Well, it had to happen some day. Shimizu S-Pulse took a giant leap towards qualification for the knock-out stages of the League Cup with a convincing 2-1 win over JEF United in front of a respectable 10,214 fans at a wet Nihondaira Stadium. For me, it was my final game in Japan.

After more than seventy games and far too many away trips to mention, I've decided to call it a day and head back to Australia. I was relieved to see the good guys in orange end with a win thanks to two goals taken with aplomb by Kazuki Hara and Akihiro Hyodo, although the Chiba underdogs gave S-Pulse a scare when captain Tomi Shimomura pulled a goal back in stoppage time.

The win moves Shimizu S-Pulse up to second behind FC Tokyo in Group B and the two sides will meet at Komazawa Stadium on Matchday 7 - by which time both will hope to have guaranteed progression to the knock-out stages.

There was no Eddy Bosnar in the United line-up - after sitting out a suspension in the 1-0 win away at Montedio Yamagata last time out, he was left on the bench this time around - with Yohei Fukumoto and one-time Shimizu S-Pulse defender Takumi Wada preferred at the back instead. United were always on the back foot against an aggressive Shimizu, however, and the hosts took the lead when Kazuki Hara fired an unerring left-foot volley across Masahiro Okamoto and into the far corner.

It wasn't until stoppage-time that Shimizu scored a second when Frode Johnsen laid off a perfect cushioned header for the influential Akihiro Hyodo to lash home from sixteen yards, although United pulled a late consolation back when Tomi Shimomura took advantage of an unconvincing Kaito Yamamoto punch to steer home a skidding finish at the death.

All in all it was a convincing win from Kenta Hasegawa's team, and they will take some confidence into their League Cup clash away at Vissel Kobe on Sunday. I'll be back in Sydney by then, no doubt reminiscing about some of the fantastic football I've seen in what must be one of the world's most underrated football leagues.

I've made plenty of friends along the way - far too many to thank individually - but I'd like to take the opportunity to thank Melanie, Yuichi, Philip and Misa in particular, without whom I'd have never watched as much football in Japan as I have. I'd also like to thank all the readers of the blog, from Sydney to Phnom Penh via Tokyo and beyond. I hope I've managed to share a little bit of the unique world that is Japanese football with you.

As the late, great Jim Morrison once said...

This is the end.

They may have waited ten rounds to see it, but Frode Johnsen's first ever goal for Shimizu S-Pulse was a vital one, as the Norwegian struck a critical reply in Shimizu's 2-2 draw at home to JEF United.

Some 15,129 fans braved driving rain in Shimizu and the home fans among them will have left the happier, after substitute Johnsen pulled a goal back with ten minutes remaining. The former Norwegian international also played a role in Shimizu's equaliser just two minutes from time, as Takuma Edamura slid home on the rebound after Masahiro Okamoto could only parry a point-blank strike from another substitute in Kazuki Hara.

Before that the Chiba Dogs had taken a two goal lead, as first Daisuke Saito took advantage of a lucky richochet off Shimizu defender Naoaki Aoyama, before lashing home on the volley just after the half hour mark.

JEF United then doubled their advantage some nine minutes after the half-time break, as a swirling Tatsuya Yazawa cross was headed home in textbook fashion by slightly-built Brazilian midfielder Michael.

United were in control of this game, but they will rue missed chances in front of goal as the hosts roared back to life late on in this match, thanks mainly to the contribution of substitutes Hara and Johnsen.

Johnsen's goal was a well-taken one in slippery conditions, although a deflection off United talisman Seiichiro Maki seemed to wrong-foot Okamoto in the United goal.

With two minutes remaining and the visitors pouring forward at every opportunity, Johnsen then did well to hold the ball up on the edge of the area and lure former Shimizu defender Takumi Wada into a mis-timed challenge, before intelligently laying the ball off for captain Akihiro Hyodo to send a skidding pass across the six yard box. Kazuki Hara was the quickest to react, but after seeing his shot well-saved by Okamoto, the ball looped in the air and allowed Takuma Edamura to pounce and slide home on the half-volley.

This may have been a morale-boosting comeback for Shimizu S-Pulse, but questions will once again be asked of how the league's second-from-bottom team could outplay the hosts for large stretches of this match.

The wet weather made conditions tough for both sides, and having faced four gruelling clashes in Golden Week so far, it remains to be seen how Kenta Hasegawa's team holds up when they make the trip to Kashima Stadium to face defending champions Kashima Antlers on Sunday afternoon. 

JEF United fans could be forgiven for dousing their heads in a bucket of icy water with the news that 32-year-old Greg Miller has joined the coaching staff of the Chiba-based club.

It's not that the one-time Rangers youth team coach is a bad coach - quite frankly I wouldn't have the slightest clue as to what sort of coach he is - it's just that of all the clubs that have been burned by father-son combinations, JEF United are surely right up there.

In the not-so-distant past, United were transformed by Bosnian coach Ivica Osim from an eager bunch of provincial also-rans into a genuine force in the Japanese game. They picked up the 2005 League Cup title under Osim Sr, but things started to go slightly awry when the respected tactician decided to leave the Chiba club and take up the reins as coach of the Japan national team.

Enter Amar Osim - Ivica's perpetually over-shadowed son - who was desperate to prove himself as a coach of the highest pedigree. He failed.

Under Amar, JEF United went from being a genuine force in Japanese football to providing the kind of comedy clips you see on those late-night, sports-related talk shows.

Everyone's favourite was the tête-à-tête between Amar and star Bulgarian defender Ilian Stoyanov, with the feisty Bulgarian telling the press that Osim Jr was "clueless" and about to steer his team to relegation.

In a Mexican stand-off that thrilled the rest of the J. League and no doubt gave United fans cold sweats, club officials chose to usher Stoyanov towards the exit door and stand by their erratic and increasingly beleaguered coach.

Unfortunately there was no Steve McClaren-style umbrella-related end - but JEF United did eventually sack Amar Osim - just days after he managed to avoid relegation by the skin of his teeth... and his father had suffered a life-threatening stroke. He had the 2006 League Cup crown to show for his efforts, but even that was tarnished by the fact that he only stepped in midway through the campaign to replace his father.

Sometimes I feel sorry for Amar Osim - it can't always be easy being the son of a legendary player and coach - but then, it also has its uses when it comes to walking into employment.

Enter one Greg Miller.

Hopefully JEF United fans won't have any cause to throw themselves off the second floor of Fuku-ari this season, but they can be forgiven a sense of déjà vu over JEF United's latest coaching appointment. 

 I read an interview with JEF United defender Eddy Bosnar on Australian FourFourTwo the other day in which the Sydney-born defender claimed to have been "treated badly" by Australian officials as he continues to be overlooked for national team duty.

My interest stemmed from the fact that at the time of press United were lying second from bottom in the J. League, having conceded 45 goals - the equal second worst defensive record in the top flight. Surely not the kind of form that would have Australia coach Pim Verbeek frantically reaching for the phone.

Since that interview appeared United have been thrashed 3-0 at home by Yokohama F. Marinos, and yesterday their chances of avoiding relegation took another serious blow when Alex Miller's side were beaten 3-2 by Shimizu S-Pulse in front of a massive crowd of 20,079 at a jam-packed Nihondaira Stadium.

Not surprisingly United fans were out in force at Nihondaira, but things got off to a bad start when Shimizu midfielder Akihiro Hyodo unleashed a textbook left-foot volley after twenty-six minutes to send the home team on their way. United striker Seiichiro Maki then responded with a textbook header of his own as the Japan striker leaned back to power home a Reinaldo cross six minutes later, as the two teams traded expertly taken goals.

If the opening two goals proved just how technically adept Japanese footballers are, Shimizu's second brought into sharp focus one of their genuine deficiencies. There should never have been any danger when an overhit Hyodo corner was headed back across the face of goal, but United keeper Masahiro Okamoto somehow allowed Akinori Nishizawa's header to slip underneath his body, and in the panic that followed United captain Tomi Shimomura blasted the ball into the back of his own net. Okamoto has traded places with fellow United shot-stopper Tomonori Tateishi all season, but with only Consadole Sapporo's comedy duo Takahiro Takagi and Yuya Sato representing an even worse choice in goal than what Alex Miller has on his hands, it's no surprise to see both United and Sapporo stranded in the automatic relegation places. 

In the second half S-Pulse killed off United hopes once and for all as exciting young Japan international Shinji Okazaki slalommed through the United defence unchallenged before stroking the ball into the far corner of the goal. The Chiba Dogs managed to pull one goal back through another Maki header, but it proved scant consolation for Alex Miller's side, as they crashed to their sixteenth defeat of the season.

In stoppage time Bosnar failed to enamour himself to the S-Pulse fans when he got himself sent off for a second bookable offence. Bosnar would already have been suspended from United's final game of the season at home to FC Tokyo having picked up his twelfth booking of the campaign, but the Australian hauled himself level with Tokyo Verdy's human foul machine Takashi Fukunishi at the top of the "most booked" charts as he needlessly stood over an injured Akihiro Hyodo, before waving a finger in the face of referee Toshimitsu Yoshida, who predictably responded by brandishing a red card straight back.   

Fortunately for Bosnar and JEF United, their two nearest relegation rivals Jubilo Iwata and Tokyo Verdy both lost. I saw a replay of Kashima defender Daiki Iwamasa's stoppage-time goal against Jubilo on a fellow S-Pulse fan's mobile phone in the carpark down the road from Nihondaira, and the joyous reaction from the surrounding S-Pulse fans suggested that none too many were concerned about the prospect of missing out on the Shizuoka derby in 2009.

It would be a shame if JEF United went down - they're one of the most fervently supported teams in the league, and they routinely bring huge support to clubs around the Kantō and Chūbu regions. They're also just one of six clubs to have featured in every season in the Japanese top flight since its inception in 1993. They've played dreadfully this season, however, and they weren't helped by a forgettable performance from Eddy Bosnar here, who will no doubt hope that Pim Verbeek and co. don't take too close a look at a DVD of this one.

What a time to be alive! These are certainly heady days for fans of Shimizu S-Pulse, who are gearing up for three massive clashes in just seven days.

The first takes them to a sold-out National Stadium in Tokyo, where one of Japan's most popular clubs will be looking to see off Oita Trinita in the League Cup final. "Kokuritsu" will be a sea of orange with more than 30,000 S-Pulse fans expected to turn out in the capital, but with Shimizu red-hot favourites to claim the title, coach Kenta Hasegawa will do well to dampen some of the euphoria currently surrounding his team.

Any suggestions that this will be a mere walk in the park should be dispelled by memories of Shimizu's opening day home defeat to Oita Trinita in the J. League this season. That spelled a catastrophic start to the new campaign for S-Pulse, but for Oita it set off a fairytale run that is yet to cease, with the Kyushu side not only qualifying for the League Cup final - they are also sitting fourth in the table, just two points behind league leaders Kashima Antlers with four games to go.

Oita's chances of winning a first ever trophy have been cruelled by a suspension to influential midfielder Shingo Suzuki for this match. Worse still for coach Pericles is that goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa has not recovered from injury in time to take his place between the posts, while fellow Beijing Olympian Masato Morishige is also suffering from injury, meaning that Oita could start the League Cup final missing arguably their three most important players. Much will rest on the young shoulders of midfielder Mu Kanazaki who has been the driving force of the Oita attack for most of the campaign.

Travelling up to Sendagaya could prove problematic for S-Pulse fans given that seemingly half of Shizuoka is planning to decamp to the National Stadium, but spare a thought for Oita supporters - who have probably left for the game by now - with barely enough seats on JAL and ANA airlines between the two to accommodate those wishing to fly up to the main island of Honshu for Oita's big day out. 

As if one Cup outing wasn't exciting enough, S-Pulse are back in action on Wednesday evening, this time in the Emperor's Cup. There'll be no repeat of Shimizu's nail-biting penalty shoot-out win over the students of Meiji University in the fourth round last season - no sir, this time it's the big guns coming to town, as Alex Miller brings top flight outfit JEF United down from Chiba to the atmospheric Nihondaira Stadium. Both clubs must have sighed a collective groan of disbelief to have been drawn against each other - particularly as the two also meet at Nihondaira in the penultimate round of the league campaign - but only one will progress to the fifth round of the Cup and a chance to claim a coveted place in the newly cashed-up AFC Champions League next season.  

If S-Pulse fans weren't already frothing at the mouth at the prospect of these two clashes, they'll be suffering from severe heart palpitations come next Saturday when Shimizu make the seventy kilometre trip down to Ecopa Stadium to take on bitter local rivals Jubilo Iwata in the fabled Shizuoka derby. S-Pulse fans are still revelling in the glory of last season's double over Jubilo, but the hero from those fixtures is long gone, with Cho Jae-Jin these days not endearing himself to K-League fans by missing open goals for his new club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

The big South Korean will always be a legend around these parts, but S-Pulse fans can't afford to dwell in the past, and they've already played Jubilo three times this season as the two clubs drew 1-1 in front of a full house at Nihondaira Stadium in the league. They met again in the League Cup group stage, with S-Pulse crushing Jubilo 4-2 at Nihondaira, only to be on the end of a 2-0 defeat at Yamaha Stadium in the final group game.

Kenta Hasegawa will hope that his team is not punch-drunk given the critical fixture list come November 8, but with Jubilo Iwata sitting second-from-bottom in the league and Dutch coach Hans Ooft desperate to drag the Shizuoka giants to safety, this will be a bitterly contested clash with more than 40,000 fans expected to pile in to the windswept Ecopa Stadium to witness it.

All to play for, then, for Shimizu S-Pulse and fans of the popular seaside club will hope that it doesn't end in tears in seven days time.

On a quick personal note, I hope you guys are digging the new banner and profile pic I've come up with as a means of increasing readership from more than just that Mongolian yak herder and the Obscure Leagues Of The World fanclub in the Faroe Islands. I had a thousand monkeys working for a thousand years on a thousand typewriters to come up with that one (but seriously, cheers to Soul Rebel for the professional-looking banner and my old mate Rieper for the life-like portrait). Hold on to your hats, guys, I can feel a Pulitzer prize coming on here. 

After his venomous left-foot free-kick against Kawasaki Frontale helped propel JEF United to the League Cup quarter-finals, Australian defender Eddy Bosnar scored an even more important goal for the Chiba outfit this weekend... particularly as JEF United were knocked out of the League Cup at the quarter-final stage last week.

Despite propping up the J. League table bottom club JEF United out-fought and out-enthused league leaders Kashima Antlers in a 3-1 victory at a packed Fukuda Denshi Arena, with the much-travelled Bosnar - once on the books at Everton - opening the scoring with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, as he smashed home an unerring left-foot free-kick just minutes before half-time. His goal was the lanky defender's first in the league, although in a game of high drama it was barely even the pick of the bunch, as United's talismanic front-man Seiichiro Maki chimed in with two superbly taken headers to give fans in Chiba renewed hope that their team can launch an improbable escape from the drop.

Ex-Liverpool first team coach Alex Miller will no doubt forgive Bosnar his former Everton connections, with Bosnar's Glaswegian tactician praising his side's efforts for the victory against the defending league champions, before pointing out that "it's only one win." Indeed the three points weren't even enough to lift United above second-from-bottom Consadole Sapporo in the standings, and with Yokohama F. Marinos also winning this weekend, things are looking increasingly bleak at the bottom for both JEF United and Consadole Sapporo.

Losing in the League Cup quarter-finals to Nagoya Grampus last week was an added blow for a team that won back-to-back League Cup titles in 2005 and 2006. To add insult to injury United were drawn away at fellow J1 club Shimizu S-Pulse in the Emperor's Cup this year, with a Fourth Round trip to Nihondaira Stadium hardly the easy draw fans were craving this November. By then United may have already said goodbye to top-flight football, as one of only six J. League teams to feature in every season in the Japanese first division looks set for life in J2 next year. They'll need a few more goals from Eddy Bosnar to avoid that fate, but for now the Chiba Dogs are no doubt basking in the glory of one of the most unexpected wins of the season.