J2 League

Game 36

Shimizu S-Pulse 1-0 Tochigi FC

Sunday October 207th, 2:00 pm

Kanseki Stadium (Utsunomiya)

S-PULSE GOALS Sumiyoshi (50)

YELLOW CARDS Yoshida (56), Braga (62), Oki (73)

RED CARDS Kitagawa (82)

PENALTY KICK

ATTENDANCE 16476

LINE UP

GK Oki

DF Hasukawa, Sumiyoshi, Hara

MF Yoshida, Inui, Nakamura, Uno, Braga, Kitazume

FW Carlinhos

SUBSTITUTIONS

Nishizawa on for Yoshida (65)

Yajima on for Braga (65)

Kitagawa on for Inui (70)

Tanke on for Carlinhos (70)

Miyamoto on for Uno (90 +6)

REPORT

At last!

We gained the automatic promotion to the J1 League next year!

Congratulations to the players who really had to fight as a team showing its depth to compensate a spate of late injuries forcing an unusual formation and strategy!

For all our domination in possession it was a hard-fought game with many fouls and cards and very few real chances pitting us against a team with its last chance to escape relegation from a J2 League that is proving more and more competitive every year. Even the J3 League has reached a level that makes all divisions difficult and unpredictable. Accordingly, the sooner we got promoted the better!

WE certainly needed some luck right from the beginning when in the 4th minute we did not clear a corner kick properly allowing a Tochigi back to send a bullet into goal. But fortunately for our loudly protesting defenders at least three Tochigi were loitering off side in front of Oki who kept goal for the first in two years following Gonda’s injury in midweek training.

In the 9th minute our defense was intercepted by Tochigi’s high pressure but the last shot flew wide past the far post.

In the 10th minute the ball somehow reached Carlinhos who sent a sweet pass to Kitazume into the box but the latter’s shot flew directly into the Tochigis’s keeper.

In the 29th minute Oki did well to catch a long-range shot allowed by a slow defense.

It was the turn for Tochigi in extra time to somehow fend off a very dangerous attack relayed by half a dozen S-Pulse players who should have taken their chance at shooting earlier.

We finally broke the deadlock in the 50th minute when Uno sent a very dangerous corner kick that was slightly deflected on its way to an unmarked Sumiyoshi who right-kicked a low shot that gave no chance to the opposite keeper.

From then on S-Pulse chose to defense to defend with teeth and nails even at the cost of three yellow cards.

That did not prevent them to pounce on any little chance that was offered and in the 74th minute good defense resulted in a beautiful attack led by by Yajima’s sweet pass to Tanque whose final effort could have gone anywhere.

In the 76th minute substitute Kitagawa came to close to score with a middle-range volley following a poor clearance.

Accordingly, this missed chance forced the Tochigi defenders into steeling their defense and in the 82nd minute Kitagawa was the target of a vicious tackle. Unfortunately, the S-Pulse captain could not control his temper and retaliated with the result of a straight red card while the guilty Tochigi defender came out scot-free of any sanction with S-Pulse having to spend double time left to defend due to the ensuing long extra time.

Two minutes in extra time a terrible blunder by keeper Oki colliding into hero of the day Sumiyoshi on a long ball should have ended into a late equalizer but it was blocked out of nowhere by a desperate Hara.

Last year’s last minute bad luck kept us out of promotion, this year’s good luck promoted us!

Now that the job is done, time to enjoy the end of the season with two games at home in front of our long-suffering fans!

Two wins will give us the Championship, a rare silverware to end the season in beauty!

NEXT GAME

J2 League

Game 37

Shimizu S-Pulse vs Iwaki FC

Sunday November 3rd, 2:00 pm

IAI Nihondaira Stadium (Shizuoka)