J2 League

Game 4

Shimizu S-Pulse 2-0 Oita Trinita

Saturday March 16th, 2:00 pm

IAI Nihondaiara Stadium (Shizuoka)

S-PULSE GOALS Yamamoto (26), Yamahara (73)

YELLOW CARDS Inui (33), Hasukawa (45)

RED CARDS

PENALTY KICK

ATTENDANCE 13629

LINE UP

GK Gonda,

DF Yamahara, Hasukawa, Sumiyoshi, Yoshida

MF Carlinhos, Nakamura, Inui, Miyamoto, Braga

FW Kitagawa

SUBSTITUTIONS

Shirasaki on for Braga (72)

Chiba on for Kitagawa (77)

Matsuzaki on for Inui (77)

Kitazume on for Yoshida (88)

Takahashi on for Carlinhos (88)

REPORT

Good reaction and important win, although there is still room for potential.

We did have more possession and more shots at goals and should have come with a bigger win.

This game should be noted for the first time that new recruit Lucas Braga started a game for S-Pulse, and the first game of the season as a substitute for young forward Chiba.

This time S-Pulse players were more prepared to shoot at goal than wasting time with too many passes.

In the very 5th minute Inui attempted a long shot from his own half when he noticed the opposite goal keeper a bit far too away from his goal but the latter was not fooled.

In the 8th minute Yamahara was sent along Oita’s right flank but his shot reminiscent of his first goal of the season from the corner of the box flew past the far post.

In the 13th minute the Oita goal keeper produced the two first of his great saves of the match when he somehow parried two successive headings by Nakamura following an excellent corner kick.

Two minutes later S-Pulse’s somewhat sloppy defense allowed a shot from outside the box but it flew over the bar.

S-Pulse finally took the lead in the 25th minute when Oita’s defense repeatedly failed to properly clear the ball especially against Braga who somehow managed to hook a ball he had just lost dribbling meters from goal to finally reach, after it once again bounced off another Oita defender, Miyamoto lurking inside the box who produced a low shot that beat everyone just inside the far post for his first goal in two years. Braga actually had been tripped during the action but the referee had chosen to let play the advantage.

In the 44th minute Carlinhos combined for a sweet one-two combination with Kitagawa but once again the Oita keeper did well to catch the latter’s shot.

In the 71st minute Oita almost equalized on a corner kick only to see the final heading bounce off Gonda’s chest from point blank.

It proved to be the turning point of a relatively quiet second half.

One minute later Yamahara delivered the coup de grace by running along the right flank from his own half to then swing inside along the box and seeing that the Oita ‘s defenders expected a pass he delivered a sweet low shot to beat the helpless keeper inside the far post for a superb goal that will surely stay in the annals of the season.

In the last minute of overtime play a quick counter saw a three-on-three situation ending with Kitazume’s sending a perfect low cross to Chiba to shoot from short range but once again the Oita keeper produced a superb save to deny the youngster.

The next two weeks will witness a very busy schedule with first an away game to JEF United on Wednesday 20th, followed by a home game on Sunday 24th against Akita, then a Levain Cup second round away game from home against Toyama on Wednesday 27th, and again an away game on Saturday 30th against Yamagata.

This could well define the whole season!

NEXT GAME

J2 League

Game 5

Shimizu S-Pulse vs JEF United

Saturday March 20th, 2:00 pm

Fukuda Denshi Arena (Chiba)