S-Pulse 2-0 Fujieda MYFC (Emp Cup 2nd Round)

BARRY WRITES...

S-Pulse 2-0 Fujieda MYFC
Omae 72
Radončić 74

Att 5215
Nihondaira Stadium, KO 3pm
Shizuoka city, Shizuoka prefecture

Line Up

GK Takahara

DF Hiraoka
DF Jong-a-Pin
DF Muramatsu

MF Ishige
MF Kawaii
MF Honda
MF Sugiyama

FW Takagi
FW Omae
FW Radončić

Subs Used

Murata on for Sugiyama (58)
Takeuchi on for Radončić (78)
Hattanda on for Takagi (92)

Report

S-Pulse strolled past Shizuoka newcomers Fujieda MYFC yesterday with goals from Genki and Radončić. Giant killings happen of course, but they shouldn't. Yesterday one didn't. Our 3rd round opponents shouldn't pose too much of an obstacle, either. We'll play the winner of Yokohama FC (15th in J2) and Zweigen Kanazawa (4th in JFL) going on to meet Frontale (so long as they beat their own lower division opponents) in the 4th round.

Anyway, getting ahead of ourselves a little here. For now, our 3rd round game is home at Nihondaira on a date the JFL are yet to announce.

Videos

Both goals from a personal uploader.

Oita Trinita 2-3 S-Pulse

BARRY WRITES...

Oita Trinita 2-3 S-Pulse 
Morishima 82, 94 ----------------- Muramatsu 43
------------------------------------------- Omae 44
------------------------------------------- Takagi 63

Att 9108
Oita Bank Stadium, 7pm
Oita City, Oita Prefecture

Line Up

GK Kushibiki

DF Hiraoka
DF Jong-a-Pin
DF Muramatsu

MF Ishige
MF Kawai
MF Sugiyama (36)
MF Honda

FW Takagi
FW Omae
FW Radončić

Subs Used

Takeuchi on for Honda (70)
Murata on for Takagi (81)
Ito on for Radončić (91)

Special Report: UKU Summer Expedition 2013

Friday – Welcome to Hell(s)

Having balanced up all possible methods of clearing the 500 miles between Shizuoka and Oita it was the bullet train which came out tops. Unlike for Sapporo and Fukuoka, Shizuoka Airport doesn’t offer an Oita route, meaning sadly no away game flight this year. What’s probably a novelty for most Honshu teams, must, for fans of your Trinitas or Consadoles, be something of a drag. Based where we are, S-Pulse are within day-return reach of anywhere up to Sendai out east, or Kobe out west. Avispa fans no doubt accumulate a burgeoning collection of air miles over a season, but day trips must be frustratingly infrequent. 

A bridge too far in 24 hours, Oita had been pencilled in as the year’s big away trip from the day the fixtures were announced. Like Sapporo this time last year, if you’re going all that way, you have to make a trip of it. What else is there in the area aside from a football stadium and a game to watch? Well, 15 minutes up the road is Beppu, the hot spring capital of the country. That’ll do.

On the train at 6.30am, the shinkansen made short work of the 400 miles to Kokura, and after a change to the wonderfully named Sonic I was in Beppu before midday. Boasting wooden flooring and lush faux leather reclining seats, the Sonic not only has a cool moniker, it’s a cut above your average locomotive. Beppu means hot springs, but the volcanic activity doesn’t stop there. After a fried chicken (not KFC) and beer lunch, the assembled UKU members joined a tour of Beppu’s 8 “Hell”s. These are a collection of various seismic phenomena, including geysers, bubbling mud pools and bright red water hovering just under boiling point. 

 The Sonic. Classy

Two of Beppu's 8 Hells

Beppu is a resort town, so despite its small size has a high number of places to drink, some family friendly, others decidedly sketchy (“Show Pub Universal Babes”). I was voted down on Universal Babes, so instead we found a purveyor of some regional delicacies, ordered a stack of Asahis, and got ourselves in the mood with a Sky Perfect On Demand replay of Wednesday’s 4-3 excitement. Spirits were high, the beer was flowing, but determined not to fall into the old trap of peaking too soon, we called it a night early, preserving energy for the main event.

Saturday – Sandbaths, Sake and Soccer

Thankful for the evening kick off, we took Saturday as a chance to savour more of Beppu's famed spa attractions. Have you ever had a bath? Probably. Have you ever had one in sand? Piping hot and heated by water bubbling up from deep underground? Well, I hadn’t, but I’m glad I did. You lay flat on you back, staring up at the wooden beams as a member of staff buries you up to your neck. It’s heavy.  It’s hot. And you sweat. A lot. Ten minutes you spend encased, quite enough for this camper. I would definitely do it again, but evidently this isn’t something you can find in very many places. That means if you’re in the area and aren't claustrophobic, don’t miss out! 

 Where I was buried alive. Takegawara onsen

After ticking Beppu Tower off the to-do list, it was a fifteen minute train ride to Oita for the main event: Oita Trinita vs S-Pulse. Not a highlight of the day’s J1 program for anyone except us and the home team, but without your bread and butter you’re just left with desert, and you’d soon get sick of Death by Chocolate every meal. Trinita, bottom of J1 with just one win all season, play at the Oita Bank Dome 30 minutes of out of town. The bus ride had me realise how first time away fans to Shimizu must feel. Having alighted at Shizuoka and jumped on the shuttle bus, the arduous 45 minute ride up to Nihondaira must have them wondering if they’re ever going to see a game of football. 

Oita Dome may be in the middle of nowhere, but it’s a beauty. Opened in 2001, it has a retractable roof which slides over a supporting structure. Even when the roof is open it looks like a dome, and while it does have a running track, the far goal doesn’t feel as distant as at the Nissan or Ajinomoto. Cut into the ground, you enter at the top of the first tier, with the pitch below you. 

Spacious, modern and comfortable, this probably ranks at the top of my list for J. Stadia with athletics tracks. Only the access and lack of home fans counted against it. When things were going well, Oita regularly attracted over 20000. Only 9000 were there on Saturday, and 6% of those were in orange.  When the good times return, I hope so will the fans. 

 A beautiful stadium

 This ground would rock if ever full up

The Game

The match itself was in the first half something of a scrappy affair. We were unable to find our rhythm, and Oita, while most likely down, are not yet out. Former S-Pulse assistant manager Tasaka has them fighting for everything, and while it saw them sneak up from J2 last season via the play offs, they’ve repeatedly come unstuck against better opposition. Their undoing on Saturday was in two late 1^st half minutes. Firstly Muramatsu started and finished a lightening counter move, and seconds later Genki Omae scored a classy goal to mark his first since returning to Shimizu.

Takagi continued his fine form and added to his midweek hat trick, and at that point it seemed we were going to run riot. We went close, almost extended out lead more than once, but Oita were the ones to net next, with 8 minutes to go. Another was added in the 94^th minute which had the nerves jangling, especially when the last action of the game was an Oita free kick on the edge of the box. It came to nought, and we all heaved a huge sigh of relief. We should have had the game put to bed long before nerves came into play, but we held on for a second win in four days, not forgetting we've found the net seven times since Wednesday.

 Job done!

The wind in our sails, and bellies full of Dango Jiru, we headed back to the town centre, to drink and eat until they kicked us out. Which was 12am. Tokyo Oita most certainly ain’t. Honourable mention once more to Sky Perfect On Demand whose replay of the match provided the background to our revelry.

Sunday – Monkey Business

What else is there to do in the area then apart from hot springs, sand baths and football? Well, there’s monkeys. Hundreds of them running wild. On Sunday a short jaunt along the coast took me to Takasaki Mountain and national park, long famed for its simian inhabitants. These little primates are common all over Japan’s countless mountains, but here they are fed regularly to keep them from bothering the local farmers. As such they stay in the area and visitors are provided a rare chance to walk freely amongst hundreds of wild monkeys.

Don't be fooled by the fence. They were running around everywhere

An aquarium next door, Oita Umitamago (literally Sea Egg), provided the end to the day. It’s right over the road and from that vantage point you got an idea of just how mountainous this little corner of the country is. Clouds covered the mountain ranges surrounding the bay and provide a spectacular backdrop to what is a pretty cool aquarium. That all done, a quiet one in front of the TV with Liverpool vs Manchester United was decided for me. Plans to watch in a local bar were scuppered upon discovering both sports bars I'd found in Oita city centre were closed on Sundays. Again, Tokyo it most certainly isn’t. 

Monday – Can I leave Yet?

Monday began with me wondering why on Earth I was still in Oita. Scouring tourist guides for any more must-see spots drew a blank, so I killed time visiting Funai Castle (stay outside, for goodness sake), and dropping by Trinita’s long-forgotten original home, the now-called Oita River Stadium. My stadium geekery perhaps wouldn’t normally extend to stadia not used for pro football in a decade, but I guess that’s a reflection on the number of other attractions in the area. 

 Funai Castle. I went inside, so you don't have to

You hear of travellers visiting places only to fall in love and never leave. I doubt this has ever happened in Oita. On my way home, I was talking to a friend from Fukuoka: “Oita has nothing interesting” she says. Now you tell me. Well, it does have some cool stuff, and I saw it. But you need two days, maximum. If it wasn’t for the football, I’d have done it in less than two. But to be fair, if it wasn’t for the football I’d never have gone there in the first place.

That it hardly stopped raining once in three days didn’t help, but Oita definitely loses out to big brother Fukuoka in terms of points of interest / things to do / night life / reasons to visit. So it was with a sense of mild relief that the time to came to board my train home. With the obligatory bagfuls of souvenirs in tow, I stumbled off the bullet train back in Shizuoka a couple of hours ago. 


Another away ground checked off, three points in the bag, and a cracking weekend away with friends. I hope also I'm now a little wiser about planning away trips. Research tourist attractions before booking three nights in a hotel. Next away day? Yokohama. Now I know there’s some cool stuff up there. :)

That's now 21 grounds for the flag. Retirement coming soon?

Videos

Highlights.

Shimizu S-Pulse 4-3 Kashima Antlers

BARRY WRITES...

Shimizu S-Pulse 4-3 Kashima Antlers
Radončić 31---------------------------------------- Osako 1, 68
Takagi 45, 49, 88 --------------------------------- Yamamura 6

Att 9238
KO 7pm, IAI Stadium Nihondaira
Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture

Line Up

GK Kushibiki

DF Yoshida
DF Hiraoka
DF Jong-a-Pin (66)
DF Kawai

MF Muramatsu
MF Sugiyama
MF Honda (83)
MF Ishige

FW Omae
FW Radončić

Subs Used

Takagi on for Kawai (35)
Ito on for Radončić (69)
Murata on for Omae (87)

Report

First things first. There was no update for Cerezo away or Urawa at home (well, Ecopa) because I was away for two weeks. Fortunately I returned in time for today's game with Kashima, which would transpire to become an S-Pulse evening to top most others. Accordingly, I'm going to try and complete a report while it's still fresh in the memory and before I give in to some pressing jet lag issues. 

 

The full time scoreboard doesn't even begin to tell the story

Where to start? Well how about kick off, where after three passes and a shot Kashima had taken the lead. 10 seconds that had taken. Not the fastest ever J1 goal, but definitely top three. OK, time to regroup. Shit happens, and we still have 89 minutes to go. Five minutes later it was 2-0 from a corner. Right, then. From behind me jeers rang out, but to be fair, the vast majority of fans just started singing that bit louder. Credit to J. League fans. We may all be tempted to give the team hell after a disastrous start to a game, but clearly that's when they need the 12th man the most. Japanese fans really do support in the truest sense of the word.

Not only were we 2-0 down, but Iwata were 2-0 up. Away. Looking like, maybe not yet striding out of the relegation zone, but making the first steps towards safety. The night was young, but so far couldn't have been worse. But two down less than ten minutes in, we responded well. Great, in fact. Radončić hit the post with a cracking free kick, and we created goal scoring chances besides that. You know what, though? I've been watching football too long and my optimism has been worn down. I was already feeling like it was too little, too late. Kashima are the last team to surrender a commanding lead.

What do I know, eh? Roll on the half hour mark and an S-Pulse free kick poorly cleared was chipped back into the mix for Radončić to effortlessly control and smash home. 2-1. Sensing the swing in momentum, in what transpired to be a master stroke, Ghotbi threw Takagi on for Yoshida, moving Kawai to left back. As you know, Takagi had been struggling early on in the season, but in the last few games has been showing signs of a return to form. With his old mate Genki back in the team, you can almost see the rise in Toshiyuki's spirits. To add a further burst of wind under those wings, just prior to the break a long ball flicked on by Radončić had Toshi chasing Sogahata for the ball. At this point I was already hovering at the top of the staircase to beat the bathroom rush, but time slowed down as the two ran hard, Toshi beat the keeper to it, and nodded the ball home. Nihondaira exploded, and not for the last time.

With impeccable just-before-haltime timing, a change in impetus saw the second half begin all S-Pulse. It felt only a matter of time before we broke through to complete the comeback. This sentiment was underlined when, after fantastic work from Toshiyuki to capitalise on Kashima's defensive indecisiveness, a shot was turned onto the post by an Antlers defender. A lucky escape? Yes. A short reprieve ? Yes. Moments later a pinpoint ball from Jong-a-Pin was collected by Radončić, taken down and laid it off to an advancing Takagi. With his trademark coolness Toshi stroked it home and the celebrations at 2-2 paled into insignificance as the roof, had he had one, got lifted clean off.

3-2. Given the way we were looking after 6 minutes, a monumental turnaround. A 4th goal to kill it off was required, but instead of that, a Kashima corner floated long beyond the far post was sent back goalwards only to meet Jong-a-Pin's arm. Was it intentional? Unlikely. Did the referee give a penalty? Of course. Few refs wants to explain the intricacies of the handball rule to a packed stadium, and most just give the spot kicks.

In a sleep deprived, mildly hallucinogenic, state I had begun to believe that tonight was had been set up just for me. It was a fairytale comeback arranged for my personal enjoyment, and as such this penalty was destined for Row Z. Nope. Kushibiki was clinically sent the wrong way by Osako, and we were at 3-3. 20 minutes remained, and the momentum had shifted again. Or had it? Just minutes later Sho Ito met a cross on the edge of the six yard box but, thanks to the slightest of deflections by the defender, couldn't keep it down. High over the bar it sailed. What a chance! S-Pulse were the most likely, but time was running out and any little mistake had us all aching with the sense of missed opportunity.

But you know what? I was right. Tonight was a fairytale, conceived just for me. Well, I like to think so, anyway. I may be dreaming for all I know. I haven't had any decent sleep since Monday, eight time zones away. On 88 minutes, Takuya Honda, former S-Pulse favourite and until recently Kashima nearly-man, shoved his marker, and the visiting fan's booing, aside. Moving hard through the centre circle, he threaded it through to the recently introduced Murata.

Murata sped down the right wing, and sold the dummy to end all dummies to his marker. His man on the floor, there were still three white shirts separating the ball from his intended target, but with a level of accuracy you expect from deep inside a Seiko wristwatch, Kazuya chipped it in towards Toshi. The ball arced majestically over the defenders, dropping on a sixpence to our man. You think after netting two he's going to let this one slip? Not a bloody chance. Takagi put it home not only with efficiency, but with style.

If you thought the celebrations at 3-2 were something... Well. :) Bedlam ensued. The stand behind the goal dissolved into one heaving mass of orange. Total strangers bear hugged each other. Tears flowed (I get emotional when overtired ;) ), and as news filtered through that Iwata were now 4-2 down, the despair of 80 minutes previous gave way to delirium. Stoppage time extended unbearably into a sixth minute, but when the ref finally blew up, it marked the conclusion of a truly memorable comeback.

 Once I'd calmed down a bit

At two behind, looking down and out, you sometimes just pray for a quick conclusion. A kind of football euthanasia. Perhaps a draw if you're lucky. But ask any of our lads that tonight and they'd have been having none of it. Given what we had to deal with, we were brilliant on the day. You may counter that Kashima let it slip, but I say no. They did have chances, even hit the woodwork, but so did we. The difference was we ultimately converted ours, with an extra edge to make it count. All earned and worked for. A fantastic game of football, straight into my S-Pulse top three. A night up Nihondaira I'll never forget. 

Videos

Snatched off the TV.



Better quality, but short, and for some reason not including all the goals.

Genki's Coming Home!

BARRY WRITES...

Omae Genki! (Wow wow!)



Genki Omae has rejoined S-Pulse on a loan deal until the end of May next year. The news has been met with joy by fans. He was always massively popular at Nihondaira, and his reception at the Sendai game demonstrated that sentiment hadn't faded since leaving for Germany.

He's still only 23 so has many years ahead of him to try his hand abroad again, but for now I'm made up to see him back in orange. No doubt Takagi will also be beaming this evening. The two had a fantastic partnership last year and are also good friends.

Welcome back, Genki! Great to have you home. 

S-Pulse 3-1 Shonan Bellmare

BARRY WRITES...  

S-Pulse 3-1 Shonan Bellmare
Radončić 8, 36 ----------- Kikuchi 82
Murata 85

Att 15395
Saturday August 10th, Kick off 6pm
Nihondaira Stadium, Shizuoka City

Line Up

GK Kushibiki

DF Yoshida (29)
DF Jong-a-Pin
DF Hiraoka
DF Lee Ki-Je

MF Muramatsu
MF Honda
MF Takeuchi (65)
MF Kawai

FW Radončić (37)
FW Takagi

Subs Used

Ito on for Radončić (60)
Murata on for Kawai (79)
Musaka on for Takeuchi (90)

Report

I had a feeling we had some goals coming our way, and there you go. Three at home against Shonan Bellmare. Biggest news was of course the Caron Baron Radončić getting two on his home début to add to last week’s strike at Niigata. Three goals already from the big man, one more and he’s equalled Bare’s league haul for the first half of the season. I’m not having a go at Bare, but goals are a forward’s currency, and what they ultimately get judged on.

So far (he’s only been with us barely a fortnight, remember) Radončić has slotted in to the team seamlessly. Both goals were from wide crosses, and that’s where his size and positioning really come into play. The first goal, after 8 minutes, saw him get on the end of a fantastic Takagi cross (more on him later) and while Santana in the Shonan goal made a complete pig’s ear of it, the move was a good one.

The Montenegrin’s second saw him rise to beat two defenders and power home an unstoppable header. I say unstoppable because it was within the keeper’s reach, but just had too much on it. The cross came from Lee, back from suspension. 

2-0 at half time, Shonan came out in the second half giving it everything. Kushibiki played a blinder those opening stages with a string of stops maintaining our two goal cushion. The way Shonan were playing a goal at that stage would have made it a very different game, but as the half wore on we had more an appearance of biding our time than being purely on the back foot.

The heat and humidity in Japan right now has reached the point that you break into a sweat just picking up a beer. I have every respect for those 22 men working so hard in such conditions. It inevitably takes a toll though, and Shonan faded as the second half wore on. Toshiyuki, possibly buoyed by news of Genki’s (now confirmed) return to Shimizu, was looking a lot more like his own self. I love seeing him running at defenders and on one that occasion that he did just that, the visitors couldn’t deal with him at all. His shot glanced the outside of the post, but he’s getting back in the zone, and the goals will come.

With 16 minutes to go Shonan brought on defender Iwagami and with 14 minutes to go the referee sent him off. Kawai had got behind the defence line and was chasing down the ball when he got bundled over by the number 15 for a straight red card. Two nil and a man up, we maybe relaxed a little bit too much as Bellmare hit us with a sucker punch shortly after to pull a goal back.

Nerves (mainly mine) may have jangled for a few minutes, but on the pitch we responded brilliantly. Ito had a header turned onto the post and soon thereafter substitute Murata picked up the ball from Takagi, (who had cut inside beating his marker) he took a step or two and stroked it home to put the game beyond reach. I have a lot of time for Murata. He causes the opposition all kinds of problems out wide and creates opportunities.

We remain in 13^th, but the gap between us and 14^th shows a clear split in the table. A couple of results over the next few weeks and we could jump up to the top ten. Keep the faith! I’m not going to be at Cerezo (away) or Urawa (home), instead being at a Brighton game or two, but I promise to keep the site, and my Twitter, updated, so don't go anywhere! 

S-PULSE!

Videos

Highlights.



Our goals in super slow motion. No sound.

Fujieda MYFC / Shimizu Impulse? / Signings / Summer Games

BARRY WRITES...  

Good evening all from a muggy, sticky Shizuoka city. What with Twitter having taken over as my medium of choice for breaking S-Pulse news, this site tends to miss out a bit. So I think it's time for a digest. There's been a few things I've been involved in of late, so here they are in no particular order.

Fujieda MYFC

After my summer visits out to the Citizen Ground, I penned an article on Fujieda MYFC and the issues they may face making their way in the football dense Shizuoka prefecture. It was published on the fantastic In Bed With Maradona, and you can find it here.

Shimizu Impulse?

Another up and coming football site which focuses everywhere but the obvious places in The Inside Left. They had been in touch so it was my pleasure to produce a slightly hefty 2000 words on how this S-Pulse love affair began and the subsequent birth of the UK Ultras. Please check it out. You can find this one here.

Bare Out / Radončić In / Genki?

Old news now of course, but Bare left for China shortly after the Reysol game. Fair play to S-Pulse as we wasted no time in recruiting a replacement. Montenegrin Dženan Radončić started last weekend against Niigata and scored on his début.

In other news, Genki Omae, who left for Germany at the end of the season, was rumoured to be moving back home. Nothing further has been reported, but it certainly whipped up some excitement around the orange corners of the internet.

Summer Games

As a result of travel and other commitments, coverage of the Cerezo Osaka away (Aug 17th) and Urawa Red Diamonds home (Aug 24th) will be minimal, but to make up for it Oita away (Aug 31st) will be not just a match report but a bumper travelogue feature. I'm heading to Kyushu for three days to make the most of it and all being well will arrive back with a full article early the following week.

I Think That's Everything

I think that's everything. Well, we're due a big win and I reckon Shonan are going to be on the end of a spanking this Saturday. Don't stop believing!

Albirex Niigata 3-1 Shimizu S-Pulse

BARRY WRITES...  

Albirex Niigata 3-1 Shimizu S-Pulse
Kawamata 18 (pen), 70 ------------------- Radončić 75
Okamoto 91 

Att 22650
KO 7pm, Niigata Stadium
Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture

Line Up

GK Kushibiki

DF Yoshida
DF Hiraoka
DF Jong-a-Pin
DF Ishige

MF Sugiyama (16)
MF Honda
MF Muramatsu

FW Ito
FW Kawai
FW Radončić

Subs Used 

Takeuchi on for Yoshida (63)
Musaka on for Ito (63)
Takagi on for Honda (81)

Report

Afraid I didn't see any of this one. Real life getting in the way again. Disappointing result through.  I note that Niigata managed to pick up six yellow card, including two for defender Kim Jin-Su. Must have been a rough game, and I'm glad we didn't pick up any injuries.

Fantastic to see new signing Radončić get off the mark in his début, and seems like he could have had more. Today's strike may have come off a Niigata mistake, but it does move him 25% the way towards matching Bare's haul. Yep, Bare only scored four league goals in the first half of the season. Looking forward to seeing the Caron Baron's* contribution the remaining 15 games. 

Next game is home to relegation threatened Shonan Bellmare on Saturday. Three points a must!

* A caron is the name of the mark over the first C in Radončić's name.

Videos

Highlights. Sugiyama's challenge for the penalty was right on the line, which I always though would mean a freekick, but I'm clutching at straws, aren't I? Bad timing and he was lucky not to see red.