Episode 249 - Glory for Shonan & J2 Review

On this ripping new episode Sean Galbraith and Steve Fryer guest to review Saturday's Levain Cup Final, then Stuart Smith and Charlie Houghton chat all things J2.

In Part 1 Sean and Steve, who were at opposite ends of Saitama Stadium for Saturday's showpiece, discuss Shonan's impressive performance that saw them lift the league cup for the first time over an under-par Yokohama (to 22:10). We then chat about the run-ins for the two clubs, with both still involved in the #RelegationDogfight (to 37:35), before finishing with Kashima's incredible performance to make it through to their first ACL Final, the first leg of which they will host this Saturday against Persepolis from Iran (to 45:45).

Then in Part 2 Charlie (on debut) and Stuart review the key results from Sunday's J2 Matchday 39, that again saw a lot of movement in and around the top seven (to 1:19:35), before we assess the run-ins for the promotion and playoff contenders (to 1:28:50). We then switch our attention to the foot of the table, where Kyoto and FC Gifu took huge steps to survival with key wins on Sunday, while we also chat about the promotion playoffs format (to 1:46:35), and finish with a check on J3.

Follow my guests on twitter:

Sean - @1amSage

Steve - @ardija01talk

Stuart - @sushi_football

Charlie - @FRsoccerCharlie

And via their twitter account, check out the Gol Bezan podcast's terrific preview of the ACL Final.