Shimizu S-Pulse secured a 2:1 victory over Osaka in the second round of the Emperor's Cup on Wednesday evening. The result ends a run of three straight defeats for the hosts, who had lost to Cerezo Osaka, Yokohama F. Marinos and drawn with Nagoya Grampus in their previous outings. By then, the mood at the stadium was anything but buoyant.
R. Sugawara gave Shimizu the lead inside the quarter-hour, firing home in the 17th minute. Osaka responded through Oh Se-Hun, who equalised in the 62nd minute to keep the tie alive. The game looked to be drifting toward extra time until K. Matsuzaki struck in the 93rd minute, snatching it at the death.
And here's the thing — the statistics tell a peculiar story. Both sides registered zero shots on target, zero shots off target, zero corners and zero cards. Possession settled at 0.5 for each team, though those figures mean little when neither side could find the net for 90 minutes.
To be fair, Shimizu's recent form offers context. They had lost 0:1 away to Cerezo Osaka and 0:1 at home against Yokohama F. Marinos in their last two league outings. Before that, a 1:0 win over Nagoya Grampus and two convincing victories — 3:1 against Karlsruhe and 3:1 over Polesie — suggested they could still produce.
Osaka, meanwhile, came into this match on the back of a 4:1 victory over Nara. Their previous five games included a 2:3 loss to Avispa Fukuoka and a 1:1 draw with Jubilo Iwata. They had not won away from home in their last two league fixtures, losing 0:1 to Biwako Siga and drawing 2:2 with Kamatamare Sanuki.
The victory moves Shimizu into the third round, where they will face whoever emerges from the draw. Osaka's campaign ends here, their 0.5 possession average doing little to console supporters after a match decided by a single moment in stoppage time.