At the 37th Empress’s Cup All Japan Women’s Football Tournament, the rest of four third round matches took place on Sunday 22 November to determine the complete list of the eight teams moving on to the next round.

Pick-up Match 1

Urawa Reds Ladies Youth (Nadeshiko League First Division/Saitama)　2-0 (2-0, 0-0)　 AC Nagano Parceiro Ladies (Nadeshiko League Second Division/Nagano)

This season’s Nadeshiko League Division 2 champions, AC Nagano Parceiro Ladies (Nadeshiko League Second Division/Nagano) played this contest as they look at their next season in the league’s Division 1 at the same time. But Urawa Reds Ladies Youth (Nadeshiko League First Division/Saitama) did not let it be a pleasant time for AC Nagano. Urawa were superior in individual quickness and it helped them control the match in many situations.

In the 23rd minute, KATO Chika dribbled up for a shot. Once deflected by the opposing goalkeeper, it was put into the back of the net by NAOMOTO Hikaru who was at the right place. In the 43rd minute, SHIBATA Hanae penetrated into the middle from the right for a left-footed spark. After hitting a goalpost, it went in to extend Urawa’s lead to two.

In the second half, AC Nagano focused more on defending each Urawa player early. They fearlessly went on for aggressive defence. Occasionally they robbed the ball high and in the 65th minute YOKOYAMA Kumi’s feed enabled OMIYA Reona to fire a shot. It only got caught by Urawa’s goalkeeper’s hands. Although Urawa also created crucial moments in the 69th and 89th minutes, no goal was added before the match finished with Urawa’s 2-0 win. AC Nagano had one player ejected during the match.

Match details (Japanese version only)

Pick-up Match 2

Vegalta Sendai Ladies (Nadeshiko League First Division/Miyagi)　4-1 (2-0, 2-1)　Daito Bunka University (Kanto/Saitama)

One of the college teams still playing in the third round, Daito Bunka University (Kanto 3/Saitama) challenged better opponents overall, Vegalta Sendai Ladies (Nadeshiko League First Division/Miyagi) who finished this season’s Nadeshiko League campaign at second place. Obviously the difference of rank showed in the match as Vegalta scored the match opener in the 7th minute.

ARIMACHI Saori put it home after a corner-kick. Vegalta kept moving the ball to shake Daito Bunka’s defence. Then moments before the end of the first half, Arimachi kicked back a cross in the box for INOUE Ayaka’s goal to put Vegalta up 2-0.

In the second half, not just passing around Daito Bunka’s defensive block, Sendai also started penetrating into the middle more aggressively, which helped them extend the lead to four goals with two added in the 49th and 52nd minutes. Daito Bunka had to spend a long stretch defending, but in the 65th minute, WATANUKI Miho scored from a long-range to create a favourable moment for themselves.

The flow of the match did not change drastically for the rest of the way as Vegalta kept attacking and Daito Bunka tenaciously defended. The match heard the last whistle with the score being 4-1 for Vegalta.

Match details (Japanese version only)

The tournament will have a few weeks of break before the four quarter-finals are held on Saturday 19 December.

Other Matches

Albirex Niigata Ladies (Nadeshiko League First Division/Niigata)　2-1 (1-0, 0-1, extra 1st 0-0, extra 2nd 1-0)　Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara (Nadeshiko League Second Division/Kanagawa)
Nittaidai Fields Yokohama (Nadeshiko League Second Division/Kanagawa)　0-2 (0-0, 0-2)　JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies (Nadeshiko League First Division/Chiba)

Coach and Players' Comments

HONDA Midori, Coach (AC Nagano Parceiro Ladies)
I thought we would be able to play to certain extent and actually there were some stretches when we were doing fine. We allowed a goal from a very small mistake of ours, but division one teams won’t miss that kind of opportunity for them. There are some things you can see after becoming able to deal with those things, and something small things mean a lot sometimes. If we could have created a chance in the flow of the match, it would have been more interesting.

We were expecting that we would allow a goal or two, but within that range of expected things, what we need to do is to minimise your damage. If you can’t match up with them individually, we want to be able to match up with them as a team.

GOTO Michi (Urawa Reds Ladies)
In a tournament where unexpected things happen, we were expecting they would come out against us highly motivated. Our mentality was how we match up mentally against such opponents and outplay them on the ball and total amount of runs. If we had moved the ball more quickly, we could have overwhelmed them more.

We had many scoring opportunities. There were no pinches right after our chances today, but one goal means a lot in this kind of tournament, so we have to be able to score when we are supposed to score.

KAWAMOTO Ryuji, Coach (Daito Bunka University)
Vegalta were the second-placed team in the Nadeshiko League, so our goal was to minimise goals against. No matter how many goals we allow, we told each other that we would stay focused. In fact, I wasn’t expecting that we would be able to score a goal.

I thought good things happen when we try hard. Alongside with Waseda University, we wanted to show how much college teams can play. But I didn’t expect we would be able to come this far. Our players did very well.

TAHARA Nozomi (Vegalta Sendai Ladies)
Playing against a defensive team, there were some stretches we couldn’t do well. But we stayed patient and kept attacking until the end. Speaking of the opening goal, it was just a rebounding ball, so I didn’t try to do too much with it but simply feed it inside.

Then Arimachi came out nicely for a goal, so that was good. We allowed one goal, but in a tournament like this, closing winnable matches is important. It was very good that we could move on to next.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

The 37th Empress's Cup

Sat.7 November 2015 - Sun. 27 December 2015
More information