---

December 14, 2003
High School Stars Stun Champions

Ichi-Funabahshi High School are the reighning high school champions, and hve a highly talented team packed with future J.Leaguers, particularly strikers Sota Tanaka and Robert Cullen, and defender Ryuya Masushima. Furthermore, the team that they faced off against was a very second-rate squad, as most of the starters had been given the day off. Nevertheless, the match provided one of the greatest David-vs-Goliath stories of the year.

The match actually started out looking like it would be a runaway for the Marinos. In the first ten minutes of the match, the team scored on their first two set play opportunities, and on the third such play, they put the ball into the net, only to have the referee disallow the goal when he spotted an invisible Marinos player in an offside position. Clearly the call was one of those that inexperienced officials make in order to "spare a weaker team embarassment". But it would come back to haunt him later.

Following the third (disallowed) goal, Ichi-Funabashi adjusted their positioning on set plays, putting two defenders on the goal line, and although they would be called upon later in the match to clear two or three balls off the line, this solved the problems from set plays. However, from the run of play, when the Ichi-Funabashi kids were not forced to address the superior height and strength of the Marinos players, the match was fairly even, and by the latter stages of the first half, the team was recovering emotionally from the early goals. By the early second half, the high school team stepped their game up a notch, and suddenly it was the Marinos who were on the back foot. In the 69 minute, Ichi-Funabashi won a free kick about 25 meters out, on the right side, and sent a high ball for the far post. The Marinos reserve keeper let the ball sail on him, and though he got both hands on it, he couldnt find the handle, spilling the ball right in front of net. Defender Masujima dashed in and fired the ball home to cut the deficit to one.

Now suddenly the Marinos were in serious trouble. The high schoolers were playing on pure emotion, and nothing the tired old men did could match the energy and enthusiasm of their opponents. Even the heavily partisan Marinos crowd were beginning to cheer the youngsters' exploits. The Marinos were pushed further and further into retreat, and it seemed only a question of time.

Then, with six minutes remaining, a long clearance fell to striker Robert Cullen at midfield, and the U-18 star made his move. Accelerating suddenly, Cullen dashed between two defenders and suddenly was off on a sprint with three men in pursuit. Though the Marinos defenders were unable to catch him, they did force him wide to the left. But as he neared the end line, Cullen ripped a low cross into the box and Tanaka, trailing the play, dashed in unopposed to slam the ball home!

From the look on coach Takeshi Okada's face, on the sidelines, you could tell that things were going seriously wrong for the Marinos. Ichi-Funabashi were on the brink of an historic upset, and when substitute midfielder Kotobuki rolled a shot off the crossbar a minute later, it was apparent that the high schoolers were almost certain to win the match in extra time. But at this point, the guilty conscience of the referee got the best of him. Having disallowed a goal for Yokohama early in the match, he apparently was not willing to let the match take its course and see the high school team win. So with three minutes left in regulation time, he suddenly sent off the Ichi-Funabashi captain, Masushima, for no apparent reason.

The call was "simulation", as Masushima went to the ground on very minor contact. However, despite watching some truly horrible officiating over the years, the Rising Sun News believes that this may just rank as the worst officiating call in Japanese sports history! Masushima had been in clear posession, and was challenged from behind on a play that seemed to produce physical contact. He was 30 meters deep in his own territory, and had no reason to "simulate", particularly since he could have reached the ball before his opponent, even after falling to the ground. Even if we accept the dubious propositin that he fell deliberately, there was absolutely no advantage to be gained from simulation -- and surely that is the essence of the offence, and the reason why one issues a card for players who deliberately dive. In this case, there was no legitimate reason whatsoever to issue a card, but since it was Masushima's second, Ichi-Funabashi were suddenly reduced to ten men.

Nevertheless, the high schoolers struggled gamely on, and despite being a man down, held the Marinos scoreless through thirty minutes of extra time. At this point, if the team had any valour whatsoever, the Marinos would have simply conceded the PK shootout and let the best team win. But sadly, the story had an unjust ending, as the Marinos won the PK shootout 4-1, and were promptly booed off the pitch by their own fans. Though it is a shame that their Cinderella run was cut short, the kids of Ichi-Funabashi have given us a wonderful story to remember, in what is already becoming a memorable Emperor's Cup tournament.

In other action, the Urawa Reds were knocked off 2-1 in an extraordinary golden-goal upset by J2 bottom-dwellers Shonan Bellmare. Oita Trinita were also stunned by J2 opponents Kawasaki Frontale (who have a history of strong performances in cup competitions), and FC Tokyo were taken to penalty kicks by rank outsiders Honda FC, but managed to squeeze through to the next round.

Below is a full table of results for the third round matches, and the tournament table, thus far.

Rumours and Rumblings