On Saturday 29 October, eight second round matches of the 38th Empress's Cup All Japan Women's Football Tournament were held.

Pick-up Match 1

SFIDA Setagaya FC (Nadeshiko League Division2／Tokyo) 3-0（0-0, 3-0）Cerezo Osaka Sakai Ladies (Nadeshiko League Division 2/ Osaka)

In Ueno Park Ground in Mie prefecture, Sfida Setagaya FC (Nadeshiko League Division 2/ Tokyo) met Cerezo Osaka Sakai Ladies (Nadeshiko League Division 2/ Osaka). They have already played against each other twice in their respective league and both match ended 1-1. To decide which is the better of two teams this season, they faced each other with strong motivation to come out on top.

Cerezo came off aggressively from the beginning of the match. In the 5th minute, HAYASHI Honoka took a shot which was denied by the cross bar. Thereafter, they continued to attack the Sfida’s goal by stringing one-touch passes and executing well-constructed combination plays up front. On the other hands, Sfida defended tenaciously, especially the battles for the ball, and looked for their chances to score from counter-attacks. Both teams, however, failed to strike the opener in the first half.

Sfida Setagaya started to attack more aggressively from the beginning of the second half. In the 53rd minute, NAGASAKI Akane broke through the defenders and carried the ball inside the penalty box, where she was fouled and earned a penalty kick. NAGATA Maya successfully converted the spot kick, opening the scoring for Sfida. Gaining momentum after the opener, Sfida continued their fierce attack and threated the opponents’ goal. In the 57th minute, Nagasaki responded to a cross ball and slotted directly into the net, extending their lead to 2-0. Furthermore, they added their third in the 67th minute, taking full control of the match.

Now, Cerezo had to put everything in their offence, seeking to score their opener, second and equaliser of the match. In the 73rd minute, Cerezo created their first golden opportunity when they earned a penalty kick. However, this chance was denied by a superb save made by the opponents’ goalkeeper, ISHINO Himeka. They continued to attack fiercely, but Sfida also defended tenaciously. The scoreline did not change until the final whistle, and Sfida advanced to the third round of the tournament.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

Pick-up Match 2

KONOMIYA SPERANZA OSAKA TAKATSUKI (Nadeshiko League Division1／Osaka) 1-3（0-0, 1-3）Nippatsu Yokohama FC Seagulls (Nadeshiko Division2/Kanagawa)

The second match in the Ueno Park Ground saw the meeting of Konomiya Speranza Osaka Takatsuki (Nadeshiko League Division 1/ Osaka) and Nippatsu Yokohama FC Seagulls (Nadeshiko League Division 2/ Kanagawa).

In the beginning of the match, Konomiya Speranza took the initiative by utilising swift ball moments with minimal ball touches and constructing offence by using vertical passes in the attacking third of the pitch. In the 10th minute, Sarah GREGORIUS received the through pass and dribbled past the opponents’ goalkeeper, but her attempt from tight angle was denied by the goalpost.

Nippatsu Yokohama defended resiliently against the fierce attacks in the early part of the game and gradually began to settle down. They looked for their chances to counter-attack by pressuring the opponents from the front line. However, the match stayed in the balance and ended scoreless in the first half.

The first goal scoring chance came in the opening minutes of the second half, where Nippatsu Yokohama earned a free kick from distance. The placed kick was directed towards the far-side of the goal, where it found the unmarked KAGA Kouko, and she, in turn, slotted the much-awaited opener into the back the net. Five minutes later, Nippatsu Yokohama after gaining momentum from the opening goal stole the ball near the opponents penalty area. From this scoring opportunity, FUJIKAKE Mayu fired a stunning loop shot from mid-range to strike the second goal for Nippatsu Yokohama. Furthermore, in the 63rd minute, Fujikake scored her second goal after receiving a brilliant through pass. Now, Nippatsu Yokohama had a commanding lead 3-0 over Konomiya Speranza.

Konomiya Speranza, in attempt to open their scoring, substituted players from the second half and then in the 57th minute, using all three attacking changes available to them. However, against the opponents who defended solidly, they were unable to construct effective offensive plays. Still, they managed score in the 77th minute, where SATO Kaede turned herself superbly and fired a stunning goal into the net. However, they could not stack up goals thereafter, losing the match 1-3. Division 2 Nippatsu Yokohama defeated a top flight team and qualified for the next round.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

Players' Comments

NAGASAKI Akane (Sfida Setagaya FC)
Today we focused on our own game from the beginning to the end of the match. We were trying not to get caught up with the opponents’ game plan. In offence, we targeted the open space behind the defenders and quick transitions from defence to counter-attack swiftly. In defence, we defended tenaciously, especially in one-on-one situations against the opponent, and also put pressure by pressing the opponents. We performed and managed the game well by focusing on our game plan.

At half-time, we talked to each other, ‘all we need to do now is to score. Let’s keep up our good work’. We won against the team that we shared the spoils twice, since we were determined to win and mentally prepared to play the single elimination match. From the next round, we will be competing against the Nadeshiko League Division 1 teams. We will do our best to stay in the competition by beating the top flight clubs.

WAKISAKA Reina (Cerezo Osaka Sakai Ladies)
We failed to capitalise on our scoring chances and conceded the opener by our own mistake giving away a penalty kick. Unlike our youth team, Sfida Setagaya FC is a club team consisting of players of all-ages. They have both power and speed, but we thought we could compete effectively if we could string passes with swift ball movements. However, we became nervous after conceding the first goal.

What I learned from experiencing the U-17 FIFA Women’s World Cup was that the physically-smaller Japanese players had high enough skills to break loose of the physically-larger foreign players, by observing and taking opposite side of their movements. I understood that we can compete well if we continue to improve our technical skills even more. Tournament matches like this Empress’s Cup do not give us another chance if we lose. Developing individual skills is significant, which I will continue to do so. But more importantly, we need to learn what it takes to win the match. That will be a crucial issue going forward.

FUJIKAKE Mayu (Nippatsu Yokohama FC Seagulls)
Since before the match, we talked to each other that we would challenge the opponents and post a win. In the beginning of the match, we felt the pressure up front and allowed the opponents to control the match. However, we knew if we defended tenaciously and did not concede a goal, then we would get our own chance to open the scoring.

During the break, we decided to attack fiercely and attempted to score the opener within the first 10 minutes of the second half. Everyone came to me and said, ‘you should aggressively seek for goals and take shots whenever you have the chance to’. When I scored the first goal, I smashed it without thinking too much and found the target. Similarly, the second goal, I turned myself and fired a shot without thinking twice. I believe that we can play well again in the next match by correcting the issues found today. We will keep doing our best.

TORAO Naomi (Konomiya Speranza Osaka Takatsuki)
We did not take shots when we had the opportunites to do so. We also failed to capitalise on our decisive scoring chances, and gradually our opponents start to control the match by stealing the ball from us. We entered the game focusing on defence especially in the first half, and we shifted our formation to a more offensive one in the second half to score goals. However, we could not open the scoring and ended up defending against the opponents’ counter-attacks. Passing errors added to our problems. We wanted to gain positive momentum before the important promotion-relegation match of the Division 1 Nadeshiko League by winning the game today. However, we performed poorly, especially how we lost the possession of the ball. We only have two more weeks prior the key match, and we certainly need to clarify the team tactics and work together as a untied team to win the division-deciding contest.

Other Second Round Fixtures (10/29)

Second Round Fixtures (10/30)

Fixtures and Results (Japanese version only)

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

2016-10-22(Sat.)～2016-12-25(Sun.)

Tournament Information
Pick-up matches on 10/29 and two selected matches on 10/30 can be viewed on JFA-TV (Japanese Version Only)