J1 League

Game 10

Shimizu S-Pulse 1-1 Kawasaki Frontale

Date: Saturday April 12th, 2:00 pm

IAI Nihondaira Stadium (Shizuoka)

S-PULSE GOALS Kitagawa (62)

YELLOW CARDS Matsuzaki (15), Takahashi 42)

RED CARDS Kitazume (84)

PENALTY KICK Kitagawa (62)

ATTENDANCE 17629

LINE UP

GK Oki

DF Yoshida, Sumiyoshi, Takahashi, Kitazume

MF Yajima, Bueno, Inui, Uno, Matsuzaki

FW Kitagawa

SUBSTITUTIONS

Capixaba on for Yajima (56)

Hasukawa on for Matsuzaki (73)

Shimamoto on for Kitagawa (88)

Nishihara on for Yoshida (88)

Yumiba on for Inui (88)

REPORT

We somehow got out of jail in a match which have gone either way.

We were totally dominated and quite lucky in the first half but produced excellent play in the second half which could have brought an even better result.

The defense was solid enough but with lapses which could have cost dearly. The defense lacked finishing again. All this against one of the best teams in the League which we never performed well against.

The game took time to start and Kawasaki were the first in the 18th minute to grab an opportunity, although truth to be told Shimizu S-Pulse did everything to make it a gift of it when two defenders managed to tangle themselves and give back a ridiculous ball to a Kawasaki forward meters away from goal. The latter instead of shooting at goal passed it on his right to a teammate who managed to miscue completely in front of an empty goal. The ball somehow reached the first forward who also completely miscued again only for the ball to reach a third forward whose crossed shot was somehow blocked by keeper Oki. S-Pulse had given away three golden chances in the space of three seconds!

In the 26th minute Kawasaki had another chance with a middle-range free kick being looped behind Shimizu’s defense only for Kawasaki’s last header going wide.

In the 29th minute a middle-range low shot by another Kawasaki forward only missed the near post by inches.

In the 34th minute a very dangerous incursion brought a Kawasaki forward inside the box but Oki delivered a superb save to parry the ball away.

In the last minute of extra time Shimizu had their first opportunity of the match when a long line out found Inui meters away from goal but his acrobatic shot was somehow parried away for the ball to reach another Shimizu player who could not head the ball back properly for other players in ambush.

In the 56th minute a great move by Shimizu inside Kawasaki box only ended with Uno’s shot missing the far post by a handspan.

In the 60th good pressure brought Kitagawa inside the box but he was felled from behind to obtain a justified penalty kick although the Kawasaki somehow escaped from any further punishment. Kitagawa proceeded to cooly send the Kawasaki the wrong away to score his third penalty goal of the season.

Unfortunately, 8 minutes later Shimizu conceded the softest of goals when just looking at Kawasaki running past their right flank before crossing to a forward who was left all the time to score to the great anger of keeper Oki who had done everything to save his club until then.

And in the 74th minute once again Shimizu’s defense timorously looked at the Kawasaki defense with little care and the final mid-range shot bounced away from our right post.

In the 83rd minute once again our defense gave too much room to a cross that Kawasaki should have scored from if Oki again had not produced two fine saves with a single second.

By then the game got rough and in the 84th minute Kitazume was given a straight red card for bumping a Kawasaki from the side running past him with no one left before goal. The red card was somewhat harsh but we were at the end of a game when it could have gone anywhere.

WE did not get discouraged in spite of the cruel blow and Takahashi in the 90th minute produced a shot that barely flew over the bar.

Shimizu nonetheless put up a barbed wire defense to see the end of the game with a precious draw.

On the positive side this result will give more much needed confidence in the next game on Wednesday against Yokohama F Marinos away from home in a match that had to be scheduled due to Yokohama’s involvement in the Asian Champions Cup. A tough schedule for us with yet another two games in a week but a way to prove we are better than our results have shown so far!

NEXT GAME

J1 League

Game 12 (early schedule)

Shimizu S-Pulse vs Yokohama F marinos

Date: Wednesday April 16th, 7:00 pm

Nissan Stadium (Yokohama)