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J.League Week 14
Hail and Farewell

Kickoff	Home	.	Away
19:00		2 - 0
19:00		3 - 1
19:00		0 - 2
19:00		1 - 3
19:00		2 - 1
19:00		3 - 2
19:00		3 - 2
19:00		0 - 2

3 - 1

The highlight match of the week pitted the Urawa Reds against the surprise package of the league this season, JEF United. The match drew a tremendous amount of media attention because it served as Shinji Ono's farewell match - the final game he will play at Urawa's Komaba Stadium before leaving to join Feyenoord. It also is also something of a farewell for the stadium itself, since Komaba will soon be replaced by the brand new Saitama Stadium, which opens early in the second stage. Thus, although neither team had anything at stake in the match, both wanted very badly to make a good impression for the nearly 20,000 fans jam-packed into the old and storied stadium. The Urawa faithful would not be disappointed.

Despite their comparative records in the league this season, Ono and the Reds were not about to let the visitors spoil this big party, and their aggressive play right from the opening kick left little doubt of that. Just a few minutes after the start, the Reds got two consecutive corner kicks from the left corner. The first was cleared over the line by a defender, but Adriano7s second attempt curled beautifully in towards the near post, where Shinji Ono was waiting. The keeper recognised how dangerous Ono was likely to be in his final appearanceand he rushed to block Ono's path, but as he did so, he took his eye off the ball. Adriano's kick had so much spin on it that it hooked right around the post, glancing off the keeper's leg and into the net. The Reds were off to a quick lead, and the packed stadium celebrated

But this advantage wouldn't last long, though. Barely two minutes later, JEF midfielder Edin "Edo" Mujcin carried the ball up the left sideline and sent a looping lead pass into the penalty area. Forward Kastsutomo Oshiba split his two defenders to reach the ball first. His header looped over the keeper, who was well of his line and not expecting a shot. Just ten minutes had elapsed and already the score was 1-1.

The quick start charged up both teams, and all 22 men on the field spend the next 15 minutes running furiously up and down the field trying to put on the pressure. Midfielder Toshiyuki Abe, had the Reds close to taking the lead again with a screaming shot from long range that just barely cleared the bar. Not surprisingly, this frenzy of activity soon got a bit out of hand, and after a few unnecessary fouls, the referee began to hand out yellow cards, including one for a dive in the penalty area. In the 20 minute, Tutodrove to the right post and crossed in front to Adriano, but a JEF defender barely managed to clear it over the end line before Adriano could run onto it. Then, thirty minutes into the match, Adriano was felled by a nasty tackle in the penalty area. Having seen one dive already, the referee played on, but the crowd had seen the clear foul and roared their disapproval. The booing went on for nearly five minutes, and there were signs that the game might be starting to get out of hand. As so often happens when two teams are a bit unhappy with one another, players began to run onto the ball just a bit too hard, or extend their legs just a bit too far when trying to defend a run. Fortunately, half time arrived before anyone was either hurt or red carded, but it was clear that the second half was shaping up to be a real battle.

Just thirty seconds into the second half, Tuto made another run down the left side and as a defender stuck out his leg, he went flying once again. The referee again played on, and this time the boos literally shook the rafters. Five Reds players surrounded the referee immediately, and made it clear that they were not entirely pleased with his call. Thoguh they clearly had a legitimate complaint, one would have a hard time arguing that this tongue-lashing ended up influencing the ref. Only a minute later, he called a foul and showed a yellow card for a comparatively harmless challenge at the edge of the box, awarding the Reds a free kick. Considering the plays that he had played on, this may have simply been payback, but whether the Reds deserved the opportunity or not, the damage was done. Shinji Ono lined up at nearly point blank range and measured the defensive wall with a keen eye. Then, with a right-footed blast, Ono sent a canon shot that off the wall and towards the far corner of the net. The keeper was unable to get to the spinning ball and it bounded into the goal to put Urawa in the lead once more.

A minute later, JEF nearly drew level again, as captain Eisuke Nakanishi found some room at the right edge of the box, and sent a blast off the far post. But the Reds missed and even greater opportunity in the 60 minute. After receiving a brilliant through pass from Ono, Tuto pulled the keeper off his feet and sent a shot on net, but it was cleared off the line by a JEF defender. Tuto pounced on the rebound but this time his shot came back off the crossbar. By this time, play had reached a frenetic pace, and some of the players were starting to wilt in the hot, muggy evening air. The tension was thick, and one could almost feel that something was about to break. As the Reds moved forward one more time, Adriano took the ball on the right sideline and pulled it back as if to take a rest. But suddenly Tuto cut into the box and Adriano looped a pass over the defence, leaving Tuto in the clear. TThis time he made no mistake, placing the ball gently into the high left corner where the keeper simply couldn't reach.

Now down by two goals, JEF began to run out of steam. To keep the pressure on, coach Tita took out Tuto, who was starting to run out of energy himself, and brought in rookie striker Tatsuya Tanaka. It didn't take the youngster long to get involved, as he took a long pass from Ono and nearly broke free on goal, but a desperate foul just outside the area kept him from scoring. With a minute to go, he very nearly got through again, this time on a brilliant feed from Ono. But in competitive terms, the match was wrapped up, and after some time-wasting dribbles up and down the sidelines, the final whistle sounded, giving Ono and his fans a farewell present to remember.

0 - 2

Inamoto, for one, got warmed up almost immediately as he battled with FC Tokyo's ace striker Amaral for two consecutive headers in the first minute of the match. Gamba as a team were clearly charged up for the match, and it didn't take long to get on the board. In just the 4 minute, Reginald Vital collected a pass at midfield and sent a lob over the defence and into the penalty box. Gamba's diminutive striker Kota Yoshihara sprinted free and reached the ball just an instant ahead of the FC Tokyo keeper, and steered the ball towards the left post. The ball caught the inside of the post and bounded into the net, to put Gamba up 1-0.

Gamba maintained the upper hand throughout the remainder of the first half, moving the ball well in the midfield and allowing only the occasional counterattack. Inamoto did a particularly good job of shutting down Amaral, and the front line of Yoshihara and Nino Bule created a number of dangerous chances, though they could not add to their lead in the first half.

In the second half, Gamba picked up right where they had left off in the first stanza. Pressing at midfield, Gamba was able to break up any FC Tokyo push at an early stage, and their good ball movement at midfield allowed the team to dominate possession. The pace of the game started to accelerate, and both teams showed signs of drooping in the steamy evening heat. Perhaps sensing this loss of energy, both coaches tried to bring in fresh legs. Gamba pulled Nino Bule in the 65 minute and brought in the speedy Hiromi Kojima to intensify the pressure on FC Tokyo's defenders. The move didnt take long to pay dividends. Collecting the ball at the top of the circle in the 74 minute, Inamoto played a beautiful one-two with Kojima that left the Tokyo defence tied up in knots like an old and tangled ball of yarn. Emerging in the clear with the ball in front of him, Inamoto measured the top right corner and then fired off a telegram to the Arsenal front office, which zipped past the keeper to give the young volante his second goal in two consecutive matches.

Tokyo tried to respond in kind by replacing Kensuke Kagami with veteran striker Wagner Lopes. Lopes nearly stole a goal with a blatant dive at the edge of the box with just five minutes to play, but the referee ruled that he was outside the area, and Yukihiko Sato's free kick bounded harmlessly off the wall to preserve Gamba's lead. As time ran down, Gamba began holding the ball in the back line, and running down the clock. Despite one or two more decent chances by FC Tokyo, the team from Osaka were clearly in control, and eventually the whistle blew, giving Ganba and Inamoto a victory.

3 - 2

The game started out a bit sluggishly, perhaps due to the heat and humidity, but it soon picked up pace. In the 11 minute, midfielder Masayuki Omori drove down the right side trying to get around his defender. At the very last second, he pulled the ball back in front of the goal mouth, to where Yasuyuki Moriyama was waiting. The pass was a bit behind Moriyama, but he managed to twist his body around and get a foot to the ball, dropping it just inside the near post.

Nagoya held most of the advantage in terms of ball posession throughout the first half, but just before the referee blew his whistle for the break, a crucial defensive lapse put Sanfrecce level. The normally dependable Keiji Kaimoto let a deflection at midfield bounce past him, and Hiroshima striker Tatsuhiko Kubo pounced on the loose ball and was off to the races. Kubo kept Kaimoto on his back, and just as he entered the penalty box he fired a los, hard shot into the left corner to knot the scores.

Just after the break, another defensive miscue gave Sanfrecce the lead, as striker Susumu Ohki stole the ball from Masahiro Koga in the back line. Ohki rushed into the open and blasted another shot past the keeper to give Sanfrecce the lead.

Bot a brilliant run by Stojkovic would level the scores once more. Streaking down the left side, Pixy turned the corner and headed for the left post. As he did, he spotted Moriyama camped in front of the net once again, and in a play that resembled the first goal, Moriyama tapped in the pass from point-blank range.

The match went to extra time, and would end in dramatic fashion. just after the start of the second overtime period, Ueslei was pulled down just inside the box, and Nagoya got a PK. Pixy lined up the ball and, with intense concentration, made his approach. the keeper dove the wrong way and Pixy's shot rolled in at the left post, sending the crowd into an explosion of cheers and celebration for the Yugoslav playmaker's final strike at Mizuho Stadium.

2 - 0

In the second half, the Antlers came out with a three-striker lineup, and started to produce more aggressive ball movement aimed at getting the ball to their front line. This seemed to push Kobe onto the back foot, and at last the Antlers started to provide some more dangerous scoring chances. In the 66 minute, Koji Nakata broke into the penalty area and was hauled down by the keeper in an effort to prevent the shot. Bismarck took the penalty kick and put Kashima into the lead.

Just a few moments later, as the Antlers pushed forward once more, Tomoyuki Hirase took a post pass about five meters outside the area. Defender Yukio Tsuchiya came in with a hard challenge, but Hirase had the ball well screened, and Tsuchiya's leg sweep caught him flush in the ankle. Hirase went down in a heap, and Mottram went straight for his chest pocket. Since Tsuchiya already had one yellow, this indiscretion earned him a trip to the locker room, and the Antlers, with a goal lead, now had a player advantage as well. But anyone who expected Mottram to allow such a big advantage for the Antlers to stand would be mistaken. Just five minutes later, he suddenly blew his whistle and awarded a red card to Atsushi Yanagisawa for . .. . if you can believe it . . . . standing too close to the ball when a Vissel player was taking a free kick. Both Yanagisawa and the entire coaching staff couldnt believe their eyes, but Mottram insisted and the Antlers forward made an early trip to the showers.

But in the end, the Antlers would prove too much for Kobe to handle even with just 10 men. In the 84 minute, veteran striker Yoshiyuki Hasegawa, a late replacement for Hirase, took a pass from Bismarck down the left wing and, looking up, spotted Koji Nakata sneaking in behind the defence. Hasegawa sent a lob over the defenders which found Nakata wide open. His booming header tickled the strings and gave the Antlers the cushion they needed to collect their 7th win of the season.

Elsewhere

Having already clinched their first-stage trophy, Jubilo Iwata sleepwalked through a match against bottom-of-the-table Tokyo Verdy and very nearly lost. Kentaro Hayashi gave Verdy a lead midway through the first half, and the Jubilo home growd began to express their disapproval. But a late goal by Masashi Nakayama sent the match to extra time and Toshiya Fujita clinched victory for Jubilo shortly into the first extra time period.

Two late goals -- both of them on headers from crossing passes by Daisuke Ichikawa, gave Shimizu S-Pulse a victory over Yokohama Marinos

Finally, Brazilian striker "Will" Andrade drilled two goals to extend his lead in the competition for golden boot. Will now has 12 goals in 14 matches, and is two goals ahead of JEF's Choi Yong-Soo

With their victory this week, Cerezo Osaka climbed out of the cellar, and Shimizu S-Pulse moved ahead of JEF United into second place behind Jubilo.

Here is how the league table looks at present

Rumours and Rumblings

Nishizawa Prepared to Start Wandering

On July 16 Nishizawa arrived at Bolton, and was immediately presented to the press by Allardyce as the team's new forward, though a formal contract apparently will not be signed until tomorrow. The quick strike by Allardyce is surprising considering Nishizawa's failure to cract the squad at Espanyol. Interestingly enough, though, it gives Bolton a publicity coup because it makes Nishizawa the first Japanese player in the Premier league. Although Gamba Osaka midfielder Junichi Inamoto is planning to sign with Arsenal, a contract will not be concluded until the J.League season ends, on July 21.

Perugia Looking to Raid the Antlers Herd

Tokyo Verdy Coach Gets the Axe

Matsuki took over the coaching job at the start of the season hoping to restore the team to the glory that he enjoyed during his last stint in the manager's chair, in 1993. However, morethan a few people raised eyebrows at some of his personnel decisions, which seemed aimed more at restoring old and worn-out icons of the 1993-94 championship teams to Verdy uniforms, rather than building a team for the future. Matsuki is expected to be replaced by former team technical director Yukitaka Ogi.

Film clips courtesy of Internet Soccer Program J-Ole. Visit their web site at http://www.j-ole.com/ for results and highlights of all J.League matches.

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