The fifth round fixtures of the Emperor's Cup JFA 100th Japan Football Championship took place on Sunday 20 December. At Ecopa Stadium in Shizuoka, Honda FC (Amateur seed) squared off against University of Tsukuba (Ibaraki).

Pick-up Match

Honda FC 2-1 (0-1, 2-0) University of Tsukuba

The match started with Honda FC taking the initiative, as they created back to back chances from MIURA Masafumi’s long throw in the fifth minute. OMACHI Shogo also connected with a cross in the 15th minute, striking a shot that threatened the Tsukuba goal.

Despite the early aggression shown by Honda FC, it was the university side who scored the opening goal. The moment came in the 22nd minute when Tsukuba forced a turnover deep in the opposing territory. The ball was passed from WADA Hagumi to SERA Shunta, who struck a direct shot that found the back of the net, as the midfielder later reflected, “I was able to strike the shot where I wanted.”

After conceding the opening goal, Honda FC made efforts to score the equaliser, but the match entered halftime with Tsukuba leading by a goal. In efforts to change the dynamics of the match, Honda FC’s coach IBATA Hiroyasu brought in ISHIDA Kazuki and SASAKI Toshiki from the beginning of the second half, shifting the system from a 3-4-3 to a 4-4-2 formation, as the coach later explained, “Our opponent was taking advantage of the one-on-one situations, so we made the change to create mismatches.”

Honda FC equalised the match in the 64th minute when Ishida scored a direct FK from just outside the box, as the second half substitute mentioned after the match, “The opposing GK must have been expecting a cross and the near side was open, so I tried to exploit that.”

With the equaliser giving them more momentum, Honda FC continued to create chances, while University of Tsukuba anticipated for their opportunity to counter, as seen in the 82nd minute, where YAMAUCHI Kakeru struck a close shot that almost gave the university side the lead.

The deciding goal came during addition time of the second half, when Sasaki made a swift turn inside the box and slotted a right footed shot into the Tsukuba goal, as he later reflected, “I thought I was going to get blocked if I struck the ball with my left foot, so I turned to the other side to take the shot. That was a really exciting moment.” With this win, Honda FC will face the J2 champion Tokushima Vortis at the quarterfinals.

In the other fixture, Fukuyama City FC (Hiroshima) defeated Fukui United (Fukui) 3-0 to advance to the quarterfinals, where they will face J3 champion Blaublitz Akita. The quarterfinals will take place on Wednesday 23 December.

Coaches and Players' Comments

IBATA Hiroyasu, Coach (Honda FC)
With the ticket to challenge a J.Club at stake, I told my players that this was going to be one of the toughest matches we will face. We entered the match too passively and looked a little stiff. If this were a match against a J.Club, we certainly would have lost the match. Our performance in the first half could have cost us the entire match. It was great that our two substitutes scored those two goals, but if we managed to convert our early chances in the first place, this would have been a much easier match for us.

MF #22 ISHIDA Kazuki (Honda FC)
Our opponent kept their formation compact and it seemed difficult to break down their defence just by connecting passes, so I entered the match with the intention to take on the opponent with my dribbling skills. If I can get past one defender, it will subsequently create a two on one situation, so I focused on creating such situations. When I took that FK, I was determined to go for goal, so I just believed in my abilities and went for it.

KOIDO Masaaki, Coach (University of Tsukuba)
I told my players that this was going to be a very difficult match for us, and the players expected the same. We managed to convert our few chances, but our opponent was simply the better team. Our players left everything on the pitch, so we have no regrets. We worked hard to reach this point, so this is certainly a disappointing result for us, but we gained so much from this whole experience.

MF #27 SERA Shunta (University of Tsukuba)
I knew it was going to be a huge opportunity for us when we won the ball. Wada delivered a perfect pass, and I was able to locate the shot just where I wanted. However, our opponent was the better team today, and we did not showcase our best performance neither. It was great that I was able to score a goal today, but I still need to improve my overall performance in order to help the team win matches like this. If we could have possessed the ball longer, the outcome could have been different.

【1st Round】Wed. 16 September
【2nd Round】Wed. 23, Wed. 30 September
【3rd Round】Wed. 28 October, Wed. 11 November
【4th Round】Sat. 12, Sun. 13 December
【Round of 16】Sun. 20 December
【Quarterfinals】Wed. 23 December
【Semi-final】Sun. 27 December
【Final】Fri. 1 January 2021

Tournament Information