say we dominated the first half would be an understatement. Yamagata looked bereft of any options besides attempted counters and long balls and we were leisurely - too leisurely - knocking the ball all over the pitch while gently crafting out chances.

But apart from Brosque hitting the bar, having run onto a perfect through ball by Jong a Pin, did we really force their keeper into too many saves? But it felt like we were there for a practice game and that the goals were just a matter of stepping up the pace. But then came half time and in 15 minutes we forgot how to play. Well, that and Yamagata remembered they were taking part in a game of football and starting behaving accordingly.

Montedio came out stronger, but we took the lead from an Omae free kick swung over to the far post. Lucky for us, the Yamagata keeper fell over just as it was reaching Iwashita, and he headed home unimpeded. But then at one up it all went a bit wrong. We sat back, inviting a desperate Yamagata side onto us, and they really did need no invitation. They were allowed to play, and from then it was just a matter of time.

It took a spectacular goal line clearance from goal scorer Iwashita to keep us in the lead, but the home team finally equalised in the 80th minutes after a ball hiked forward was met by the head of Yamazaki on the edge of the area. He directed it past Yamamoto who was caught off his line. It went from bad to worse when Muramatsu left out a leg in the area and the blue and white attacker threw himself, up, over and then down to gain a 90th minute penalty.

The penalty was low and into the bottom left corner, but Kaito went the right way and at full stretch palmed it over one handed. It really was a stunning stop and a save that would have shattered my right wrist (God forbid) into a thousand pieces. It got us out of jail, but seriously. we should have had this game won long before Montedio (who if they stay up I'll be very surprised) were allowed a sniff.

Frustrating.

BUT! Jong a Pin was all over the place, winning balls, taking it forward and creating chances. It'll take time until all the cogs are moving in sync but he looks like a class act. Something I'm keen to remind myself is that this is a transitional year (some people were predicting a struggle to stay up, remember) but as long as we are learning and growing (and I believe we are), we have a lot to look forward to. The way we played in the first 45 is a glimpse of what we can do and how we can play.

Videos

Highlights.



A long personal video of Kaito's penalty save.