Yeah, it's crazy... Vegalta have now beaten Omiya 3 times this year: Once at home in round 2 (3-1), and twice away (4-0 in the Nabisco Cup, and 3-0 in the league). I wish Vegalta could play Ardija every week! Or rather, play like they do against Ardija every week...
If you do survive, you should at least send us a thank you card. Flowers would be nice, maybe candy. You have time to think about it.
*Maybe*... Like I said before, Vegalta has already lost some games to fellow relegation candidates. Away 0-1 to Shonan Bellmare (unacceptable), at home to Vissel (0-1 loss, the first loss at Yurtec after the long unbeaten streak there), and away 2-1 to Kyoto in round 3 (as you said, with the offside goal...). That's potentially 9 points or even 3 that could've come in handy. Now, *if* (and if they can't, they really don't deserve to stay up) Vegalta beat Shonan at home on Saturday, they'll be on 21 points, and probably temporarily out of the relegation zone... The only problem is their remaining games: 22: @Kashima 23: Yamagata 24: @Yokohama FM 25: @Nagoya 26: FC Tokyo 27: @Cerezo 28: Kyoto Sanga 29: @Kobe 30: Jubilo Iwata 31: S-Pulse 32: @Niigata 33: @Hiroshima 34: Kawasaki Frontale Basically, they're going to have to win all their 6 point swing games, (FC Tokyo, Kyoto, Kobe, and Iwata), and then hope for some upsets here and there. Luckily, I think the team on the field (with Akamine, Ryang, and Fernandinho) is where I want it to be (no more Nakajima... He's injured anyway). I only wish Sendai had had this line-up since the start of the season... :-/
For comparison, here's Vissel's remaining games: 21: FC Tokyo 22: @Kyoto 23: @Hiroshima 24: Cerezo 25: Kawasaki Frontale 26: @Yokohama FM 27: Nagoya 28: @Gamba 29: Sendai 30: @Niigata 31: Kashima 32: @Omiya 33: S-Pulse 34: @Urawa Hmm... Looking at this, I'd say Vegalta have the easier schedule... Vegalta and Vissel both have 7 home games left, but Vegalta's are theoretically much easier (Shonan, Yamagata (Michinoku Derby), FC Tokyo, Kyoto, Iwata, and Kawasaki). You're right! There may be hope yet!
Kashima - Sendai highlights: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7bBXzh3IUs"]YouTube - 2010 J.League Division1 ?22? ??vs??[/ame] I didn't get to see the game last night, as I was out (I don't know if it was even on justin), but the result is about what I expected. It is frustrating to have Fernandinho and Akamine injured right now; they surely could've contributed something yesterday. Hopefully they will be fit for the Michinoku Derby next week (I was hoping to see that game in person, actually, but my company isn't sending me to Tokyo Game Show this year).
Vegalta could make pressure on Kashima in the final 15mins or so, but overall Kashima deserved the win yea. Things could have been a lot easier for them if they scored the 2nd, and they had some chances after counter attacks.
Vegalta with the same starting lineup they used in last week's loss against Kashima. I guess Teguramori figures if they only lost 1-0 to Kashima, the same lineup should beat the weaker Yamagata side. Some good news, though: Akamine is on the bench! Unfortunately, Fernandinho isn't, even though Teguramori said he'd be back for the Kashima game... Anyway, it's Michinoku Derby time!
Full time, Vegalta Sendai 3, FC Tokyo 2! Wow, I wish I could've seen this game live (I followed on Vegalta's internet radio stream)... Goals by Elizeu in the 86th minute and Fernandinho in the 90th give Sendai a come-from-behind win and a *huge* 3 points! Obviously, this by no means guarantees Sendai will stay up this year, but with 30 points and 8 games left, it's really in their hands now. Wow. I'll have to find the highlights of this game soon!
Bad result for Sendai in the Yokohama F Marinos - FC Tokyo match... If Kobe wins tonight, it could get even worse. The big problem is Sendai's schedule. The last 5 games: vs. Jubilo vs. Shimizu at Niigata at Hiroshima vs. Kawasaki Not really an "easy" one in the bunch... If Vegalta can beat Jubilo tonight, I'll feel a lot better, but getting points in the last 4 games will not be easy...
Wow, I wasn't expecting such a game from Sendai tonight! 3-0 over Jubilo! Goals by Nakahara, Jiro Kamata, and Nakashima(!) gives Sendai the victory! It's Nakashima's first goal ever in J1! I'll put aside my hate for him for tonight. ;-) More importantly (if I recall), Sendai's first 2 goals were set up by corner kicks earned by Akamine, and both goals were assisted by Ryang. Just goes to show you don't need to score to have an impact. Additionally, Yamagata's 3-3 tie with Cerezo means Sendai are in 12th place now on 37 points! Even with Sendai's tough schedule coming up, this *should* be enough to keep them up (although I don't want to speak too soon...).
Safety quotes in past four season: - 2006 = 28 - 2007 = 33 - 2008 = 38 - 2009 = 35 You should be OK... My (honest) question is: would have you been OK without Akamine?
Sendai give up a goal in stoppage time and draw Niigata 1-1 after an goal in the 78th minute by Akamine... This, combined with Omiya's 2-2 draw with Kobe, likely means Sendai are safe. Sendai are on 38 points, and Kobe are on 32 points, so, unless something really wacky happens, Vegalta are staying up. Also, I didn't see the game, but did listen to it on radio/follow on twitter, and there were calls that the free kick that lead to the goal was a dive, and that Atomu Tanaka was offside on the goal... Anyway, it doesn't really matter, though I would have liked the win an a 残留 party tonight. Also, to answer your question, Goru, no! I don't think we would have stayed up without Akamine! He came in at a time when Sendai was at the lowest of low points... They were 3-5-9 and on 14 points when he joined the team. They are 7-3-5 since. Also, while a lot of fans were saying "We'll definitely stay up!" before he came, after he started playing, I think they actually started believing it.
Looks like the equalizing goal by Niigata *was* offside...: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFv_FpmLx_c"]YouTube - 2010?J1??32????vs???J??????[/ame] Oh well, shouganai ne...
Blah, that's what blind devotion will do to you. I didn't even notice that, and was completely focused on when the pass was made to Tanaka... The defender was Ryang, too...
Well that drew my attention But yes I think it was the correct decision to allow the goal. With the laws and interpretations as they stand, it would have been offside if the ball had "rebounded" off the defender. I think though that since the defender seemed to be trying to play the ball back to the goalkeeper for him to clear it, that creates a new phase of play (one where the attacker is onside because the ball was played by an opponent). It's borderline though and shows how much the laws are based on a continuum of considerations rather than black and white. Do you (anyone) agree that it was played back deliberately, or would you consider it a rebound?