The 38th Empress's Cup All Japan Women's Football Tournament had its final match at Fukuda Denshi Arena in Chiba on 25 December, and INAC Kobe Leonessa won the title for the sixth time. INAC beat Albirex Niigata Ladies beat 5-4 in the penalty shoot-out after the match finished 0-0 after extra time.

INAC’s goalkeeper TAKENAKA Rei blocked two shots of seven. This was her fourth final since last year and she managed to save the team from Albirex who was also desperate to get the title for the first time in their team’s history.

It was the same fixture as last year. Albirex started to pressure INAC from the beginning and took control. In the 18th minute, midfielder YASAKA Mei passed the ball to midfielder KAMIONOBE Megumi and she took a shot. Then in the 36th minute midfielder SAEKI Aya took another shot but INAC’s goalkeeper Takenaka blocked both of them. She was selected as the starting-eleven for the first time in three matches due to the other goalkeeper FUKUMOTO Miho getting an injury in the semi-final.

For INAC, the 1st half was not easy even though there was a time that midfielder NAKAJIMA Emi took a shot from counter attack in the 24th minute – it only hit the cross-bar. In the 2nd half INAC substituted midfielder SUGITA Hina for midfielder ITO Miki and started to get momentum. They stole the ball in the middle and started attacks based on Nakajima, taking ten shots.

In the 58th minute, forward OHNO Shinobu’s shot went slightly over the cross-bar, and in the 62nd minute forward TAKASE Megumi headed a pass that came from Ohno and it hit the left side of the goalpost. 3 minutes after the shot, INAC substituted forward MASUYA Rika for Ohno to gain more power in offense.

However, Albirex kept using their bodies to defend their goal persistently. Both teams could not score at all and the match went into extra time.

In the 96th minute of the 1st half of extended time, Albirex’s Yasaka tried to take a shot from a short counter but this was blocked by an INAC’s defender. In the 115th minute of the 2nd half of extended time, INAC’s Nakajima took a middle-shot and it hit the cross-bar. Right after the shot, Masuya took a shot from a corner kick, and in the additional time she broke through to the front of the goal and smashed a shot, but both shots were blocked by Albirex’s goalkeeper. 120 minutes passed without any goals.

In the penalty shoot-out, INAC’s goalkeeper Takenaka blocked the first shot by Albirex’s defender NAKAMURA Kaede. Takenaka reviewed after the match and said: “I was feeling quite positive at that time.” Then for the second penalties, both kickers could not find the net. After the second shots, 3 kickers from both teams scored, but INAC’s fifth kicker defender TANAKA Asuna’s shot didn’t find the net and it went into a sudden-death. For the sixth penalties, both teams scored. Then INAC’s Takenaka blocked Albirex’s seventh penalty taker defender WATANABE Ayaka. In the end, INAC’s Masuya scored calmly to end it 5-4. INAC could finally grab the victory after a very intense match.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

Coaches' and Players' Comments

MATSUDA Takeo, Coach (INAC Kobe Leonessa)
The beginning of the 1st half was very difficult for us, in fact the payers were nervous but still had to respond to pressure from Albirex so they couldn’t move how they wanted. In the 2nd half we corrected ourselves to be able to play in a higher line generally and that made us to be closer to the goal to some degree, but we had a lot of issues in terms of scoring accuracy. We had to go through to extra time for three-consecutive matches since the quarter-final and today we went into the penalty shoot-out and won in the end. The players did very well and I want to send applause for their guts. This is the proof that all of them were well-united to get the victory.

TAKASE Megumi (INAC Kobe Leonessa)
We have had the extra time for the third consecutive-time. Even though we felt that it wasn’t easy, I could feel our passion to win from all of my teammates on the pitch. When we have penalty shoot-out, keeping positive mood is important, so I just tell my team mates: “Don’t show gloomy face.” Since last season, we have paid attention more to hard-working and in fact I think we have worked hard until the end. I believe this is the result of showing what we have done that we could continue to win since the last six matches of the Nadeshiko League until this one.

NAKAJIMA Emi (INAC Kobe Leonessa)
I am happy that we could win the title. It was the same fixture as last year and it was hard for us to have only one day to get ready for the final, but after all, it was good that we could work hard altogether and won the penalty shoot-out. This is the result of what we have done throughout a year; we kept working hard and trusting each other.

TAKENAKA Rei (INAC Kobe Leonessa)
When it comes to penalty shoot-out, it is so natural that a shot hits the net, but that means I can be the hero if I can stop just one of them. So I was not nervous and I enjoyed it. Looking at the kickers’ faces, I felt I could do well today. For Fukumoto who got injured, and for the other players who were not selected to play on the pitch, I just wanted to do my best.

KARASHIMA Keiju, Coach (Albirex Niigata Ladies)
This is our fourth final and all of them were against INAC. If we could win today, it would have been our first title in our history, so we wanted to win and it is such a shame. In the 1st half, we could make chances in good ways, but in the 2nd half when INAC brought in Sugita, they started to take control and we had to spend more time in defense and exhausted our fitness. I still want to appreciate the players for not conceding any goal throughout the 120 minutes by using their bodies well to defend. For the future, it is important for us to grab control and improve our scoring accuracy. I learned that there are still a lot of things to do to win the title. We will continue to work even harder.

NAKAMURA Kaede (Albirex Niigata Ladies)
We had penalty shoot-out training, but I became nervous at that moment. I wanted not to think too much, but I did wonder right before kicking the ball. Since we had difficult time in the beginning of this season, it is a big thing that we could come up to the final without conceding any goals in this competition. I believe this is because we have grown up as players. Next year, we will keep our level in any matches.

KAMIONOBE Megumi (Albirex Niigata Ladies)
It is regretful that we could not score in the 1st half; if we could have done so, the result would have been different. We could expect INAC to substitute a player in the 2nd half, but we could not get a second ball and allowed them to push us. It was still good that we could keep patient to defend our goal, but we could not attack well. All of us were feeling we could win this time so I am gutted to lose in the penalty shoot-out.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)