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J.League, Make-Up Week
Shizuoka Derby

3 - 1

Of course, it helped that Jubilo had the lead on the scoreboard, allowing them to let down their hair and throw themselves at the opponent with abandon. Jubilo got the scoring started in the 2 minute, on a free kick from about 35 meters out. Hiroshi Nanami, who now seems to be almost fully recovered from a leg injury, took the kick and glanced it off the head of leaping midfielder Takashi Fukunishi. The ball looped over the keeper's head and just under the crossbar to put Iwata in front. Before S-Pulse even had a chance to get their heads into the game, Jubilo struck again, once again on a free kick. This time, Daisuke Oku took the kick from just outside the penalty area. His shot was a blistering drive that cleared the wall and ricocheted back off the right goalpost. Once again, Fukunishi happened to be in the right place at the right time, following up the rebound and slamming it into the back of the net.

Shimizu S-Pulse really had little to offer in response. Their only real dangerous opportunity came moments before half time, when Alex fell heavily in the penalty area, and managed to convince the referee to award as PK. However, Jubilo's keeper Arno vanZwam guessed correctly, diving to his left and smothering Alex's shot. The halftime score was 2-0 The second half started out very much like the first, with Jubilo completely dominating posession and momentum, but S-Pulse were starting to pull themselves out of their funk. While the S-Pulse players showed a bit more coordination and initiative in the second half, much of their resurgence must be credited to the play of Jubilo, who began to get a bit carried away, and throw far too many players into attack. Finally, with less than ten mintues to play, they were forece to pay, after a goal rush that saw six Jubilo players rushing into the box. S-Pulse managed to clear and the resulting counterattack saw Takayuki Yokoyama rush into the clear down the right sideline. His crossing pass into the box found Baron at the far post for a fairly easy tap-in.

However, Jubilo had saved the best for last. Rookie Ryoichi Maeda, who came on for Shimizu midway through the second stanza, showed the dribbling skills that won him the MVP award in the Asian Youth Championships last year. With a minute left in regulation time, Maeda collected a long pass from midfield at the edge of the penalty area. He pulled the ball back, as if waiting for some support to arrive, but then he seems to have decided to forge ahead on his own. With a burst of speed, he waltzed through the final three S-Pulse defenders, then cheekily faked the keeper off his feet before sliding the ball into the netting to close out the match.

Following the make-up match, Jubilo advances to fourth place in the rankings, though unbeaten Kashima Antlers remain at the top of the table on nine points from three matches. Yokohama Marinos lie second and Sanfrecce Hiroshima third.

Mboma Helps World Dreams to Victory in JOMO Cup

Japan Dreams were able to call a number of quality midfielders, but opted to play a four-man back line with Naoki Matsuda and Yutaka Akita in the middle, Koji Nakata andTsuneyasu Miyamoto on the wings, and Eisuke Nakanishi at volante. Part of the reason for the unusual formations for both teams is the fact that players are selectd by fan vote, and thus, the lineups are often extremely "eclectic" to say the least. The Japan Dreams lineup, in particular, was overbalanced to the sidelines, with no solid ball-handler in the center of the field. This weakness was exacerbated by the play of Nakanishi and Shunsuke Nakamura's, whose performance at point midfielder,especially in the first half, was extremely disappointing. Sanfrecce's Tatsuhiko Kubo and Atsushi Yanagisawa got the start up front, and though Yanagi performed well, Kubo was virutally invisible.

The World team, by contrast, started with a surfeit of offensive capability, with Will and Tuto -- two putative forwards -- were playing in offensive midfield behind Patrick Mboma, with explosive players like Bismarck, Adriano and Yoo Sang-Chul one row further back. Not surprisingly, the World Dreams hung back looking for breakout opportunities that would allow them to exploit their offensive skills on the counterattack. Just ten minutes in, this strategy paid off, as a long ball out of defence found Will breaking free on net. Keeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi got caught off his line, as Will quickly settled the ball and lobbed it over his head and into a wide-open net.

After this unfortunate start, Japan Dreams moved Hato from the right wing to a more central position, which created a bit better balance and led to a few dangerous chances over the next ten minutes. In the 20 minute, a centering pass from the left flank by Hato found Yanagisawa about ten meters out, and he hit a thunderous volley that vanZwam only just barely managed to deflect. But the unbalanced midfield would haunt Japan Dreams throughout the match. In the 25 minute, Patrick Mboma and Tuto exchanged passes at the top of the box, and a missed clearance gave Mboma the ball with only one man to beat. Never one to squander opportunities, Mboma took one giant step to his left to create space, and then blasted the ball into the high left corner.

In the 30 minute, Yanagisawa created another break, carrying a lead pass from Nakamura into the penalty box and accelerating towards the net. However, he was jostled just enough by the defender, Sidiclei, that vanZwam was able to pounce on the ball before he could knock it home. While Yanagisawa was looking dangerous, Kubo was virtually invisible, and Nakamura was doing little to set up plays for either forward. In the 35 minute, Kubo was pulled in favour of Kazuyoshi Miura. Kazu is showing his age, but despite displaying an inability to beat his defender consistently, he was a big improvement over Kubo. However, the Japan Dreams' offensive efforts constantly went begging due to a lack of support from Nakamura and Nakanishi in the middle. At the opposite end, Patrick Mboma's ability to hold the ball easily in the face of challenges by two defenders forced the opponent to devote more players to the defence. The two teams went into the locker room with the score still 2-0 in favour of the World Dreams.

In the second half, the World Dreams brought in Nino Bule and Choi Yong-soo for Tuto and Will, but maintained their essentially offensive lineup. Japan Dreams took advantage of this imbalance a bit more effectively than they had in the first half, pushing forward from the defensive midfield and creating a few early scrambles in the box. However, it was the World Dreams who scored once more, in the 50 minute. Stephen Corica took a free kick just outside the area and found Sidiclei leaping over the defensive pack for a header that skidded off his smooth pate and off the underside of the crossbar for a 3-0 lead. Although Nakamura was ineffective for much of the match, when Japan Dreams finally got on the scoreboard it was on a jewel of a shot from his left foot. Defender Yutaka Akita made a rare foray up the right sideline, and after exchanging passes with Yanagisawa, sent a long ball to the far post. Nakamura was wide open, and he volleyed it out of the air and delivered a rocket into the top left corner.

But despite putting some pressure on the World Dreams back line over the next 20 mintues, Japan Dreams were unable to get off any more truly dangerous shots on net. The very agile vanZwam did a good job of clearing away the high balls into the box. Midway through the second half, a long ball by Mboma sent Alex all the way to the end line. He looped the ball back in front of the net, and Nino Bule leapt over keeper Seigo Narazaki and headed it in for the World Dreams' fourth goal.

Rumours and Rumblings

Tita Takes a Walk