The J2 side Montedio Yamagata pulled off a major upset at the Emperor's Cup JFA 98th Japan Football Championship by beating last season’s J1 champions Kawasaki Frontale. After taking a three-goal lead against the Kawasaki side who is in contention to defend their title at the J. League, Yamagata managed to walk away with the win despite getting scored on twice to allow their opponents to close down on their lead. With the win, Yamagata will be making their first semi-final appearance since the 94th tournament where they finished as the runners-up. Coach KIYAMA Takashi shared his aspiration, “We would like to make a deep run and overwrite our history of being the runners-up.”

Yamagata couldn’t have planned for a better start as they scored the opening goal in the second minute. As KOBAYASHI Seigo later reflected, “We knew there were going to be opportunities in our set-plays,” the striker converted the loose ball following a corner kick to give his side the early lead.

The second goal also came from a set-play, as SAKAI Tatsuya shook the net with a towering header off a freekick in the 36th minute. Yamagata was able to utilise their height while taking advantage of the loose defence showcased by the Kawasaki side.

After taking a two-goal lead, Yamagata changed their formation to 5-4-1 in the second half, but still left enough firepower upfront to capitalise their opportunities. In the 49th minute, Yamagata’s YURUKI Koya initiated a counter attack, as he dribbled his way through before sending the last pass to SAKANO Toyofumi who scored the team’s third goal. Yuruki made another attempt from a counter attack in the 64th minute, this time inducing a foul from the JUNG Sung-Ryong, forcing the Kawasaki goalkeeper to be ejected from the match.

Last year’s J1 champions did not back down quietly, as their second half substitute CHINEN Kei captured their first goal in the 60th minute, followed by another goal from a powerful header in the 70th minute to carry his team within a goal, despite being a man down. Kawasaki kept on attacking through the eight-minute additional time, but Yamagata showed their persistence to sustain their lead.

Players' Comments

FW #11 SAKANO Toyofumi (Montedio Yamagata)
I am just very happy now. We managed to defend well as a team from the first half, and by extending the lead, it gave us the opportunity to strengthen our unity as well as to give us great confidence to fight through the entire 90 minutes. (Regarding the third goal) Yuruki was able to take away a defender for me, so I made a run towards the far side. Once the ball was delivered to me, I got a bit stiff, but I am glad I was able to drive the ball at the target. We would like to make this a season to remember for our supporters by winning the Emperor's Cup. We will give our very best to engrave our name as the 2018 Emperor's Cup champions.

DF #5 TANIGUCHI Shogo (Kawasaki Frontale)
We were aware of their counter attacks and set-plays, but that was where we conceded the goals, and that’s just unacceptable. It didn’t feel like we enter the match poorly, but we in fact conceded in the early minutes, so we must do a better job in that aspect. We struggled to create opportunities today, and as a result it made it a frustrating match for us.

【1st Round】Sat. 26, Sun. 27 May
【2nd Round】Wed. 6 June
【3rd Round】Wed. 11 July
【Round of 16】Wed. 22 August (Reserve date Wed. 26 September)
【Quarterfinals】Wed. 24 October, Wed. 21 November
【Semi-final】Sun. 16 December
【Final】Mon. 24 December

Tournament Information