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November 20, 2004

The Back Door to Victory

Meanwhile, Gamba Osaka will surely be discouraged by the fact that they conceded the title to Urawa through their own inability to keep winning. But the odds agaiunst a comeback were so long, going into this week, that it cant be that great a disappointment. The Yokohama Marinos, first-stage champions, have given themselves and their fans some emotional comfort by defeating Gamba, but that optimism will surely be tempered by the looss of Ahn Jung-Hwan , who broke his ankle in Korea's World Cup qualification match, on Wednesday. At the otehr end of the league table, teams struggling to avoid relegation, like Kashiwa Reysol, Shimizu S-Pulse and Cerezo Osaka, turned in spirited performances but continued to struggle to achieve favourable results.

Though time limitations prevent us from offering much in-depth analysis, this week, lets take a look at the scores of this week's matches, and a quick summary of each contest.

Date	Home	.	Visitor	Venue
20 Nov		1-2		Komaba Stadium
20 Nov		5-1		Ichihara Seaside
20 Nov		1-1		Ajinomoto Stadium
20 Nov		4-2		Niigata "Big Swan"
20 Nov		2-1		Nihondaira Stadium
20 Nov		0-2		"Banpaku" Stadium
20 Nov		3-2		Hiroshima Big Arch
20 Nov		0-3		Oita Stadium

1 - 2

Grampus put on a classic exhibition of cynicism, unsportsmanlike play, time-wasting, grass-rolling, shirt-pulling, and deliberate manipulation of the referees that one might possibly expect to see when playing a match against one of the lesser teams from the Middle East, such as the UAE or Lebanon, but which, for the most part, has been pleasantly absent from the J.League up to now. Some might argue that the tactics were "successful" -- after all, they did win the match and collected three points. However, they also collected nine yellow cards, had two players sent off, and probably deserved even harsher treatment from the officiating team than that, given the sort of disreputable conduct that they displayed from start to finish of this match. A repeat performance, or two, might easily earn the team a reputation that will be difficult to dispel. Most annoying of all was the five-minute delay at the end of the second half -- orchestrated by the entire Grampus team -- which intrrupted action in the 84th minute and prevented the Reds from resuming play until the 89th minute. A similar incident occurred near the end of the first half, which also interrupted play for nearly three minutes. In neither case did the officials allocate the full amount of time wasted by Grampus, as time added on.

However, behaviour of this sort is hard to overlook, and we have little doubt that it will be a topic of discussion for league officials, next week. Certainly if this writer had been wearing the referee's uniform, we would have dealt with the situation in a very simple manner -- all eleven Grampus players would have been sent off for unsportsmanlike conduct and delay of game (two yellows = one red), and the Reds would have been given five minutes of added time to take shots at the empty Nagoya net.

Of course, the Reds did not exactly do themselves proud, either. They allowed themselves to get too impatient, pushing forward too aggressively and leaving huge openings in defence. Both Nagoya goals came on horrible defensive blunders -- one by Marcus Tulio Tanaka and one by Alex Santos. After Nagoya was reduced to nine men, the Reds put on a late flurry of pressure, and got one goal back on a penalty kick. But despite some close calls, they were unable to find the equaliser, and had to concede the match to Nagoya's superior gamesmanship

Hopefully, the League will not use the Reds's success in clinching the stage title as an excuse to sweep the events of this match under the rug. As much as we might complain about poor officiating and other shortcomings, the J.League has always been characterised by refreshingly positive football, and a comparatively small amount of gamesmanship and unsportsmanlike conduct, relative to most other top leagues. We would hope to see this continue, and urge the J.League to take steps that will make it clear that such conduct has no place in Japanese football.

0 - 2

The Marinos have been severely depleted by injury, of late, and will be happy to have the emotional boost of an away victory. Though both Ahn Jung-Hwan and Tatsuhiko Kubo have been ruled out of the championship series against the Reds, this may actually be a blessing in disguise, since their absence has allowed Daisuke Sakata to win a much-deserved spot in the starting lineup and steadily improve his level of play. Though he failed to score, this week, Sakata was involved in most of the Marinos' best offensive moves, and he assisted on one of Daisuke Oku's two goals.

For Gamba Osaka, this match was a disappointing end to what has otherwise been a very impressive second stage. Gamba have scored even more prolifically than the Reds, in the second stage, and the team is looking highly competitive on both offence and defence. Unfortunately, they have not always maintained the mental and emotional solidity needed to win tough matches. This week proved to be a perfect example. Gamba came out very strong in the opening ten minutes, and looked to be good for at least a goal or two by halftime. But Fernandinho hobbled off with an injury just ten minutes into the contest, and this visibly deflated his teammates. After a closely-contested first half, the Marinos took over control following Oku's first goal, in the 67 minute, and Gamba seemed to lose heart. Even if Oku had not added a second strike, shortly before the final whistle, Gamba never looked like reversing the momentum.

2 - 1

1 - 1

Yoshito Okubo, who will move to Spain"s Mallorca beginning in January, got the team off to a promising start, drilling home a powerful low-angle shot from the right edge of the penalty area, just one minute into the contest. But Cerezo still have not figured out how to produce offence effectively, as a team. Okubo had a few individual chances over the course of the first half, but by halftime Verdy were establishing their control of the momentum and for the final half hour or so, Cerezo seemed to be doing little more than to cling desperately to their lead. As injury time approached, a long shot by Naoto Sakurai screeched through a crowd of players in the penalty area, eluded the partially obstructed keeper and earned Verdy a share of the spoils.

4 - 2

This weekend, though, Albirex came home to play their first match in "Big Swan" stadium since the earthjquake, and they were welcomed with a groundswell of enthusiasm from people who clearly are desperate for reasons to cheer. Urged on by almost 34,000 wildly cheering fans, the mighty swans did their home town proud, with a truly uplifting victory over FC Tokyo.

Tokyo tested Albirex' morale early on, taking the lead on a slicing run by Naohiro Ishikawa , down the right sideline, and a cross to Fumitake Miura for the short-range finish. But Albirex responded immediately with a surge of energetic attacking. Just a minute after the Tokyo strike, Yusaku Ueno pulled his team level, prodding home a pass from Fabinho on the left wing. Just moments later, another pell-mell attack by a flock of Albirex attackers produced a corner kick, which was finished off by defender Naoto Matsuo.

Albirex extended their lead with two goals midway through the second half, both from Edmilson, which sent the crowd into wild celebrations. though their midseason drought have ensured that Albirex will have to settle for a mid-table finish this year, it is good to see them back in form, along with their magnificent fans. One hopes that this is a sign that the team has recovered its form, and will advance to An even more competitive level in 2005.

0 - 3

Oita did put on a competitive show in the first half, and with the score 0-0 at half time, it was anyone's match. But defender Daiki Iwamasa headed home a corner kick just after the break, and this swung the momentum completely in the Antlers favour. The diminutive Masaki Fukai , playing at midfield for the first time ever, due to the absence of National Team members, added a goal and an impressive assist (finished off by Takayuki Suzuki) over the final ten minutes to give Kashima the victory.

3 - 2

But with time running down, yet another of Sanfrecce's many young prospects -- 17-year-old Shunsuke Maeda -- drilled a shot from the top left corner of the box to give Sanfrecce the victory and give former Olympic Team coach Masakuni Yamamoto his first loss as a J.League coach.

2 - 1

After almost sixty minutes of scoreless activity, Cho Jae-Jin stabbed home a cross from the left corner and put S-Pulse on top. But about 15 minutes later, Reysol ace Keiji Tamada levelled the scores, setting up what would be a dramatic finish. Reysol came agonizingly close to hitting the winner on a corner kick, only to have S-Pulse snatch a late victory as Kohei Hiramatsu chested down a high-bounding loose ball at the edge of the box, strode forward past his defender and toed it into the far corner.

Though two matches remain, the Reds have clinched first place for the stage

Saitama Squirrels Secure Second Spot for J1 Promotion

Ardija's promotion certainly will be a boost to football in the Saitama area, as two rival J1 teams will now be playing matches within just a few kilometers of one another. The "Saitama derby" matches promise to be a highlight event, and hopefully the rivalry will evolve and intensify in the same way that the Tokyo derby contests have, in recent years. Incidentally, next season promises to be a great one for derbies since the J2 winners, Kawasaki Frontale (who clinched first place several weeks ago) are the next-door neighbours of the Yokohama Marinos, which will add a "Kanagawa derby" to the schedule as well.

With two matches remaining in the J2 season, it is still not clear which team will claim third place, and a spot in the promotion/relegation series with the last-placed J1 team. Following Saturday's matches, however, Avispa Fukuoka have overtaken Montedio Yamagata as the most likely candidate. The two teams stand level on 70 points, with two remaining, but Avispa has a three-goal lead in goal difference. Avispa also have the easier match on Tuesday, facing Sagan Tosu at home whereas Montedio play away at Mito Hollyhock. However, as fate would have it, the two teams clash head to head in the final match of the season, at Montedio's home ground, Yamagata Stadium. The "mountain kings" will be hoping that their home fans can bring them enough luck and support to claim the full three points, since that may be what is required in order to overtake Avispa.

Here are the complete standings in the J2 as of Saturday evening:

Rumours and Rumblings