The four quarter-finals of the 38th Empress's Cup All Japan Women's Football Tournament were held on Saturday 17 December and all the semi-finalists were decided.

Pick-up Match 1

Nippon TV Beleza 1-0（0-0, 1-0）JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies

Nippon TV Beleza (Tokyo), who have succeeded in winning two titles this season, played against JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies (Chiba). Nippon TV found their rhythm from the beginning of the game by using space efficiently with swift passes. In the 9th minute, the team sent a pass towards the right flank, where HASEGAWA Yui reacted to a loose ball from the opponents’ defender to take a shot, only for it to go wide. Although Nippon TV continued to apply pressure, they could not get through Chiba’s tenacious defence before halftime. As the coach of Chiba, MIKAMI Shoko, later noted, ‘we have been maintaining high motivation for this match’.

In the second half, Nippon TV continued to take the initiative of the game. Although KAMOGAWA Miho of Chiba L initiated attacks looking for goals, they failed to change the scoreline. Then, after 59 minutes, it was Nippon TV who finally broke the tie. TANAKA Mina was taken down in front of the penalty area and earned a free kick. Subsequently, UETSUJI Yumi, who had just come of the bench, struck a goal directly into the left-top-hand corner opening the scoring for Nippon TV. They continued to attack thereafter and Tanaka managed to fire the ball into the net in the 84th minute, but was ruled offside. Nippon TV won the game 1-0. With two games to go before claiming the third title, the coach of Nippon TV, MORI Eiji, expressed his enthusiasm: ‘as long as we have an opportunity to win the third championship, we’d like to achieve it’.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

Pick-up Match 2

Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies　0-1（0-0, 0-0、ext. 0-0, 0-1）INAC Kobe Leonessa

The match between Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (Saitama) and the last year’s queens INAC Kobe Leonessa (Hyogo) was very competitive until the final whistle. At the beginning of the game, I Kobe were overwhelmed by Urawa’s aggressive performance, as coach MATSUDA Takeo later noted: ‘the opponents were sharp from the start and displayed their strong spirit’. After 24 minutes, although KATO Chika created a goal-scoring opportunity from the left, the goalkeeper managed to defend it. In the 42nd minute, TAKASE Megumi of I Kobe reacted with a header to SAMESHIMA Aya’s cross. The shot went pass the goalkeeper, but was cleared by KOUHATA Shiho.

In the second half, as both teams attacked more aggressively placing their players in more forward positions, there were more space to be exploited once they regained possession of the ball to counterattack. However, none of these scoring opportunities resulted in a goal and the match remained scoreless in regulation.

The game also stayed in the balance in extra time of two 15-minute halves. Just as it was going to penalties, in the 3rd minute of injury time, it was I Kobe who struck the much-awaited opener. NAKADA Ayu at the far side reacted to a cross from MORIYA Miyabi and struck at goal with a header, but the opponents’ goalkeeper punched it away. Then, MICHIGAMI Ayaka found the loose ball and slotted it into the back of the net, striking the precious winner just before the final whistle. I Kobe got through to the semi-final with a dramatic victory.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

The semi-finals will be held on Friday 23 December at the Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka.

Coaches' and Players' Comments

MOMIKI Yuka (Nippon TV Beleza)
As the opponents’ defence was solid, we struggled to find our rhythm and couldn’t intercept the ball for a while. However, I focused on getting certain things right, including moving to the space behind the defenders. Our playing style will stay the same for the remaining matches in the tournament. With less than one week before the semi-final, we’d like to improve our performance. It’s vital for us to pursue our same style regardless of who the opponents might be.

MIKAMI Shoko, Coach (JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies)
I expected the opponents would keep better possession and attack to a certain extent. So we were aiming to defend tenaciously and steal the ball to initiate counter-attacks. In the second half, although we managed to intercept the ball more often, we attacked in haste and made mistakes in judgement, which was a shame. Since we were targeting to win the title, we are not satisfied with our result. Having said that, the players have been practising hard throughout the season and we had a productive year.

KITAGAWA Hikaru (Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies)
We played patiently, but failed to display our style. It was the best performance this season against I Kobe, though. Although we had been working on defending against well-coordinated attacks - the opponents’ main strength - we let them play to their strength at the very end and conceded a goal. We found the tasks that need to be worked on. Personally, I wanted to be on the pitch until the final whistle, but I was replaced midway into the game. I wish I had played harder, but at the same time I felt the need to take more responsibility.

MATSUDA Takeo, Coach (INAC Kobe Leonessa)
Despite our victory, I believe the team could have performed better. Our aim in the next game is to display our full strength, rather than adding something new. Last year, we managed to become the top of Japan being motivated after the announcement of SAWA Homare’s retirement. This year, all of us including younger players have been working hard to grab the title. Although our aim is the top spot, we have to win each match in front of us. So we’ll play our hardest.

Empress's Cup Semi-finals (12/23)

Fixtures and Results (Japanese version only)

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

2016-10-22(Sat.) ～ 2016-12-25(Sun.)
Quarter-finals：17 December (Sat.)　Yurtec Stadium Sendai・Pikara Stadium (Kagawa Prefecture Marugame Stadium)
Semi-finals：23 December(Fri.)　Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka 
Final：25 December(Sun.)　Fukuda Denshi Arena

Tournament Information
Ticket Information (Japanese version only)