Emperor’s Cup

The Round of 16

Shimizu S-Pulse 1-2 Kawasaki Frontale

Wednesday August 18th 7:pm

IAI Stadium Nihondaira , Shizuoka

S-PULSE GOALS Nakayama(64)

YELLOW CARDS Miyamoto(35), Tatsuta(56)

RED CARDS

ATTENDANCE 2795

LINE UP

GK Nagai

DF Okui, Valdo, Tatsuta, Katayama

MF Miyamoto, Ronaldo, Nakayama, Nakamura

FW Ibusuki, Goto

SUBSTITUTIONS

Kawai on for Nakamura (46)

Benjamin on for Ronaldo (46)

Hara on for Valdo (59)

Kikuchi on for Katayama(65)

Disaro on for Ibusuki(77)

REPORT

End of an adventure!

S-Pulse had the back luck to face an unbeaten team in any competitions this year, but still did better than expected. They could have done even better, In spite of being overshot in the game by 19 to 4, they kept a table clean during the first half.

Unfortunately,  in the 57th minute when a  penalty was conceded. Against all odds, S-Pulse did well to equalize only 7 minutes later through a fine goal by Nakayama.

But Kawasaki Frontale has a knack to find the one weak point in any opposing team and concentrate on that very pot. They found it again in the 74th minute,  Frontale forward to head in an easy gift of a goal. That sealed the game in spite of S-Pulse’s courage.

But there were many positive sides to the story:

Midfielder Nakamura back from injury played well during his first half allotment.

Ronaldo (Hanaudo) and Kololli, the new midfield recruits did well enough in very tough conditions in each half they were allotted. When these three are back to full stamina they could very well combine into a formidable midfield.

As for the defense, Kikuchi, still a high school student showed promises during the 25 minutes or so he was called upon. All said, a new team is emerging and we could see a lot of changes soon!

Next game is a must win against fellow strugglers Shonan Bellmare in Hiratsuka on Saturday. Let’s hope it will prove a new start to better things!

NEXT GAME

Meiji Yasuda J1 League

Match 25

Shimizu S-Pulse vs Shonan Bellmare

Saturday August 21st 7:pm

Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka, Hiratsuka