At the start of the week, we had 6 teams sitting in the murky, mucky water of Relegationistan. Two of these teams felt the water getting a little hot and have pretty decided that it's time to get out. I'm not sure it's time to call safe on Cerezo and Kashima but I'm getting close.
Here's the rundown
BIG WINNER OF THE WEEK- Kashima Antlers.
Kashima pulled off the unlikely (but increasingly more common) feat of putting up 5 goals on an opponent, this time in the shape of FC Tokyo. A hat trick administered by the unlikely foot of Junior Dutra was the catalyst for a rout. Cerezo may have more total points, but Kashima has the easier schedule, with games against Consadole and Omiya still on the schedule, as well as a gam against the corpse of Nagoya Grampus. Two of those games might be tricky though (I'll explain down below).
BIG LOSER OF THE WEEK- Albirex Niigata
Even though Gamba finds themselves in a more precarious position, Albirex missed the opportunity to pass up a direct rival and put pressure on their next opponent in week 29. By failing to beat Kobe, they let Omiya go into the break out of the relegation zone and with the option of letting Albirex force play while sitting back and waiting for the counter. I'm not saying that Albirex can't succeed this way, however considering the fact that they are league worst in scoring and like to steal wins through counterattacks, it makes the job that much tougher.
INTERNATIONAL INTERRUPTION
Everybody gets a brief respite for FIFA's designated international match days/money grab. Two teams in the bottom are directly affected with call-ups. Gamba Osaka send defensive anchor Yasuyuki Konno and frequent flier Yasuhito Endo for a global jaunt to France. Not the greatest thing for two very important veterans to fly to France during a good recovery time but hey it's your country. Luckily, Kawasaki operator Kengo Nakamura is also making the trip, so the advantage for Frontale is negligible.
Vissel Kobe sends a banged up Masahiko Inoha on the trip as well which is a risk considering Kazumichi Takagi and Lee Kwang Seon are the primary backups.
International break day also means cup competitions aplenty. Every team except Kobe have Emperor Cup matches on the 10th. Omiya hosts Fukuoka at magnificent Kumagaya in hopes of getting a bit of payback versus the J2 squad. Last year saw Fukuoka sweep the season series. The teams met in 2010 in a rainy midweek match in a controversial game. Fukuoka managed to eek out a win in PK's. Albirex plays host to Fukushima United, Gamba hosts Mito, and Cerezo takes on Yamagata in the Branquinho derby.
Kashima by far is the busiest of the Relegationistan residents. On Wednesday, Kashima plays host to Gainare Tottori, a team who has their own relegation worries (Lower Relegationistan?) and may opt to go with a reserve team considering they have away games against Toyama and Ehime sandwiching the midweek cup contest. Kashima might also go with the B squad because of a second leg semifinal match away at Kashiwa.
Cup games are tricky for a couple different reasons. First you get a mix of starters and reserves (in most cases) which leads to accidents in terms of injury and adjudication. If you've read my thoughts on Nabisco Cup (I hate it), you know that I have a real bone to pick with the policy of disqualifying players for league matches because of cup bookings. Kashima is the most handicapped by the cup congestion and faces a Consadole side who not only has nothing to lose, they have two full weeks to prepare for an upset.
The beneficiary of the cup schedule is Kobe, who were eliminated in round 2. Kobe has two full weeks to prepare for surging Shimizu S Pulse, who like Kashima, have midweek Emperor Cup competitions and a Saturday Nabisco Semifinal match against FC Tokyo.
If Kashima and Shimizu managed to upend their opponents, they go on to a finals match on the 3rd of November. This affects the relegation matchup because both Albirex and Omiya are the designated opponents in short schedule games on the 7th. If Kashima loses, it affects the race as well. Kashiwa faces off against Gamba on the 7th. FC Tokyo is the fourth team in the mix and faces Nagoya on the 7th.
Here's a chart
What Cerezo, Kashima, Vissel, and Omiya want for a Nabisco Cup final
Kashima versus FC Tokyo
What Albirex wants for a Nabisco Cup final
Kashima versus Shimizu
What Gamba wants for a Nabisco Cup final
Kashiwa versus FC Tokyo
GAME OF THE WEEK- Kashima versus Kashiwa It's slim pickings this week for games that affect relegation, so this is it. Kashima blasted FC Tokyo on Saturday, while Kashiwa eeked out a 1-0 win against Kawasaki. Both teams will be missing key players for the match. Kashiwa is without the midfield tandem of Ryoichi Kurisawa and Leandro Dominguez while Kashima goes without hardman Mitsuo Ogasawara. Kashima enters the away leg with a tenuous 3-2 advantage. Kashiwa only needs to win 1-0 to advance to the final with the two crucial goals picked up in Kashima.
OSAKA STREAK CORNER- With the 2-1 loss to Vegalta, Gamba's amazing 8 game unbeaten Leandro streak was finally laid to rest. It's unknown so far how the team reacts to losing their invincibility with the talismanic striker on the field. Another amazing streak held up when for the third week in a row, Cerezo Osaka came from behind twice to edge Sagan Tosu. Remarkably all three of their come from behind wins have been by 3-2 scorelines, two of which coming against top tier Shimizu and Sagan Tosu. Cerezo looks to extend the winning streak against FC Tokyo. Not sure if they care about the 3-2 scoreline.
Enjoy the bath
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