J2 League

Game 24

Shimizu S-Pulse 2-0 Oita Trinita

Sunday July 14th, 7:00 pm

Resonac Dome Oita (Oita)

S-PULSE GOALS Braga (33), Inui (89)

YELLOW CARDS Kitagawa (36)

RED CARDS

PENALTY KICK

ATTENDANCE unannounced

LINE UP

GK Gonda

DF Yamahara, Takagi, Takahashi, Hara

MF Carlinhos, Nakamura, Inui, Miyamoto, Braga

FW Kitagawa

SUBSTITUTIONS

Shirasaki on for Carlinhos (73)

Yajima on for Braga (73)

Yoshida on for Yamahara (83)

Kitazume on for Kitagawa (83)

Yakub on for Inui (90 +2)

REPORT

Momentous win that lifts us to the top of the League again after our nearest rivals mightily struggled to achieve draws away from home like us who at last ended that series of 4 away losses!

Oita who is already out of the race for promotion and momentarily safely away from the relegation zone had as much as gain or lose as S-Pulse in a game strewn with errors and misses. At the end the difference was achieved not so much thanks to domination in a game equally shared but for more opportunities taken.

In the 17th minute S-Pulse had a very lucky escape when an excellent corner kick escaped our defense but three Oita forwards were unable to pounce in spite of being completely unmarked.

But in the 33rd minute Oita made a mess of a control in midfield and S-Pulse did well to pounce on the ball before Kitagawa passed it to Braga running inside the box right flank before converting the move in a typical manner of his, shooting low across the goal mouth into the far post for another excellent goal from a player who is proving every game he was the bargain of the season!

6 minutes later Oita wasted an excellent move inside Shimizu’s box but the last shot completely missed the goal from close range.

In the 40th minute it was the turn of Oita to narrowly escape when a back pass to the keeper was intercepted by a lurking Kitagawa before the ball reached Inui whose shot was deviated at the last second meters from goal.

We had to wait until the 62nd second for a real scoring chance when Oita did well to pass the ball to the last forward who tried his luck unopposed from the edge of the box but the ball was deviated into safety by the Gonda’s fingernails.

In the 66th minute Inui sent Carlinhos into the box but the latter waited too long to strike the ball and when he finally did, he completely missed only meters away.

In the 70th minute S-Pulse threw away an even easier chance when Braga intercepted the ball inside the Oita’s half before sending Inui with only the keeper to beat but the latter somehow managed to throw a hand at the shot to deflect it into safety.

In the 78th minute Gonda had to punch away a dangerous header from a vicious corner kick.

And then we had to wait until the 89th minute when S-Pulse’s interception reached Inu who passed it to KItazume past Oita’s left flank. The latter’s cross was first repulsed by a desperate defender but Kitazume retrieved the ball to pass it back to Inui who this time did not miss his opportunity to his and all his mates’ relief.

Our new recruit, Yakub a Ghanan just recruited from Portugal came a substitute in the dying minutes and could have arguably gone to score when controlling a long pass past the last defender only to be stopped by the final whistle.

We are going to benefit from a welcome three-week break which allow injured players to come back and new recruits to blend in. We will certainly need that before a treacherous game away against Vegalta Sendai who know us too well!

Before we will enjoy a soccer festival when we welcome Stade de Reims from the French Ligue 1, a club with a long and famed history!

NEXT GAME

International Friendly

Shimizu S-Pulse vs Stade de Reims (French Ligue 1)

Saturday July 27th, 6:30 pm

IAI Nihondaira Stadium (Shizuoka)

J2 League

Game 25

Shimizu S-Pulse vs Oita Vegalta Sendai

Sunday August 3rd, 7:00 pm

Yurtec Stadium Sendai (Sendai)