Thursday 29 December saw the second semi-final in the 96th Emperor's Cup All Japan Football Championship at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. Kawasaki Frontale succeeded in stealing a 1-0 win with the defender TANIGUCHI Shogo’s goal towards the end of the game, booking a place in the final for the first time.

Kawasaki F will meet the J.League champions Kashima Antlers on Sunday 1 January in the final at Suita City Football Stadium in Osaka.

Kawasaki F, who aimed to win the Cup for the first time, struggled against aggressive attacks from Omiya, who were determined to earn the title as they had got through to the semi-final for the first time in 11 years. The midfielder IZUMISAWA Jin of Omiya got through the left from the beginning of the match, and the forward Dragan MRDJA went close to the goal in the 11th minute, followed by Mateus’s shot three minutes later.

Kawasaki F changed their system from three-back to four-back, so that the defenders could stay physically strong. However, the team tended to make mistakes, which allowed the opponent to intercept at the centre. The team struggled to find their rhythm with poor accuracy in their play.

However, the forward OKUBO Yoshito, who had scored in four consecutive matches this Cup, and the defender KURUMAYA Shintaro stayed ambitious for goals. After 28 minutes, the defender EDUARDO reacted to a loose ball from a left corner kick and struck at the goal with his left foot, only for it to go wide. Just before halftime, the defender TASAKA Yusuke fired a shot from a difficult angle with his right foot, followed by OKUBO’s right-footed shot with a clear ball from a corner kick. Both shots were defended by the opponent’s goalkeeper.

After the coach KAZAMA Yahiro instructed the players during halftime: ‘focus on what the opponent are trying to do’, Kawasaki F improved their performance in the second half. Omiya, who had ended in fifth place in the J.League this season, on the other hand, maintained their momentum. The forward ESAKA Ataru and MRDJA created goal-scoring opportunities.

Although neither of the teams could find the back of the net, Kawasaki F had an impact on the score first.

In the 61st minute, the team sent the midfielder OSHIMA Ryota to the pitch in order to alter several players’ positions. The team started to build-up attacks more smoothly and created more opportunities in front of the goal. After 79 minutes, the midfielder MIYOSHI Koji came off the bench to initiate more attacks from the left. Then in the 84th minute, MIYOSHI was taken down and earned a free kick, which the midfielder NAKAMURA Kengo struck at the goal and won a corner kick.

After 85 minutes, the team finally scored from a corner kick. NAKAMURA’s shot was once punched away by the opponent’s defender, but TANIGUCHI, who stepped forward when he saw EDUARDO ran towards a high clear ball, believed ‘EDUARDO would win the ball’ and reacted to a loose ball to strike a goal with his right foot.

Omiya tried to attack back by sending the midfielder IENAGA Akihiro and the midfielder KANAZAWA Shin in the middle of the second half. Just after conceding a goal, the forward SHIMIZU Shintaro was sent to the pitch to impact the game, but the team could not score, and failed to advance to the final.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

Kawasaki F have booked a place in the AFC Champions League (ACL) next year by advancing to the final in this Cup, since the team will participate in the ACL main tournament as the J.League champions. Kawasaki F, in third place in the league, were going to take part in the championship from a play-off, but they will give away their place to Gamba Osaka in fourth place, since they had secured their spot. Urawa Red Diamonds in second place will also participate in the main tournament.

Coaches' and Players' Comments

KAZAMA Yahiro, Coach (Kawasaki Frontale)
Despite difficulty, the players were really determined to win the game. I’m pleased to spend Christmas and New Year’s Day with the boys! We’d like to perform well in one more game. We expected to keep possession more. I understand there were players, who had just recovered from injury, or there was a problem in the pitch condition, but each individual’s performance was not good enough. Having said that, the players displayed ‘tenacity’, which showed the team’s improvement. With two days to go before the final, we’d like to get ourselves in good condition to perform our best.

NAKAMURA Kengo (Kawasaki Frontale)
Although it was a tough game, we played patiently, waiting for our opportunity to win. All of us stayed vocal and supported each other so that we wouldn’t become demoralised, and then TANIGUCHI managed to score in the end. I believe our strong spirit brought us this victory. The Emperor's Cup final has been my dream since I was an elementary school pupil. It took longer than I expected, but it has finally come true thanks to my teammates. I’ll face the match, aiming to become the champions.

TANIGUCHI Shogo (Kawasaki Frontale)
Although it was tough and we had a difficult time for a while, we stayed patient and physically strong. I was over the moon to score a deciding goal, contributing to the team’s victory. It wasn’t actually our style, but I believe we have improved ourselves through this match, playing in a different style. So I look forward to the final. I’m keen on getting some revenge, since we suffered a defeat against Kashima in the J.League Championship.

SHIBUYA Hiroki, Coach (Omiya Ardija)
It was our first semi-final since 2005, which we ended as semi-finalists. Although I told the players to achieve more, unfortunately we lost the game by a goal from a set piece. It’s very frustrating that we couldn’t achieve better. I feel responsible that the players, who had been practicing so hard this year, couldn’t win today. The players performed well, creating goal-scoring opportunities. Having said that, the team must score to win games. We lost in the quarterfinal in J.LEAGUE YBC Levain CUP, in the final Sec. of J.League, and here in the Emperor's Cup. We’d like to learn from our defeats and become stronger, so that we can stay among the top teams next year.

KIKUCHI Kosuke (Omiya Ardija)
Since we stayed competitive and conceded a goal from a set piece in the last minute, I feel frustrated. Having said that, that is the result. Personally, there is still room to improve. I believe we need to be able to win this kind of game before even playing for the title. I’d like to work on our tasks and get good results every year.

IENAGA Akihiro (Omiya Ardija)
We did perform well to a certain extent. Having said that, we could have played better since we conceded a goal from a set piece and could not strike the opener. I could have performed better. As we have come this far, we were hoping to win the Emperor's Cup to book a place in the ACL. So I feel devastated that we lost today.

Final (1/1/2017)

Fixtures and Results (Japanese version only)

96th Emperor's Cup All Japan Football Championship

2016-8-27(Sat.)〜2017-1-1(Sun.)

More Information