1 Dec 2009(Tue)

The opportunism of their counterattacking was every bit as devastating as its consequences were to the beholders in blue and black at the opposite end of the ground. For 45 minutes on Saturday afternoon, Kashima Antlers rediscovered their mojo in a manner so clinical and ruthless as to reduce Gamba Osaka’s hopes of completing a J. League record 19-point turnaround to rubble, and make the sheer premise of their conception seem little more than one-eyed over-optimism. To Kashima’s long-suffering manager, Oswaldo de Oliveira, it was redemption – the Antlers’ biggest domestic win of the season had arrived with the same perfect timing as each of their five goals, and all the weight of all the troubles of the past four months had, for a little while at least, been lifted.

 

Not that everything was entirely straightforward. After a goalless first half in which Mitsuo Ogasawara might, on another day, have seen red following an altercation with Hayato Sasaki, Gamba were looking the stronger side until committing defensive suicide twice in as many minutes and then, after Takahiro Futagawa had fired home an instant reply, once more for luck moments later. The hosts had referee Toshimitsu Yoshida – he of Uzbekistan, Bahrain, and the non-retaken penalty fame – to thank for ending the game as a contest with a harsh second yellow for Lucas and denying the visitors a penalty for a tug on Cho Jae-Jin; not to mention Gamba’s attacking persistence for the holes that opened up in time for Yuzo Tashiro and Danilo to add their touches of gloss near the end. Still, de Oliveira, the excellent Shinzo Koroki et al played their hands without flaw. It was, as beaten coach Akira Nishino ruefully admitted afterwards, ‘typical Antlers’.

 

The title race, then, moves on into the final day – just as it has every season since the single-stage format was adopted in 2005 – with news flashing up on the scoreboard shortly after full time in Kashima that Kawasaki Frontale in second had held on to squeeze a 1-0 victory at home to Albirex Niigata. With four wins in a row and a two point advantage, Kashima remain very much in pole position, while Urawa Reds falling out of ACL contention (ironically, to the advantage of Gamba Osaka) with defeat at Kyoto Sanga has made a tricky-looking visit to Saitama Stadium on the first Saturday of December potentially that bit easier. Kawasaki have a superior goal difference, but must rely on Kashima dropping points while ensuring to take all three from their visit to already-relegated Kashiwa Reysol.

 

This, though, is a league that everyone seems to do their best not to win, and neither of this year’s contenders are strangers to losing their bottle when it matters most. Having led by ten points at one stage, the only reason that Kashima haven’t been sipping champagne for several weeks already is that they then picked up just nine points in twelve league games – including a club record five consecutive losses – between mid-July and mid-October. This initially allowed Shimizu S-Pulse to overcome a 17-point deficit and go top with six games to play, but having only lost four matches to that point, Kenta Hasegawa’s men have since been beaten five times on the spin and fallen down to seventh. Kawasaki, having ummed and aahed and dropped points themselves during Kashima’s earlier crisis, finally went top on matchday 29, but contrived to surrender their advantage again last week with defeat at bottom club Oita Trinita.

 

In their bid for an unprecedented third straight J. League crown – a run that began by taking advantage of an Urawa collapse in 2007 – Kashima have seen off one rival, recovered their form, and taken back the driving seat ahead of the final hurdle. If recent history is anything to go by, however, this might just prove to be the worst preparation possible. Meanwhile, despite the overreaction to their players’ antics in the aftermath of defeat in the Nabisco Cup final, one still gets the impression that Kawasaki, perennial runners-up and eternal entertainers, remain the preferred choice of most neutrals.