The 38th Empress's Cup All Japan Women's Football Tournament kicked off on Saturday 22 October.

Eight first-round matches were held in 4 venues: Tochigi Green Stadium（Tochigi), Fujieda Shimin Ground Soccer Field (Shizuoka), Yokkaichi City Chuo Ryokuchi Athletic Field (Mie), and Goshikidai Sports Park (Hyougo).

Pick-up Match 1

Bunkyo High School Attached to Hiroshima Bunkyo Women's University (Chugoku/Hiroshima)　0-3 (0-0, 0-3)　Club Fields Linda (Hokkaido)

In the Tochigi Green Stadium, Bunkyo High School Attached to Hiroshima Bunkyo Women's University (Chugoku/ Hiroshima), who is competing in the nationwide tournament for the first time since 2007 and trying to win a match for the first time, squared off against Club Fields Linda (Hokkaido), who are also aiming to advance to the next round for the second time after 15 years.

From the beginning of the match, Fields Linda’s offence led by 15-year-old OKINO Ruseri came close to the opponents’ goal. In the 6th minute, Okino received a long pass and ran passed the goalkeeper, but could not attempt a shot at goal. Thereafter, Fields Linda continued to attack with mid-range shots by SAIKA Harune and TAKEI Yuzuka. Both shots failed to open the scoring, but they found their rhythm and started to control the match. Hiroshima Bunkyo, on the other hand, tried to create their chances by connecting short passes, but they were unable to create decisive scoring chances.

The much-awaited opener was scored in the 49th minute. After receiving the ball near the penalty area, Okino dribbled past the defenders and struck a shot with her right foot, posting the first goal for Fields Linda. Taking the lead and controlling the match in the second half, Fields Linda stretched their advantage in the 70th minute, where ITO Migiwa successfully scored from a cross by MATSUMURA Haruka.

Bunkyo Hiroshima finally had their shot at goal in the 72th minute from a well-executed play off a corner kick from the left-side. NAGANO Kanna found the back of the net with her header, but it was ruled offside. After this attempt at goal, Bunkyo Hiroshima attacked fiercely, but failed to open their scoring. Instead, in the 79th minute, the game deciding goal came from Linda’s Matsumura, stretching their lead to 3-0. Both teams could not change the scoreline in the closing minutes of the match and Fields Linda advanced to the second round of the tournament.

Match details (Japanese version only)

Pick-up Match 2

NGU Nagoya FC Ladies (Tokai/Aichi)　0-2 (0-1, 0-1)　Orca Kamogawa FC (KantoChiba)

The second match at the Tochigi Green Stadium saw the meeting of NGU Nagoya FC Ladies (Tokai/ Aichi), who was aiming to go through to the second round for the 2nd consecutive year, and the newcomers of the tournament, Orca Kamogawa FC (Kanto/ Chiba) formed only three years ago. Both teams belong to the professional women’s football league in Japan, the Nadeshiko League.

The match stayed in the balance in the first part of the match. Nagoya put five defenders in the final line and defended tenaciously with swift press defense. However, the scoreline changed unexpectedly. In the 21st minute, one of Nagoya’s defenders failed to clear a long ball, and MATSUNAGA Yoshie quickly stole the ball and carried forward to strike the opening goal for Orca.

After the first goal, Orca continued to dominate the match, and right before the end of the 1st half, HIRANO Rina crossed the ball from the right side and OKANO Yuriko successfully applied the finishing touch to extend the score.

The second half was evenly matched. Both teams substituted players to change the tempo of the game, but both sides defended tenaciously and did not allow to change the scoreline. Even with mounting pressure to score and equalise, Nagoya played persistently until the end, but they could not open their scoring.

In the closing minutes, Orca’s HIRANO Rina surged past the defenders and struck a shot at goal, but it was denied by a superb diving save by goalkeeper SATO Chinami of Nagoya. Although, Orca took control of the match in the second half, they failed to stretch their lead. Orca, led by coach and former Nadeshiko (Japan Women’s National Team) player KITAMOTO Ayako, came on top of the match 2-0 and achieved their first victory of this competition.

Match details (Japanese version only)

Coaches' and Players' Comments

SAKATA Megumi, Coach (Bunkyo High School Attached to Hiroshima Bunkyo Women's University)
Our style of football is keeping possession of the ball and controlling the match. Our weakness is defending against the balls behind the backline. We practiced thinking about those aspects of our game, but failed to showcase our efforts on the pitch. Personally, when I was a player, our club team became the champions of this Empress’s Cup, and I can honestly say that there are things that you cannot understand unless you experience this competition. That is exactly why I brought all players including the ones who are not registered for this tournament.

Furthermore, this year we competed in the Inter High School Athletic Competition for the first time in four years. I believe the experience of these nationwide competitions is important for the development of younger players. It is such a shame that we lost the match, but what is more important is how we can capitalise on this experience.

OKINO Ruseri (Club Fields Linda)
Since I had missed the chance earlier in the first half, I was determined to score when I struck the opener. Our opponents were a high school team and they were physically stronger, but I was able to enter the match with strong mentality. We have some senior players who will leave the team after this competition, and I didn’t want this match to the last one. I believe that feeling pushed my back, and I was able to run throughout the match, thinking about winning as many matches with this team as possible. I think we played the best match ever. I am excited to play against a team from the Nadeshiko League in the second round. We will continue to challenge and I hope that we can perform even better in the subsequent matches.

SUGANO Yuji, Coach (NGU Nagoya FC Ladies)
The first goal we conceded was devastating. I felt the gap between the second division team of the Nadeshiko League, Orca Kamogawa FC, and us. In the beginning, we applied the 5-back system considering Orca’s characteristics of deep vertical attacks. I think it worked initially and Orca was bit confused also. As I understand, Orca’s players close down on the opponents quickly and, once they have the possession, they advance the ball swiftly. Therefore, we practiced thinking about attacking the space behind their defenders. However, they were much better than anticipated and we could not execute our game plan well. Still, there is a positive takeaway from this match. In the second half, we changed the formation, and as a result we coped better with the opponents and kept them from scoring. We will make good use of this experience and rebuild our team for the next season.

KITAMOTO Ayako, Coach (Orca Kamogawa FC)
I am simply happy that we advanced to the next round. We had a full week to prepare ourselves for the tournament. I believe we learned many things from the game today. We do have issues especially in decision making so I will work on correcting them in training. We will meet Albirex Niigata Ladies in the upcoming match and this is such a wonderful opportunity to play against the top flight team. I cannot wait to compete against them. It will be a tough contest but we never know what will happen in football. We will try our best as challengers.

1st Round Other Results (10/22)

1st Round (10/23)

Match Information (Japanese version only)

38th Empress's Cup All Japan Women's Football Tournament

2016-10-22(Sat.)-2016-12-25(Sun.)

More Information