Meiji Yasuda J1 LeagueMatch 9
Shimizu S-Pulse 3-1 Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo
Saturday August 8th 6 pm
IAI Stadium Nihondaira, Shizuoka

S-PULSE GOALS Kaneko (45+1), Renato(85), Carlinhos(90+3)
YELLOW CARDS Umeda(90+1)
RED CARDS
ATTENDANCE 3981

LINE UP
GK Umeda
DF Elsinho, Valdo, Tatsuta, Seok Ho
MF Renato, Takeuchi, Goto
FW Kaneko, Carlinhos, Nishizawa

SUBSTITUTIONS
Nakamura on for Takeuchi (60)
Teerasil on for Kaneko (83)

REPORT
Some revenge taken for the two heavy defeats of last year!　That is what the fans hoped for most, and it was done in style!

S-Pulse went onto the attack right from the whistle and Kaneko had a good chance in the 3rd minute but his shot was not curved enough. In the additional time side back Seok Ho beat the defense for the second time before sending a low cross to Kaneko whose shot was blocked by a Sapporo defender’s hand. He made no mistake converting the penalty kick sending the keeper the other way.

The second half started with both teams attacking. In the 52nd minute Sapporo’s Suzuki equalized from a direct free kick outside the box, although it was a bit of a soft goal which could have been saved.

In the 63rd minute Sapporo committed the mistake that tilted the game in favor of S-Pulse when defender Tanaka committed his second cynical foul this time on Carlinhos who would have run free to the goal on a quick counter. S-Pulse then piled on the pressure against 10-men Sapporo who massed in defense.

Tatsuta in the 72nd minute and Elsinho in the 82nd minute came very close to take the lead but finally in the 85th minute Nakamura found an unmarked Renato who unleashed a splendid middle range shot from outside the box.

In the dying minutes of additional time Elsinho cleverly passed to Carlinhos inside the box who made no mistake in scoring his third goal of the season.

Now all goals involved at least one member of the non attackers proving the all-round quality of this year’s team. Moreover, they have found not only a way to avoid goals at the end of each half but have changed to scoring them then, showing a never die/never give up approach that will make them a feared team now that they have found their rhythm notwithstanding there is still plenty of room to improve!

Next Saturday will see S-Pulse traveling to Sendai, a team difficult to beat on their turf, but this time they have the means to surprise a few people!

NEXT GAME
Levain Cup Group A Match 3
Shimizu S-Pulse vs Kashima AntlersWednesday August 12th 7pm
IAI Stadium Nihondaira, Shizuoka