The semi-finals of the 38th Empress's Cup All Japan Women's Football Tournament were held on Friday 23 December at Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka in Tokyo. Albirex Niigata Ladies beat Nippon TV Beleza 1-0, while INAC Kobe Leonessa defeated Vegalta Sendai Ladies 3-1 after extra time.

Albirex Niigata Ladies and INAC Kobe Leonessa will square off against each other in the final, just like the previous year, at Fukuda Denshi Arena in Chiba on the 25th. It will be their first time should Albirex win the tournament, whereas INAC aim to win back-to-back cup titles.

Nippon TV Beleza 0-1（0-0, 0-1）Albirex Niigata Ladies

For Albirex, it was their fifth time and second consecutive year to compete in the semi-final. They faced Beleza, winners of Nadeshiko League and Nadeshiko League Cup, seeking to grab their third title of this season.

As expected, Beleza took the early initiative in the match. In the 29th minute, midfielder NAKASATO Yu and in the 32nd minute forward and league’s top scorer, TANAKA Mina, created goal-scoring opportunities by finding the space behind the defenders. However, Albirex’s goalkeeper FUKUMURA Kanae made superb saves denying their chance to open the scoring. Even though Albirex were pressed for most of the time, they stayed resilient and managed to end the first half without conceding a goal. 

The game moved eight minutes into the second half, where forward OISHI Sayaka connected a vertical pass from OBARA Yuria with a header and dropped neatly towards onrushing YASAKA Mei, who in turn smashed the ball with her right foot into the back of the net. As Yasaka later commented ‘I was looking for opportunities to open the scoring’, Albirex successfully scored the first goal.

In attempt to equalise, Beleza initiated attacks from both flanks and brought in defender SHIMIZU Risa replacing Tanaka in the 63rd minute. They tried to change the situation by switching the positions of the players. At times, midfielder SAKAGUCHI Mizuho took on a more attacking role, but they could not break through Albirex’s persistent defence.

Albirex, on the other hand, got their rhythm after scoring the opening goal. In the 77th minute, midfielder SAKAGUCHI Moeno threatened the opponents’ goal with mid-range shot, but failed to stretch the lead. Coach KARASHIMA Keiju later expressed his view by stating ‘their decision to replace Tanaka was the key of the match’.

In the additional time of the second half, Beleza’s Sakaguchi received the ball in front of the goal and attempted a shot, but went over the crossbar. They could not find the equaliser until the final whistle. Just like the previous year, Beleza came up short against Albirex in the semi-finals and were knocked out of the competition.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

Vegalta Sendai Ladies　1-3（0-1, 1-0 ext. 0-1, 0-1）INAC Kobe Leonessa

INAC Kobe Leonessa were looking to grab the title for the second consecutive year, and their young players, forward MICHIGAMI Ayaka, midfielder SUGITA Hina, and substituted forward KYOKAWA Mai scoring two goals in the match, performed brilliantly. In the 15th minute, Michigami found the cross ball from the right side and fired into the back of the net to open the scoring for INAC.

Vegalta Sendai Ladies, on the other hand, were contesting in the semi-final for the third straight year and looking to advance to the final for the first time. They were aggressively seeking for an equaliser, but in the 21st minute defender ICHISE Nana had to leave the pitch due to injury and they were forced to move midfielder KAWAMURA Yuri back to defence. This weakened the midfield, and they were unable to construct effective plays in the remainder of the first half.

However, Vegalta created better chances in the second half. In the 54th minute, midfielder SASAKI Mayu fired a shot but only to be denied by the crossbar. Thereafter, two forwards, ARIMACHI Saori and HAMADA Haruka, continued to threaten the INAC goal but failed to find the target. Then the much-awaited equaliser came in the 84th minute, where Kawamura met a free kick from midfielder NAKANO Manami and slotted into the goal with a superb header. The score was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation.

While INAC geared up their attack in extra time, Vegalta became frail in defence. In the 102nd minute, INAC’s MASUYA Rika received a through pass and surged forward to send in a cross from the left side, where it found a wide open Kyokawa waiting in the front of the goal. She, then, clamly struck a header into the back of the net and scored the go-ahead goal for INAC, as she later commented ‘it was an excellent ball. All I had to do was flick into the back of the net.’

Six minutes later, INAC's Masuya moved up the left flank and crossed the ball to NAKAJIMA Emi, who saw Kyokawa to her right and calmly passed it to her. She then fired a shot successfully into the net with her left foot, scoring her second goal and extending the lead to 3-1.

Even though INAC’s goalkeeper FUKUMOTO Miho had to leave the pitch due to injury in the 114th minute, the team continued to protect the two-goal lead and grabbed the victory.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

Coaches' and Players' Comments

KARASHIMA Keiju, Coach (Albirex Niigata Ladies)
We are very happy that we defeated Beleza, and I believe this will encourage the local people who were affected by the big fire that happened recently in Itoigawa, Niigata. In the first half, we were pressured by the opponents’ powerful offence, but our players defended tenaciously and kept them from scoring. I believe this was the key to our victory. In the second half, I expected it to be better since we had the wind to our advantage. I encouraged the players to take shots aggressively. I sincerely appreciate the hard work they put into the game. I want the players to get into the final in good condition.

DF NAKAMURA Kaede (Albirex Niigata Ladies)
Looking back at the game, we had stretches where we were pressured more often than we threatened the opponents. However, we discussed that we would compete with resilience, which is our playing style. I think this led us to a victory today. Furthermore, we scored during when the opponents had the initiative and thereafter we gained momentum and played at our own pace.

MORI Eiji, Coach (Nippon TV Beleza)
I told the players that one goal could decide the match, but we were unable to score regardless of the chances we had in the first half. It was difficult to find the target. I think the ball movement was poor and, as a result, we couldn’t play at our pace. After conceding the opening goal, we moved up Sakaguchi and SUMIDA Rin to the front line, but we couldn’t send in a good ball to them. We grabbed the titles of Nadeshiko League and Nadeshiko League Cup this year, but we couldn’t win this time being outsmarted by the opponents. Tournament competition is always difficult.

DF IWASHIMIZU Azusa (Nippon TV Beleza)
I think we could have changed the result if we scored a goal when we had the chances in the first half. We lacked the ability to score when we needed and the strength to win the closely-contested match. Albirex were focused, they played consistently throughout the game. Since we wanted to grab the third title of this year by winning this competition, it is regrettable at the same time disappointing.

MATSUDA Takeo, Coach (INAC Kobe Leonessa)
Expecting this match to be decided by a minimal goal difference, we made several plans. In fact, we scored at a good time and took control of the match to a certain degree in the first half. However, in the second half, the tough pressing by the opponents caused us to play timidly and we were unable to string passes. As a result, we lost our rhythm. However, our work rate didn’t go down in extra time, we were able to press the opponents and exploit the space behind the defenders. I believe our fitness was slightly better than theirs. We certainly gained confidence by winning this match. We will take this confidence and face the final of the Empress’s Cup.

FW KYOKAWA Mai (INAC Kobe Leonessa)
Even during touch stretches, we could outrun the opponents and take the ball inside the penalty area. I think this was one of the keys in the game. When the match is on the line, we could keep up our high work-rate and score because we have learned this ‘tough mentality’ from our senior playing including SAWA Homare who retired last year. I am happy that we showed this on the pitch day. It was also good that we got through a difficult match.

CHIBA Yasunobu, Coach (Vegalta Sendai Ladies)
Within the first 90 minutes, we made more goal-scoring chances but failed to capitalise on them. We didn’t have enough strength to “win”. We were unfortunate that one of our players had to be replaced due to injury, but the players did their best until the very end. Even though we lost today, there were many positive takeaways from this game which, I believe, would help the team in the long run. I am leaving the team at the end of this season so it is a shame that we could not go through to the final. This is the day I regret the most in my 5 years with this team, but I expect the players to be stronger in the future.

MF KAWAMURA Yuri (Vegalta Sendai Ladies)
It was good that we could equalise at that time. We had to substitute a player due to injury, but the rest of players responded well to the change. However, I felt we needed to stick to plays that would threaten the opponents more and improve our scoring accuracy in front of the goal. I won’t forget about this bitter feeling that I am experiencing now.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

Empress's Cup Final (12/25)

Fixtures and Results (Japanese version only)

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

2016-10-22(Sat.) ～ 2016-12-25(Sun.)
Final：25 December(Sun.)　Fukuda Denshi Arena

Tournament Information
Ticket Information (Japanese version only)