Four games of the third round in the 36th Empress's Cup All-Japan Women's Championship were played on 13 December around the nation.

Pickup Match 1

INAC Kobe Leonessa（Nadeshiko／Hyogo）  4-0（1st 1-0、2nd 3-0）　AS Harima ALBION（Kansai3／Hyogo）

In the first game that was held at Miki Track and Field Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture, a pair of Hyogo Prefecture clubs in INAC Kobe Leonessa (Nadeshiko/Hyogo) and AS Harima ALBION (Kansai 3/Hyogo) squared off against each other. Against INAC, who'd won the tournament for four years in a row, AS Harima countered with their signature man defence. On ninth minute, SAITO Ai fired a shot from a right cross, which ended up going outside of the goal mouth, and they threatened the INAC goal by switching between their offence and defence quickly. Even after Harima allowed KYOKAWA Mai to score from a corner kick on 13th, they kept playing patiently before they entred halftime.

Once the game entred the second half, however, INAC grabbed the momentum. Just 20 seconds into it, TAKASE Manami dribbled up a long distance and launched a shot and netted it. Four minutes later, NAKAJIMA Emi drilled a free kick into the goal to make it 3-0. On 82nd, Kyokawa racked up her second goal of the game to secure the win for INAC. INAC had been away from a victory for seven straight matches in the regular season, but they surely took a great start in a tournament in which they look to post their fifth straight championship.

The details of the game(Japanese version only)

Pickup Match 2

Urawa Reds Ladies Youth（Nadeshiko／Saitama）　6-0（1st 2-0、2nd 4-0）　Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara（Kkanto 1／Kanagawa）

Urawa Reds Ladies (Nadeshiko/Saitama), who conquered the Nadeshiko League this season, took on Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara (Kanto 1/Kanagawa). Nojima Stella had scored three goal each in their last two games, but struggled against Urawa Ladies, who moved the ball well.Yet Nojima Stella played physically on their defensive end, and offensive they tried to quickly bring the ball up front to look for scoring opportunities.

But Urawa Ladies didn't lose their composure and kept playing their own game, and KIRA Chinatsu headed a corner kick into the goal to have a lead on 16th minute. SHIBATA Hanae added another for Urawa Ladies on 25th. Urawa showcased their smooth passing game in the second half as well, not allowing Nojima Stella to have an idea as to where to get the ball. Urawa Ladies wound up launching 18 shots in the second half alone. SAITO Akane and GOTO Michi scored and Urawa Ladies posted a 6-0 lopsided win. Urawa Ladies, who stuck with their attacking game throughout, clinched a final-eight spot.

The remaining three games will be played on Sunday at Fujieda General Sports Park Football Field and Miki Track and Field and the final eight teams will be set.

The details of the game(Japanese version only)

Other games results

Tokiwagi Gakuen High School (Tohoku1/Miyagi)　0-4 (1st 0-2, 2nd 0-2)　 Albirex Niigata Ladies (Nadeshiko/Niigata)
Nippon Sports Science University (Kanto2/Kanagawa)　1-3 (1st 1-0, 2nd 0-3)　Okayama Yunogo Belle (Nadeshiko League/Okayama)

Comments

SAWA Homare（INAC Kobe Leonessa／Hyogo）
Until we scored the first goal, we didn't have complete composure to some extent, but it was great for us to finish the game not giving up any goals. I was told by our head coach that I should have my position higher up, and I wanted to be particular about scoring myself, so I received it as a positiev thing. In the Empress's Cup, if you lose, you are done, so you have to play tough games that you must win. The opponents will get stronger, so we will have to tighten our mentality. We haven't yet to win any title this year, so hopefully, we will be able to wrap it up on a high note.

TABUCHI Keiji Head Coach（AS Harima Albion／Hyogo）
I expected that we would have to play in our territory for much of the game, but we tried to put up what we've done and what we could do, rather than just playing so passively. We occasionally were able to play how we wanted to in the first half, but as we gave up a goal to them early in the second half, we lost our composure. When INAC began quickly sending the ball into space, capitalizing on their individual skills, we weren't able to hold them. After all we got to know what we still need to improve and what we could do agains them, and we just want to do as best as we could aiming at a higher place, taking advantage of the experience, for next year.

KIRA Chinatsu（Urawa Reds Ladies Youth／Saitama）
It was our first game of the tournament, and we came in it like challengers. Partially because we didn't have enough information on the opponents, we first tried to focus on ourselves and tried to be aware of what we've done. On our first goal, I just received a good ball. I'd scored from a set play during our practice this week, so I thought I'd have a chance. After the league championship, we have another chance to win in this Empress's Cup. We will stick to winning, and hopefully our fans will have some fun with our games, and we are going to do our best each and every game.

KANNO Masaaki Head Coach（Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara／Kanagawa）
Having assumed that we would be overwhelmed by the opponents, we aimed to play firm defence first. Both individually and collectively, our players did their best, but we weren't able to hold them as they came through in front of the goal and showed their accuracies. I felt that we still have a long way both offensively and defensively. It's important for us to not waste a game like today's, and I told our players that they have to take advantage of what they felt playing in the game for their practices and games moving forward. Hopefully, we can use this opportunity for achieving our goal, which is to be promoted to the Nadeshiko League.

The 36th Empress's Cup

Sat.29 November - Thu. 1 January 2015
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