December 29, 2009

Semi-Excitement in the Semifinals

Earlier in the year we commented that this year's Emperor's Cup had managed to recapture at least some of the excitement and interest that used to characterize the final act of the football season in Japan. But while the first few rounds were quite entertaining, the extremely long delay -- over two weeks -- between the quarterfinal round and the semifinals destroyed any sense of continuity that might have developed in the earlier rounds. The result was a relative lack of excitement in the two semifinals, played on December 29, despite the fact that both were closely contested affairs with presumably very high stakes (particularly for the three semifinalists that are still hoping for a berth in the ACL next year). While relatively large crowds turned out for the two semifinals, as a TV spectacle these matches fell well short of the mark set by some of the thrilling battles of years past.

1 - 1 (PK5-3)

The first of the two semifinals took place at Shizuoka "Ecopa" Stadium -- an ideal venue when you consider the two teams that ended up in this semifinal bracket, since the stadium is located within easy reach for both Nagoya and S-Pulse fans. Even on a weekday afternoon, this "Tokai Derby" managed to draw a very large and boisterous crowd, providing a good backdrop for the high-stakes match. Both teams would dearly like to win the Cup, and along with it, the fourth J.League berth in 2010's ACL tournament. As a result, the intensity of this contest was fierce, even if the content of play was a bit less thrilling than one might have hoped.

Both teams came out looking for an early scoring opportunity, and within five minutes, both had managed a dangerous shot on goal. The Red Whales took the early initiative and put the first shot on net after three minutes, when Josh Kennedy dropped a ball back to the top of the penalty arc for Yoshimura to blast just wide of the right post. But S-Pulse were playing a well-designed counterattack strategy, allowing Grampus to maintain a lot of possession on the buildup, but then firing back with lightning counterattacks when they won possession. Shinji Okazaki made one early break that did not quite manage to get behind the Nagoya defence, and his early shot sailed over the crossbar. But in the 17 minute the Wingheads won possession at the top of their onw box and defender Hiraoka let loose a quick blast downfield that Okazaki read perfectly. The ball looped over his left shoulder as he dashed towards goal, and Okazaki reached the ball just a milisecond ahead of the outrushing Seigo Narazaki. With a quick and acrobatic high-flick of his right boot, Okazaki poked the ball just over the keeper's flailing fingertips, and it bounded into the open net just ahead of the retreating defenders.

Nagoya did a fairly good job of ignoring the early strike, and resumed the gradual buildup that had given them the vast majority of possession over the opening quarter-hour. It was clear that they were trying to take advantage of Kennedy's height advantage over the two Shimizu central defenders. But S-Pulse did a very good job of keeping the Grampus players out of the deep corners, denying them the opportunity to send in a dangerous cross. As the half hour mark approached the Red Whales seemed to alter their approach a bit, and began sending in diagonal crosses from a position further up the pitch. This approach seemed a bit more effective, and for a spell of about fifteen minutes, at the end of the half, Nagoya created a number of chances including one header from Kennedy that bounded just wide of the right post.

The biggest opportunity of the half, however, fell to Maya Yoshida, who just days earlier announced his plans to accept a move to VVV Venlo, in Holland, from Januayr. Five minutes before the break Grampus won a corner kick on the right side, and the low line drive that Hayuma Tanaka sent across the face of goal was met by Yoshida with a running header. But the ball just clipped the far post as it flashed wide, and S-Pulse went to the locker room at half time still clinging to their narrow lead.

Nagoya came out in the second half with a much more direct effort to take the ball into the corners. Just three minutes after the restart a cross from Yoshizumi Ogawa, in the left corner, was headed by Kennedy off the junction of the right post and crossbar. It was only the second time in the match that the Grampus wide men had managed to find Kennedy with a cross. The increased focus on finding Kennedy in the box paid off moments later, though in a somewhat disputed manner. A lob from Alex Santos was contested by Kennedy and Hiraoka, with both players going down after the collision. However, Mr. Iemoto opted to award a penalty kick, much to the bemusement of the S-Pulse defender. Keiji Tamada struck from the spot, and the match was back on level terms.

The next xx minutes were extremely scrappy as both teams battled to establish control of the run of play and dictate the shape of play. The Shimizu defence used muscle and body contact in an effort to stop Nagoya from tightening their clamp around the Shimizu penalty box, while the Grampus defenders resorted to early body-checks and even deliberate takedowns to snuff out S-Pulse's counterattacks. Try as they might, neither team could win the battle in the trenches. Even as the tension rose, the number of clear-cut chances on both ends trailed away to less than a handful. It was apparent that a change of strategy would be needed if either team was to claim the winner in regular time.

The Wingheads were the first to make the adjustment, shifting their midfield players forward and slowing the ball down to develop a more deliberate and patient attack. Nagoya was ill-equipped to play an attacking game with Kennedy at the point of the attack, but they tried to respond by bringing on the speedy dribbler Keita Sugimoto, and shifting Kennedy back into a post position. But this failed to add much impetus to Nagoya's counters, and the run of play began to gradually slip in S-Pulse's favour. Not enough, however, to create a goal before the final whistle, and with the score still deadlocked the contest moved into extra time. In the first overtime period Okazaki had two golden opportunities to give his team the lead, but both times Narazaki came up with brilliant saves to deny him. As the secopnd extra time period began it was Nagoya's chance to pressure the S-Pulse goal, but Tamada failed to find his teammates with a cross from the end line, and then blasted a second opportunity over the crossbar. The contest ended with a last^minute exchange of corner kicks, but neither team could make connections, and the contest was settled in a very anticlimactic PK shootout. S-Pulse missed their very first PK attempt and Nagoya ran the table, booking their berth in the final on New Year's Day.

1 - 2

Though not quite as rowdy or raucous as the Grampus-S-Pulse match, the contest between Gamba Osaka and Vegalta Sendai drew a surprisingly large number of people from the distant bases of Osaka and Sendai to Tokyo's National Stadium, where the final match will be played on New Year's Day.

Gamba took the early lead on a miscue by the Sendai keeper and a spectacular reaction by Lucas Severino. Just three minutes into the contest Michinori Yasuda broke down the right wing and fired in a cross that keeper Akihiro Hayashi tried to punch away, but barely deflected beyond the six yard box. Lucas reacted to the ball immediately, flopping onto his back and flicking an overhead kick into the vacated goal mouth.

Following the early strike, however, the contest settled down nto a closely matched battle, with Sendai coming closest to adding to the score line and Gamba mainly forced to hold possession and look for openings or Vegalta errors. Ther Golden Eagles had a few dangerous counteratacks, and one set play that Yuki Nakashima headed off the left post. However, Gamba held their advantage as the two teams retired for the halftime break.

Shortly after the break, though, Vegalta struck back on a lovely bit of dribbling by Sekiguchi who took a ball into the right corner, cut back suddenly and charged past his defender into the box. As the defenders collapsed to try to close him down, he played a soft roller across the six yard box and Nakahara drove the ball into the roof of the net.

Gamba responded with steady pressure that pinned Vegalta deep in their own end, and though the Sendai defence worked hard to try to keep the number of chances down, eventually the Osaka Boys found an opening in the center of the back line, which Lucas exploited for his second goal of the afternoon, Sendai made a concerted effort to fight their way back into the contest, but they were visibly outmatched in technical skill, and Gamba did a very good job of forcing the Vegalta players to run, eventually wearing them down enough to offset any edge Sendai might have had in speed and energy level. As the clock moved into the final 15 minutes their energy started to wane. Sendai managed to push forward for one last shot as the clock moved into extra time, but it was a weak one, straight at the keeper, and Gamba coasted into the final, where they will face Nagoya.