J1 League

J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE WESTERN GROUP

Game 3

Shimizu S-Pulse 1-0 Vissel Kobe

Date: Saturday February 21st, 2:30 pm

IAI Nihondaira Stadium (Shizuoka)

S-PULSE GOALS Oh (55)

YELLOW CARDS Hidaka (25), Yoshika (74), Toshiki Takahashi (89)

RED CARDS

PENALTY KICK Oh (55)

ATTENDANCE 16584

LINE UP

GK Oki

DF Yoshida, Honda, Sumiyoshi, Hidaka

MF Chiba, Bueno, Kozuka

FW Capixaba, Oh, Kitagawa

SUBSTITUTIONS

Park on for Hidaka (79)

Toshiki Takahashi on for Chiba (78)

Uno on for Kozuka (78)

REPORT

Our first win of the season!

And the first win for the new management!

There was a lot of progress from the last two games, what with an unchanged team and a certain stability established.

But it was not an easy game.

The two cubs have a long history of rough matches and this one went accordingly with a total of 5 yellow cards and 1 straight red card.

We did dominate the first half but could not break the Vissel’s defense in spite of their having a defender shown a straight card for a cynical foul in the 19th minute.

We finally managed to score in the second half and did defend well to preserve a well-earned victory.

But we still have work to do as far as pass accuracy is concerned with only a 68% rate, not mentioning the lack of precision in shots at goal.

In the 5th minute we had the narrowest of escapes when poor passing allowed Vissel’s counter around our left flank with the ensuing cross too easily met by a header which deflected by the far post.

In the 11th minute we created our first chance when an incursion in Vissel’s box was met by Oh only to see the ball miss the goal by a whisker due to a reckless dive by the Vissel’s goal keeper which went unpunished.

In the 17th minute we were frustrated again by Vissel’s goal keeper who somehow parried away Oh’s header following a long throw into the box.

But the next foul by our opponents was dealt with a straight red card when Vissel’s captain cynically pulled down our last attacker with only the goal in front of him.

In the 33rd minute yet another long throw into the box was barely fended away.

In extra times we survived jitters when Oki had to stretch full length to parry away a fine shot following two consecutive crosses into our box.

In the 51st minute the Vissel’s defense arm-blocked a cross inside their box but it took vehement appeals by Bueno in particular to have the referee check the VAR before a justified penalty kick was allowed.

Oh took it calmly by sending Vissel’s goal keeper the wrong way for his first goal of the season.

In the 63rd minute we had to survive Vissel’s own long throw into the box.

In the 70th minute Kitagawa wasted a golden chance finding himself alone against the goal keeper after a real blunder by the Vissel’s defense but his shot was well read and deflected away.

We survived the rest of the second half and could even have scored in the last seconds on a counter.

After this good result we will have to confirm next Saturday in Osaka against Gamba. Not an easy game, but we have the potential, especially with new recruits such as Park getting nearer to full fitness!

NEXT GAME

J1 League

J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE WESTERN GROUP

Game

Shimizu S-Pulse vs Gamba Osaka

Date: Saturday February 28th, 3:00 pm

Suita City Stadium (Suita)