Jubilo Iwata 3-1 S-PULSE
Ecopa Stadium


S-PULSE GOALS Tese 90+4
YELLOW CARDS Tese 40, Iida 90
RED CARDS None
ATTENDANCE 40491


LINE UP

GK Rokutan
DF Kamata, Inukai, Futami, Matsubara
MF Musaka, Notsuda, Edamura, Shirasaki, Kaneko
FW Tese


SUBSTITUTIONS

Murata on for Edamura (53)
Iida on for Kamata (72)
Duke on for Notsuda (80)


REPORT

Ecopa Stadium welcomed over 40000 fans to witness the resumption of one of the J. League’s most historic rivalries, the Shizuoka Derby. The local face off had been put on ice following Iwata’s relegation in 2013, a hiatus extended by S-Pulse’s brief sojourn in J2, but with the resumption of hostilities on Saturday afternoon the football crazy public of Shizuoka prefecture formed lines that looped far away from Ecopa’s gates.

S-Pulse’s travelling army mobilized in impressive numbers, close to matching the home fans in attendance, and long before kick off the stadium was bouncing to their trademark samba beat. On the pitch the hosts were seeking revenge for Shimizu’s 2013 win at Yamaha Stadium, the game which all but decided Jubilo’s relegation, and it took only 6 minutes for the sky blue side to take the lead. Morishita did so by nodding in a lofted free kick, and when the lead was doubled on 37 minutes, it again came from a dead ball sent into the S-Pulse penalty area. This time it was Uzbek midfielder Musaev on hand to poke the loose ball past Rokutan.

Kawabe’s 47^th minute strike largely put the game to bed, and though the afternoon ended in defeat, the most memorable moment of the game was provided by an orange shirt in the 94^th minute. Under pressure in the Iwata penalty area, captain Tese flicked the ball up before slamming it past Kaminski with a spectacular bicycle kick. It was an ending that, while not impacting on the result, gave the away masses something that will live in memory long after the disappointment of this derby day has faded. The return fixture takes place at IAI Stadium Nihondaira in October, and S-Pulse will be chomping at the bit for their chance at revenge.

The next match day brings another away game, with Shimizu heading to Chiba on Saturday, guests of Kashiwa Reysol. Kashiwa currently sit one place above S-Pulse in 13th, with an almost identical record. Only one additional goal scored separates the two. Your orange heroes know a win has the potential to lift them up as high as 7^th in the young league table, so with everything to play for, why not head out on the road to cheer them along?

Forza S-Pulse!


NEXT GAME

Meiji Yasuda J1 League
Match Day 6
Kashiwa Reysol vs S-PULSE
Saturday April 8th, 3pm
Kashiwa Soccer Stadium