On 30 October, the remainder of the eight second-round matches of the 38th Empress's Cup All Japan Women's Football Tournament was held. Now, all sixteen teams advancing to the third round were decided. The subsequent Round of 16 matches will take place on Thursday 3, Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 November.

Pick-up Match 1

NOJIMA STELLA KANAGAWA SAGAMIHARA (Nadeshiko League Division2／Kanagawa) 3-2（2-0, 1-2）WASEDA University (Kanto/Tokyo)

The first match of Ueno Park Ground in Mie prefecture saw the meeting between Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara (Nadeshiko League Division 2／Kanagawa) and Waseda University (Kanto 5/ Tokyo). Nojima Stella was promoted to the Division 1 of the Nadeshiko League (Japan Women’s Professional League) after clinching the Division 2 League title, where they did not lose a single game during the regular season.

Waseda University, who posted a sweeping victory in the first round by scoring 5 goals, came off aggressively in the beginning of the match and attempted to create scoring chances from both flanks. On the other hand, Nojima had placed their wingers deep in the opposition half, in addition to their full backs overlapping and adding depth to their side attacks. This attacking formation paid off in the 31st minute as left full back KOBAYASHI Miharu connected with a cross ball from the right full back WADA Naoko to open the scoring. One minute later, TANAKA Yoko was on the receiving end of the cross by Wada, and she successfully struck the second goal for Nojima Stella.

From the middle of the first half, Nojima Stella started to move the ball well mixing long-distance passes and forcing the opponents to chase for the ball. Taking this momentum into the second half, they scored their third goal within the minutes after the break from a corner kick.

Some might have thought the rest of the match would be dominated by Nojima Stella, but Waseda showed their resilience and geared up instead. In the 69th minute, NAKAMURA Mizuki, who had displayed her relentless work rate in this match, surged up the right flank to send a killer pass to her teammate, assisting their first goal. Furthermore, in the 77th minute, it was Nakamura again, who capitalised on her individual skills and dribbled past the defender to serve a sitter to KAWANO Juri, who struck it home to cut the goal difference to a single point.

Now all the momentum was on the university side, where they have showcased their high work rate until the end of the match, at the same time attempting 11 shots on goal. However, it was Nojima Stella who came on top of the match by not conceding the equaliser in the last 15 minutes of the match and advancing to the third round.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

Pick-up Match 2

Iga FC Kunoichi (Nadeshiko League Division1／Mie)　4-0（2-0, 2-0）TOYO UNIVERSITY (Kanto/Gunma)

The second match in the Ueno Park Ground saw the three-time tournament winner, Iga FC Kunoichi (Nadeshiko League Division 1/ Mie), squaring off against Toyo University (Kanto 6/ Gunma), who qualified for this competition for the first time only after four years they formed the team.

Iga kicked off calmly and build-up their offence using both flanks at the same time looking for opportunities to attack from the middle. They also attempted to exploit the space behind the backline where the opposing defenders were placed at a higher position than usual. After missing several scoring chances, their long-awaited opener came in the 27th minute, where HAJI Madoka found the loose ball parried away the opponents’ goalkeeper and slotted it home. Furthermore, in the 33rd minute, SUGITA Ami dispossessed the unvierstity defender and send in a pass to OGAWA Shiho, whose shot once denied by the goalkeeper, found the back of the net in her second attempt. The professional side led 2-0 at halftime.

Toyo, on the other hand, mainly used long balls to find their opportunities to score in the first half. However, being unable to create chances from them, they shifted their offensive tactics and decided to build-up their offence by stringing passes from the backline. Even though they were passing the ball well and forcing the opponents to chase around it, once they moved up the ball to the middle of the field, they had a difficult time to advance it further.

As Iga gradually adjusted to the new game plan of their opponents, they found spots where they could steal the ball and counter-attack utilising their high individual skills. In the 65th minute, after they earned a penalty, Sugita successfully converted the spot kick, extending their advantage to three goals. The last and fourth goal came in the 83rd minute, where they robbed the ball in the final third of the pitch, and substitute KOJIMA Mima’s header found the back of the net.

Looking back at the match, the professional Nadeshiko team, Iga FC Kunoichi, posted a sweeping victory 4-0 over their university counterparts with 24 attempts at goal, while Toyo only had four shots in total.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

Players' Comments

OYAMA Saki (Nojima Stella kanagawa Sagamihara)
As our opponents came off aggressively and attacked fiercely, we tried to change the flow of the game, but we were unable to do so. As a result, we were forced to defend on our end. We switched our tactics and aimed to exploit the space behind the defenders. This worked and we scored, but they regained their momentum and we could not fully adjust thereafter.

From next year, we will play in the Division 1 of the Nadeshiko League and we regard this tournament as a good trial for the next season. Certainly, we will aim to win the title. Until now, we were looking for a ‘solid performance’, but from now on we need to compete with a ‘must-win’ mentality.

AKAMURA Mizuki (Waseda University)
Even though we knew that Nojima Stella kanagawa Sagamihara were the better side, we still believed we had a good chance of winning. We performed well, pressuring the opponents up front and moved the ball to both wingers for the first 20 minutes. However, after conceding an opener, we were not able to regather ourselves as well as we wished.

In the second half we conceded a goal from a corner kick, but we went on and scored two goals. Although we performed resiliently, we could not score an equaliser. Scoring that crucial game changing goal will be our next issue going forward. Having said that, we still managed to showcase our style of football ‘completing each play’, especially in dribbling and crossing the ball.

NASU Maiko, (Iga FC Kunoichi)
We managed to play at our own pace since we scored early in the game. In the second half, while the opponents were moving the ball around, we were searching for the next positions to steal the ball. At times, we could regain possession in the opposing half or even the final third of the pitch. In the beginning of the second half, we had stretches where we could not adjust well to their tactical change, but we kept our composure and it didn’t take long for us to regather ourselves.

We want to celebrate our 40th anniversary by winning the title. At least, we are looking to finish higher than sixth place which was our final league standing. I feel that the team have improved significantly this year, so we should be able to challenge the upcoming match with confidence. We want to avenge the league match loss against Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies in the next round.

KISHI Minori, Toyo University
The long balls we made in the first half was not our intention; most of them were the result of our nervousness from playing in the nationwide tournament and competing against the professional Division1 League squad. However, we thought we should continue playing the way we had been doing regardless of the competition or the opponents. Then, starting from the second half, we connected passes and broke through the defensive block one at the time to advance the ball forward. Yet as we approach near the opponents’ goal, they intensified the pressure on the ball and we were unable to create many scoring chances.

This was our first appearance in the Empress Cup, and we did not have the clear idea of how the tournament would be. But still, we felt disappointed about the loss. We surely wanted to play more games by winning the match today.

Other Second Round Fixtures (10/30)

Third Round Fixtures (11/3～6)

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