Krishna Sadhana
Football Tribe SEA Editor
Kawasaki Frontale have clinched the 2019 J.League Cup title after beating Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 5-4 on penalties at the Saitama Stadium 2002 on Saturday, October 26th. The match itself ended 3-3 after extra time, in an exhilarating tie that kept fans from both sides on the edge of their seats.
Both Kawasaki and Consadole went into Saturday’s final gunning for their maiden J.League Cup title, with Kawasaki having been on the losing end of 5 finals and Consadole making their first-ever appearance on the stage. Both teams were significantly bolstered coming into the match, with Chanathip Songkrasin making his return to the Consadole starting lineup after his injury, and Kawasaki playing the trio of Yasuto Wakizaka, Ryota Oshima, and Ao Tanaka in their starting lineup for the first time since July. The atmosphere created by fans from both teams was quite breathtaking, with Consadole fans and Kawasaki fans trying their best to outdo each other in voicing out their support for their team.
Within this electrifying atmosphere, it was Consadole who took first blood. In the 10th minute, Consadole’s Kosuke Shirai delivered a cross that was deflected into the path of Daiki Suga, who struck with a powerful shot from the left side of the field. 1-0 Consadole and the northerners intensified their attack, with Musashi Suzuki’s effort hitting the side netting in the 18th minute. Kawasaki were not without any resistance though, as shortly before half-time, Wakizaka found himself hitting the crossbar after receiving the perfect cross from Akihiro Ienaga.
The first half ends in Consadole’s favor, 1-0.
However, Kawasaki emerged out from the changing rooms a different beast and immediately pegged Consadole back in the 47th minute. A Kawasaki corner was well-accepted by Leandro Damiao, who headed the ball towards Hiroyuki Abe who hammered home the equalizer.
In the 73rd minute, Kawasaki head coach Toru Oniki decides to bring on some fresh legs, and not just a pair of fresh legs – it’s Kawasaki’s club captain Yu Kobayashi. The presence of their influential captain inspired the Kawasaki players and in the 88th minute, Kobayashi scored what seems to be the winning goal, with Oshima as the creator. There would be a twist in the tale though, as Mihailo Petrović’s men refused to roll over and die just like that. In the 5th minute of injury time, an Akito Fukumori freekick was headed by Kazuki Fukai beyond the grasp of Kawasaki goalie Shota Arai, thus forcing extra time.
Kawasaki were forced to play with 10 men during the first-half of extra time after defender Shogo Taniguchi received a straight red from the referee in the 96th minute. Taniguchi had denied Thai ace Songkrasin a goalscoring opportunity by fouling him on the edge of the penalty box and was promptly sent off after the referee had consulted the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). This opened the opportunity for Fukumori and his deadly freekick to strike again, this time turning the match in favor of Consadole in the 99th minute.
Kobayashi had other things to say, though, showing his true masterclass in leading his team out of adversity. In the 109th minute, Consadole were given a corner. Suzuki managed to reach the ball first, only for Kawasaki’s Kazuya Yamamura to knock the ball across the field towards Kobayashi, who scored the equalizer with ease.
3-3 after 120 minutes of exciting football and the tie must be decided on penalties. At first, it was Consadole who seemed to have the advantage after Lucas Fernandes had brought the northerners 4-3 up in the shootout after Kawasaki’s Shintaro Kurumaya had hit the crossbar. Kawasaki kept their calm though and showed enough grit and resilience to overturn the tie as Asai performed heroically to deny Consadole’s Naoki Ishikawa and Ryosuke Shindo their penalties. The shootout ended 5-4 in favor of Kawasaki, who won their first-ever J.League Cup title to add to their growing list of accolades. As for Consadole, defeat meant a painful end to their heroic display as the search for their first-ever major title continues. While Consadole fans expected Chanathip to have a say during the shootout, the Thai star has said during a post-match interview that he didn’t want to take a penalty due to him missing a vital one during his youth that costed his team, thus he was listed as Consadole’s ninth penalty taker in the shootout.
Despite winning the 2019 J.League Cup, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics meant that Kawasaki won’t be participating in the annual J.League Cup/Copa Sudamericana Championship that was normally given to the champions of the J.League Cup and the Copa Sudamericana as the 2020 edition of the competition will be abolished.