Match Report

Kashiwa Reysol (J1)　2-1 (0-0, 1-1, extra 1st half, 0-0, extra 2nd half, 1-0)　Ventforet Kofu (J1)

The 4th Round of the 95th Emperor's Cup All Japan Football Championship was held on Sunday 15 November. Kashiwa Reysol (J.League Division1), who were seeded by earning a place in the AFC Champions League, played their first match against Ventforet Kofu (J.League Division1) at Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Stadium in Chiba.

Both teams ended in a draw in the 1st and 2nd stage of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League this year. Just like those two matches, Kofu showed their solid defence in reaction to Kashiwa, who passed the ball around to initiate attacks. As it was a make-or-break game, both teams played in a more careful manner than before. The match stayed scoreless in the first half without many goal-scoring opportunities for either team.

In the second half, however, Kashiwa, who focused more on attacking behind Kofu’s defenders, created a scoring opportunity. After 53 minutes, OTANI Hidekazu ran towards the space up front, drawing in the opponent, while KUDO Masato, who received a pass, struck the opener. Kofu, who had been focusing on defence to look for counter-attacks, started to attack back. In the 72nd minute, ABE Takuma dribbled through the opponent’s defenders and fired a fine shot with his left foot to level the game.

The game went into injury time at 1-1. SUZUKI Daisuke, the defender of Kashiwa was issued a second yellow card and Kashiwa had to play with 10 players. Although Kofu had a numerical advantage during overtime, the players started to react less swiftly due to their tiredness, and were not able to take full advantage of this opportunity.

In injury time, just before the game went to penalties, Kashiwa decided the game. They started a counter-attack from Kofu’s passing mistake, and IMAI Tomoki overlapped the ball and sent it back to CRISTIANO, who straightaway took a precise shot. It went through the fingers of the goalkeeper KAWATA Kohei into the side of the net.

Although Kofu stayed ambitious for a goal with long-distance balls, there was not enough time left. Kashiwa, who dramatically won the game 2-1, got through to the quarterfinals.

Match detail (Japanese version only)

Coach and Players' Comments

YOSHIDA Tatsuma, Coach (Kashiwa Reysol)
I told the players to "play the game more strategically and wisely, allowing us to use the full 120 minutes to win." The players displayed how to use the time effectively in order to eliminate Kofu’s strength and speed. I’d like to put in even better performances in the three remaining matches of the Emperor's Cup at the end of this year, hoping to win this championship to book a place in the ACL. I’d like to point out that the players ran until the final whistle.

CRISTIANO (Kashiwa Reysol)
It’s always tough to play against Kofu. There are three skilful forwards up front with five or six players, who contribute to defence. Although today’s match was also very tough, I’m over the moon that I could score a deciding goal in the last minute against fierce marking. After one of us was sent off, we kept possession, looking for goals. We were losing our stamina during extra time, but I believe that 10 of us continued to play our style.

SAKUMA Satoru, Coach (Ventforet Kofu)
We lost simply because the opponent had more strength. Kashiwa took the initiative and kept possession well. Although Abe Takuma struck a goal for us, we couldn’t create a single proper goal-scoring opportunity for us throughout the 90 minutes. We did have a numerical advantage during extra time. However, whenever our players tried to intercept, Kashiwa passed the ball around, making us more tired. I was feared that CRISTIANO may use the vast space well, and it happened as I expected, which was a shame.

ABE Takuma (Ventforet Kofu)
If either ITO Junya or I dribbled up, I thought other players could be free, which does not apply only to today’s match. I happened to be able to score. Having said that, as Kashiwa defend using a zone, I believe I could have created an opportunity if I had received the ball between the opponent’s players. Although the opponent almost got through our defence several times, it wasn’t too bad. So I believe we need to continue what we’re doing. The difference between Kashiwa and us is simple – the opponent won the game, while we just couldn’t get a good result.

The 95th Emperor's Cup All Japan Football Championship

Sat. 29 August 2015 - Fri. 1 January 2016
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