Sometimes it's just not your day. That's certainly what the students of Meiji University must have been thinking at around a quarter-to-four yesterday afternoon, after their football team had held Shimizu S-Pulse to an heroic 3-3 draw in the Fourth Round of the Emperor's Cup, only to lose on penalties.

How Shimizu managed to conjure a miraculous escape against the Kanto League part-timers will forever be a source of conjecture for the Nihondaira faithful, but the fact of the matter is that Shimizu are now in the hat for the Fifth Round of Japan's oldest sporting competition. For 120 minutes of a pulsating, thrill-a-minute clash, however, that never looked likely to be the case.

The two teams certainly looked mis-matched when they took to the pitch. For perhaps the first time in his career Shimizu's midget-like Brazilian Fernandinho was actually taller than someone, with Meiji University's left-midfielder seeming to stand around four foot tall! Appearances can be deceptive, however, and any doubts about Meiji University's talent were dispelled when the students bundled J2 side Kyoto Sanga FC out in the Third Round of the competition.

And after weathering an early onslaught, Meiji took the game to their illustrious rivals - taking a shock lead ten minutes before half-time, following a superb right-wing counter-attack. That prompted fury from Shimizu's hardcore fans, who responded with muted boos when their team left the pitch.

S-Pulse coach Kenta Hasegawa withdrew Korean star Cho Jae-Jin for the pacy Takuro Yajima at half-time, with most inside the stadium and watching on broadcaster NHK expecting Shimizu to make short shrift of Meiji's plucky resistance in the second half. Wishful thinking perhaps, as Meiji spurned several glorious chances to take a deserved two goal lead. It took until fifteen minutes from time for midfielder Akihiro Hyodo to thump home an emphatic equaliser, to the visible relief of those dressed in orange.

With eight minutes remaining, man-of-the-match Naoki Aoyama produced what could politely be described as a "defender's finish," simply bludgeoning the ball home from around ten yards out, after he had been thrown into the attack as a makeshift centre forward. Several locals began to head for the exits, but their confidence was misplaced. Deep into stoppage time Meiji received a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area, and throwing everyone forward they managed to loop a header over the hapless Kaito Yamamoto to send the game into extra-time.

The drama didn't stop there, and for the second time in the match, Japan's Olympic goalkeeper Yamamoto failed to cover himself in glory, as he was beaten just before the half-time interval in extra-time, with Meiji taking the lead for the first time in the match. It took Shimizu until five minutes from time to equalise, when the bullocking Aoyama powered a header home to send this breathless match to penalties.

As is so often in football's version of Russian Roulette, it was the woodwork that separated these two sides, with Meiji's second penalty thundering into the crossbar with Yamamoto well beaten. The Shizuoka side were flawless from the spot, but the response from both team and fans said it all after Akinori Nishizawa had converted his side's final kick. Shimizu fans gave their side the frostiest of after-match receptions - just one week after the team had been lauded as heroes for their outstanding 3-1 win over Gamba Osaka at the same venue. Instead the Shimizu fans reserved their applause for Meiji University, who were given a deserved standing ovation from all sections of Nihondaira Stadium.

Shimizu will now take on Kanagawa giants Yokohama F. Marinos in the Fifth Round, with the Tokyo-based Meiji University left to ponder what might have been. They came within an inch of producing undoubtedly the upset of the season, but as so often happens in knock-out Cup competitions, it was simply a case of so near, yet so far.