Pick-up Match

Kashima Antlers (J1)　2-1 (0-1, 2-0)　Fagiano Okayama (J2)

The 96th Emperor's Cup All Japan Football Championship had the third round on 22 September, and Kashima Antlers (J1) faced Fagiano Okayama (J2) in Kashima Soccer Stadium.

Okayama, who beat the top team of J2 Consadole Sapporo in the second round, was eager to win the next match against a J1 team Kashima away from home. Their motivation was shown from the 1st half.

Okayama made a balanced defence going towards and away from opponent players with the ball, and their defence line was also balanced on both right and left wings. They didn’t allow Kashima to pass the ball to the centre and let them move the ball to wings to be advantageous in number of players. They also tried to steal the ball several times when Kashima passed the ball backwards in their own half or moved the ball horizontally.

What Okayama was trying to do was quick attack from tenacious defence. In the 22nd minute they could find a chance; FUJIMOTO Yoshiki caught the long pass from their half and carried the ball to the penalty area. His shot which went past Kashima’s defender BUENO successfully found the net. Okayama scored the opening goal.

Kashima could not get their rhythm. In the 34th minute defender UEDA Naomichi made a header from a corner kick but it just went in front of Okayama’s goalkeeper. In the 1st half, Kashima took only 2 unsuccessful shots and ended the 1st half one goal behind.

In the 2nd half, Kashima got their momentum finally and raised their attention to move forward with attacks in waves against Okayama. Full-back players began to take higher position in the 2nd half and that made them move the ball to the front more than sideways or backwards.

In the 60th minute, Kashima equalised; it was from a corner kick in their half rather than a clear chance of their own making. Kashima took the ball back from Okayama and passed it all the way up to midfielder SUZUKI Yuma, who was around halfway-line. Suzuki, who came on in the 2nd half, kept the ball with a lot of effort and passed it to midfielder NAGAKI Ryota. He dribbled up to the front and forward KANAZAKI Mu moved to the side in front of him to attract defenders. It was when Nagaki smashed a shot with his right foot; the shot which was taken from just outside of the penalty area hit an Okayama’s player and dropped into the goal.

This goal gave Kashima even more momentum. Substitute midfielder SUGIMOTO Taro moved a lot and had a chance to take a shot freely in the 78th minute but could not score.

In the 88th minute, while extra time started to be expected, Kashima finally turned the game around. In front of the Okayama’s goal, midfielder SHIBASAKI Gaku got the ball and crossed the ball, then Okayama’s defenders tried their best to clear the ball; however, an Okayama’s defender’s attempt to clear ball resulted in him heading the ball in to his own net. This own-goal decided the match; for the first time in 3 years, Kashima has gone through to the Round of 16.

Detailed Match Information (Japanese version only)

For the next round, 10 J1 teams including Kashima, Shimizu from J2, and Honda FC (Shizuoka), who got 3 consecutive wins against J. League teams, have qualified.

In the match of Nagano vs. Yokohama FC, MIURA Kazuyoshi of Yokohama FC broke the record as the oldest player on the Emperor’s Cup. Previously, KONNO Etsuo of Shinnittesu Kamaishi had broken the record when he played aged 45 years and 219 days old. This time, Miura played aged 49 years and 209 days – he exceeded the previous record in which had been held for 19 years.

After this match, top 16 teams of this year including the seeded team by playing in the AFC Champions League were selected. The draw for the Round of 16 (4th Round) will be held on 4 October.

Coaches' and Players' Comments

ISHII Masatada, Coach (Kashima Antlers)
We could equalise with the middle shot in the 2nd half and the second goal we got was Okayama’s own-goal, we were lucky. In the very difficult situation we have to continue to win, so first of all it was good that we could go through to the next round. Regarding centre back players including UEDA Naomichi who has played in an official match for the first time in some time, were not as good as I expected. Due to conceding the opening goal, we became a bit unstable for a long time. When building up our play, we tried quicks attack from the final line but we couldn’t do it well. In the 2nd half we could improve and moved the ball around in Okayama’s half. This is what we will have to do throughout the 90 minutes from the next match.

NAGAKI Ryota (Kashima Antlers)
My shot hit one of Okayama’s players and that changed its the direction. It was a lucky one because the change of direction made it difficult for the goalkeeper to catch it. I knew that the vital area would be open so I wanted to smash a middle shot. It was like a counter attack, but even before there were some cleared balls to me and I had chances. We could move the ball around from the 1st half, but we could not break through Okayama’s defence since they had strong motivation to defend us and we had to deal with their counter attacks. There was the time that we were behind, so from the 2nd half I tried to be closer to wing players to support them so that we could be slightly more careful in front. I think we could move the ball around better in Okayama’s half in the 2nd half.

NAGASAWA Tetsu, Coach (Fagiano Okayama)
We were desperate to win today, but it was just like Kashima’s snatching away the victory in the end -they are the top team of the 1st Stage of the J1. We had prepared for this match before but could not get the result we wanted, I think we still lack of power. However, the players who do not usually play did a good job today. It was good that they could put Kashima into difficulty, but we still have to train ourselves to grab the chance after any severe competition. This is a big experience for us and we should be able to maximise what we experienced today in the remaining ten J2 matches.

FUJIMOTO Yoshiki (Fagiano Okayama)
I wanted to enjoy the match against Kashima that most of our best players were called up for. Their defence was nearly man-to-man and personally it was an easier defence for me; if I could win this 1-on-1 situation, I would have more chances. It was good that I could score the opener, but after that Kashima started to take more control. If we could score one more goal, the result of the match could have been different. Having this experience, now I want to play against any team of the same level as Kashima. We have the possibility to go up to J1, so we will work hard to grab this chance.

96th Emperor's Cup All Japan Football Championship

2016-8-27(Sat.) - 2017-1-1(Sun.)
4th Round　2016-11-9(Wed.), 12(Sat.)

More Information
Ticket Information (Japanese Only)