Review: Shimizu S-Pulse vs Cerezo Osaka (J1 100 Year Vision League MD15)

Shunta Tanaka’s goal from a corner gave Cerezo the lead, but a late penalty led to a shootout defeat. They aim to conclude the 5-match run with a win against Nagasaki at home next.

Two days after the match against Avispa Fukuoka, Cerezo Osaka traveled away to face Shimizu S-Pulse in Matchday 15 of the Meiji Yasuda J1 100 Year Vision League Regional League Round. Aiming for a third straight win within 90 minutes, the starting lineup saw five changes from the Fukuoka match. Maintaining a 4-2-3-1 formation, Solomon Sakuragawa started up front, with Shinji Kagawa in the hole, Yumeki Yokoyama on the left wing, Dion Cools at right-back, and Kim Jin Hyeon in goal.



Cerezo were initially pressed by the home side's momentum, but Jin Hyeon prevented an early deficit by saving Zento Uno’s long-range effort in the 2nd minute. After the 10-minute mark, Cerezo established possession, entering the opposition half through Kagawa and Masaya Shibayama. In the 13th minute, Kagawa intercepted in midfield to launch a counter; he met Yokoyama’s cross with a goal-bound shot, only for it to be cleared by Shimizu defender Yutaka Yoshida. In the 17th minute, Cerezo broke through the center via Ayumu Ohata, Sakuragawa, Yokoyama, Kagawa, and Shibayama. Shibayama spread the play to the right, where Cools won a corner. Nelson Ishiwatari contested Shibayama’s delivery, and Shunta Tanaka prodded home the loose ball. Although Yoshida cleared it again, the ball had already crossed the line, and the goal stood. In the 25th minute, Sakuragawa laid off a vertical pass from Rikito Inoue for Shibayama, who cut inside and shot just wide as they pursued a second. In the 28th minute, Oh Se Hun broke down the flank and crossed for Hikaru Nakahara at the far post, but Jin Hyeon denied the point-blank strike with a fine save. The game then settled with few major openings for either side. In first-half stoppage time, Yokoyama cut in from the left off a Kagawa pass but fired his shot wide.





Trailing by a goal, Shimizu intensified their attack in the second half. Capixaba’s introduction on the left wing added thrust, and in the 57th minute, Yudai Shimamoto, seeking a goal in his third straight game, cut inside the box and shot, but Jin Hyeon saved at the near post. In the 60th minute, Jelani Reshaun Sumiyoshi’s header from a corner rattled the crossbar. After weathering a 15-minute onslaught of long balls, Cerezo introduced Thiago Andrade and Hayato Okuda for Shibayama and Cools in the 66th minute. Thiago’s runs sparked the offense; he broke through from a Sakuragawa pass in the 68th minute and threatened again from an Okuda ball in the 72nd. A golden chance arrived in the 78th minute when Thiago met Shunta Tanaka’s cross from a cleared corner, but his header was thwarted by a superb save from Shimizu’s substitute keeper Yuya Oki. While Capixaba hit the post in the 74th minute, Cerezo pushed back during the closing stages to create chances and run down the clock. In the 81st minute, Manager Arthur Papas replaced Sakuragawa with Hayato Tanaka, switching to a back three (defending in a 5-2-3) to see out the game. Shimizu struggled to create openings until the 85th minute, when Shinnosuke Hatanaka was judged to have committed a foul with his studs in the box, resulting in a penalty. Matheus Bueno converted the spot-kick in the 90th minute to level the scores. After eight minutes of stoppage time, the match ended 1-1, heading to a shootout.



This marked Cerezo’s third consecutive penalty shootout. Batting second, Shunta Tanaka and Motohiko Nakajima converted their attempts, but Hatanaka’s third-round effort was saved. Although Thiago scored the fourth, Shimizu’s perfect record of five successful kicks settled the contest. It was Cerezo’s first shootout loss since the opening match, snapping their two-game winning streak. "Even when we were under pressure, we were defending well at the back," Shunta Tanaka remarked, lamenting the momentary lapse. While the penalty decision was unfortunate, tactical issues remained in the buildup. "I think we could have done more in terms of our performance after scoring, which is why we couldn't clinch the win," Manager Arthur Papas summarized, highlighting the team’s management of the game while under pressure in the second half. Returning home with two days’ rest to face V-Varen Nagasaki, the priority will be physical recovery and finding the clinical edge to secure a victory within 90 minutes.