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December 25, 2005

All I Want for Xmas is a Derby Match

Earlier in the year, we posted a lament to the deterioration of the Emperor's Cup as football drama, and certainly that criticism still holds true. In the past, when you still had rank amateurs taking the pitch on national TV to face down well-drilled professionals, there was an element of romance and drama about this competition which has been ruined by the J.League-enforced rescheduling and automatic byes for J.League clubs all the way to the fourth round. However, as much of a disappointment as those changes have been, we have to admit that the organizers have done their best to make up for this by "rigging' the draw for the final few rounds to ensure the most dramatic of matchups. (And yes, for those of you who object to the word "rigged", that is exactly what happens. The pairings in the final four rounds of the competition are selected based on regional proximty and other deliberately undefined "considerations", rather than a random draw.)

The result was that two of the four quarterfinal contests, and one of the semifinal matches, were high-suspense inter-city or prefectural derby matches. And the content of play was nothing less than invigorating. Exactly the sort of entertainment that viewers need to keep them warm on cold winter nights. So without further ado, below are our reports on the Christmas Eve quarterfinal matches.

3 - 1

The opening half hour of the contest was eventful, but a bit tentative, as Gamba -- playing without two key offensive contributors, Araujo and Masashi Oguro -- focused mainly on defensive duties and looked to counterattack on the wings. Cerezo had the slight advantage in momentum and ball possession, but they had difficulty breaking down the concerted defence of Gamba. The event which changed the character of the match came with four minutes left in the half, when Hiroaki Morishima -- unable to find a way through the Gamba back line -- decided to try his luck from distance. As he ripped off his shot, a defender threw a boot in the ball's path, but the deflection actually fooled keeper Yosuke Fujigaya, who was expecting a powerful line drive, and suddenly had to backpedal to try to tip away a "lob" for the top left corner. The ball just eluded his fingertips and slipped under the crossbar, giving Cerezo the advantage at half time.

When the two teams came out for the second period, Gamba was now in a difficult dilemma. They had to press for the equalizer, but doing so would open up the defence to Cerezo's swift attacking thrusts. No doubt coach Nishino gave the team some instructions at half time, but for the opening ten minutes of the half, the players seemed to be unsure of themselves, and uncertain of what to do. This hesitation was to prove deadly.

Seven minutes into the second half, a steal at midfield and a galloping counterattack by Cerezo gave Tatsuya Furuhashi an open shot from the left edge of the box, and he buried his shot to extend the Cerezo lead. While Gamba were still shaking their heads and trying to decide what to do next, another wave of attack breached their defences and this time Fabinho was on the scoring end of the goal rush.

To Gamba's credit, they did pick themselves up after the third goal and start creating offensive pressure of their own. But with a three-goal lead, Cerezo could now afford to play defensive and conservative football. Gamba managed to pull one goal back when Sidiclei stuffed home a rebound, following a prolonged scramble in front of the Cerezo net. But with Cerezo packing their penalty box more and more with each minute that elapsed, Gamba could not find their way back into the contest, and Cerezo walked off with their first derby match victory of the year.

0 - 1

0 - 1

Early in the second half, Omiya got the chance they had been waiting for all day, as a stray pass at midfield was intercepted by Chikara Fujimoto, who immediately fired a long pass for Koji Morita. The speedy striker dashed away from the defence and drilled a shot into the top right corner to give Omiya the lead. The remainder of the contest was a constant barrage of pressure in the Omiya end, as the Antlers fought for the equaliser. But the Mighty Squirrels held off the attack until the final whistle, and claimed a well deserved spot in the semifinal.

2 - 0

Extra Excitement in Emperor's Cup

0 - 1

We have only seen the match once, and have not had time to really analyze the contest in depth. Perhaps we will find some clues to the team's performance after more careful viewing, but on first viewing, we really could not understand what Cerezo was doing wrong. Perhaps it is unfair not to give S-Pulse their due; they did play tenaciously on defence and the threat of their quick counterattacks kept Cerezo's defenders from providing extra support to the attack. Nevertheless, there was no question that Cerezo had the superior team. They passed better, controlled possession, dribbled circles around their opponents and always seemed able to chase back and take the ball away from S-Pulse when they tried to counterattack (well, at least until the late stages of the contest). Yet for some reason, Cerezo not only couldnt hit the net; they didnt even get off that many dangerous shots.

On the opposite side of the pitch, S-Pulse looked outmatched in terms of pure technical skill, but they certainly did not allow themselves to be outhustled. The Wingheads fielded several youngsters in this match, including teenagers Takuma Edamura and Naoaki Aoyama in the defensive line. It is always risky to jump to conclusions on the basis of just one performance, but from what these two kids showed in Thursday's match, they are likely to be valuable contributors to the squad next season. Both acquitted themselves extremely well, especially considering how potent the Cerezo offence has been in the latter half of this season.

After 90 minutes of play, neither team had managed to produce a goal. As the end of regulation time approached, some of the Osaka veterans seemed to begin running out of gas, and for the first time in the contest, S-Pulse was the team producing some dangerous chances. However, as the contest moved into two extra time periods, it still seemed that Cerezo had the slight edge. Indeed, there was one sequence early in the first extra time period where Cerezo received three consecutive corner kicks and kept the ball deep in S-Pulse territory for an uninterrupted spell of at least two or three minutes.

But when the winning goal did come, it was S-Pulse who claimed the honours. Following one speedy counterattack that had the tired Cerezo defenders retreating in desperation, the ball was cleared from the Osakans penalty box, but was collected by a Shimizu player and fed out to defender Ryuzo Morioka, pushing up the right wing. Nobody came out to pressure him, and the former Japan international had time to measure his cross carefully. He sent a low line drive towards the penalty spot, and Cho Jae-Jin rose over his defender to meet the ball. Though he was unable to get much power on his header, keeper Motohiro Yoshida got caught halfway off his line, and the ball looped softly over his fingertips and into the back of the net.

Though Cerezo put on a fierce press in the second extra time period, they could not find the equaliser, and so S-Pulse claimed the ticket to Tokyo on New Year's Day.

4 - 2

Urawa got the scoring started in the 26 minute, on a strike by Tomislav Maric. Up to that point, the Reds had generally controlled the tempo and dictated the run of play. So when they claimed the first goal of the contest, and the huge crowd of Reds supporters roared with approval, it seemed for a moment that they might be on the verge of sewing up a spot in the final quite early. But the Mighty Squirrels refused to be daunted by either the score line or the raucous cheering of the Saitama Red Army. Just three minutes lat4e3r, Yosuke Kataoka claimed the equaliser and the crowd settled back in their seats and bundled up their winter garments, perhaps realizing that it was going to be a while before this match was decided.

The second half started off just like the first. Once again, the Reds came out and stamped their impression on the contest over the opening fifteen minutes or so. Just after the match reached the hour mark, Urawa once again took the lead when Makoto Hasebe short-hopped a looping cross from Alex Santos and sent the ball in a soft arc over the goalkeeper's head and into the high left corner.

Ardija tried to fight back immediately, as they had in the first half. But the Reds defence managed to weather the storm, and as the contest moved into its final ten minutes, it looked like Urawa had the result well in hand. But in a desperation move, Ardija threw all of their players forward for one last push, and as the clock moved into stoppage time, defender Daisuke Tomita leapt high for a looping cross and headed home the equalizer.

But Ardija had used up all of their luck, and as extra time began, the Reds took full control of the contest. Shortly after the start of the first extra time period, captain Nobuhisa Yamada collected the ball at the top left corner of the penalty box and -- as all the Ardija players dropped off to pick up Reds strikers -- curled a soft shot into the opposite side of the net. Omiya immediately began pressing forward in numbers, hoping to find the equaliser once more. But this time, the overextended defence was breached. After a frenetic push by Ardija deep into the Reds end, the ball was cleared to Hasebe just above the top of his own box. The nimble midfielder took off with Maric alongside, on a two-on-two break. Though he had Maric open on the left side, Hasebe decided to take no chances with an errant pass, and instead, dribbled all the way from one penalty area to the other, cutting back as he crossed into the danger zone and finding the space to fire a low shot underneath the keeper. That goal sealed the victory for Urawa, and though they needed to play out another fifteen minutes of extra time, tyhe result was beyond doubt.

And so, the Reds will face off against Shimizu S-Pulse on New Year's Day, to see which team will claim the first title in 2006.

Below is the full matrix for this year's Emperor's Cup: