Four games of the third round in the 39th Empress's Cup All Japan Women's Football Tournament were played on Saturday 11 November.

Pick-up Match 1

ORCA Kamogawa FC (Nadeshiko Division2/Chiba) 2-4（1-1, 1-3）MYNAVI VEGALTA SENDAI LADIES (Nadeshiko Division1/Miyagi)

ORCA Kamogawa FC (Nadeshiko Division2/Chiba) faced MYNAVI VEGALTA SENDAI LADIES (Nadeshiko Division1/Miyagi) in the first match held at EDION STADIUM HIROSHIMA.

Vegalta Sendai had a tentative start to the game as coach ECHIGO Kazuo later commented, ‘facing a must-win game, they looked a little stiff in the beginning’. Challengers Orca, on the other hand, defended tightly and sent long balls to two forwards right after they intercepted the ball, and created a few goal-scoring opportunities of their own. In the 16th minute, NAGAKI Mariko reacted to a right cross and fired in an opening goal to give Orca an early lead.

It only took a minute for Sendai to find an equaliser with Caitlin FOORD striking a goal from a left cross. Despite the numerous scoring chances that the Sendai club created in the first half, the team struggled to hit another against Orca’s tenacious defence. The game went into halftime at one apiece.

Sendai were keen to find a good attacking rhythm and subbed in INOUE Ayaka from the beginning of the second half. The substitution worked well for Sendai, as Inoue orchestrated several promising attacks by carving open the Orca defence with excellent dribbling skills and exploiting the open space behind the backline. She reflected on the plays and later stated, ‘We were struggling to score in the game and I decided to go out and create scoring chances myself.’ After 50 minutes, Foord saw the opening behind the opposing defenders and ran into the space to strike her second goal to give her side the lead.

Orca showed their resilience by levelling the match. After earning a penalty, MURAOKA Mami converted from the spot to tie the game at two all. However, Sendai stayed calm as SAKAI Yuki commented after the game, ‘We had 15 minutes remaining in the match. We didn’t get rattled and continued to play with composure.’ Then, the Sendai club scored a go-ahead goal from YASUMOTO Sawako netting a penalty in the 79th minute and took the game beyond the reach for Orca with KAKAZU Asuka slotting one home with a header on 87 minutes. Orca played an excellent match against the top-flight club, but Sendai edged a close contest 4-2 and reached the quarter-finals.

Match Report (Japanese version only)

Pick-up Match 2

IGA FOOTBALL CLUB KUNOICHI (Nadeshiko Division1/Mie) 2-4（1-2, 1-2）ALBIREX NIIGATA LADIES (Nadeshiko Division1/Niigata)

In the second game, IGA FOOTBALL CLUB KUNOICHI (Nadeshiko Division1/Mie) met ALBIREX NIIGATA LADIES (Nadeshiko Division1/Niigata), who were the runners-up of the Empress’ Cup in the past two competitions, but was keen to avenge the previous loss against the Niigata club, who beat them in the final match of the Nadeshiko League 2-0.

Albirex Niigata took early control of the match by capitalising on the excellent speed from their two forwards, OISHI Sayaka and KAWASAKI Saya, and initiated quick attacks. Furthermore, KAMIONOBE Megumi threatened Iga Kunocihi with quality crosses from the corner, but the team could not break the deadlock and net one into the net.

Iga Kuniochi, on the other hand, had two brilliant forwards, HAJI Madoka and SUGITA Ami, and they combined well to orchestrate some of their scoring chances. Then in the 22nd minute, from an intercepted ball in the attacking third of the pitch, Hagi received a quick pass and fired a shot from range to open the scoring for her team.

However, Iga’s momentum was soon halted with SONODA Mizuki’s equaliser just four minutes later. As she later commented the goal as being her ‘characteristic play’, she made a superb one-touch turn to find herself with space to the right and struck a goal into the opposing net to level the match. The game looked as if it were going to enter the break one apiece, but Niigata’s Oishi headed home a tie-breaker to give her side a one-goal lead before halftime.

Trailing by a single goal, Iga tried to stricke back by sending long balls to two forwards, but they were isolated and the team could not give them enough support upfront to create decisive scoring chances. Niigata, on the other hand, played with composure and doubled the lead in the 61st minute. As Sonoda stated after the game, ‘I was sure that the cross would get past the defenders on the near side’, she dashed to the open space behind the defenders and slotted a well-weighted right cross into the back of the net to give her side a two-goal cushion. Two minutes later, Kamionobe reacted to the early cross and Niigata further stretched their lead 4-1 with only a little over 15 minutes remaining in the game.

Iga took advantage of the goalmouth scramble from a corner in the 82nd minute and TAKESHIMA Kanako netted one home to bring them back within two goals, but her effort was not enough to change the course of the game. Niigata secured a 4-2 win over the Iga club and advanced to the quarter-finals.

Match Report (Japanese version only)

Coaches' and Players' Comments

KITAMOTO Ayako, Coach (ORCA Kamogawa FC)
I believed that our opponents were superior in every aspect of the game, and we decided to face them as challengers. Despite us scoring the opening goal, it was impressive to see that the opponents levelled the match in no time. I must say that we did well to end the first half at one all. I saw that MANYA Miho at left back distributed the ball freely from her side to her teammates. During halftime, I instructed my players to make the following two adjustments: first defender must time her better when she approaches Manya and we need to add more attacking variety for the two forward players by sending effective balls behind the opponents’ backline. We performed better at the beginning of the second half by fixing those problems and managed to level the match from scoring a penalty. I have to praise my players for showing their competitive spirit as well as for their overall performance in the game.

SAKAI Yuki (MYNAVI VEGALTA SENDAI LADIES)
In the first half, we played a little hastily partly due to nervousness from feeling that we need to win the game. We conceded a goal, but it was fortunate that it happened early in the match, and kept our composure, believing that we could grab a win if we continued to focus on playing our game. The opponents levelled the game again from converting a penalty kick in the second half, but we still had 15 minutes to go. I had confidence that we had enough time to reclaim the lead.

We have only one shot at each game in this cup tournament, and it is crucial that we show our strong determination in winning each one of them. Our next opponents (URAWA RED DIAMONDS LADIES) in the quarter-finals beat us during regular season, and it is not an easy task to advance to the semi-finals and then reach the final. As a defender, I would like to keep a clean sheet and give a chance to our attackers to display their strength upfront and win the game for us.

HAJI Madoka (IGA FOOTBALL CLUB KUNOICHI)
As for the opener that I scored, we were struggling in the match, but I received the ball in open space and near enough for me to attempt a shot at goal. I struck it with force, and am pleased that it went in as well. The decision as to whether go for the second or focus our efforts on defending after scoring the opening goal was one of the main issues that we addressed throughout this year. Eight players on the pitch stayed back and defended while forward Sugita and I aimed to break through the opposing defence. This is how we have been playing since the end of the league. Our opponents have analysed that the primary threat come from the two forward players. We have played under such conditions and have aimed to elevate our level of performance. As a result, we both made significant improvements and these experiences have helped when we played for our national team as well. It was a difficult year for the team, but I personally have grown to become a better footballer this year as well.

KARASHIMA Keiju, Coach (ALBIREX NIIGATA LADIES)
From the beginning of the match, we earned few corner kicks and created several scoring chances, but failed to capitalise on them and instead conceded a goal. Look as if the opponents might take the initiative of the match, but my players did not get rattled and turned the game around in the first half. I felt that my players become tougher with each match they played in the league this season. We scored a third and fourth from an excellent attacking play, and did well to seal the match and advance to the next round before giving any chance to the opponents to make a comeback. As a team we have put emphasis on finding and running into open space upfront. Today, two forwards, Oishi and Kawasaki, had displayed excellent runs and stamina as well. The next match against NIPPON TV BELEZA will be a completely different one from the other games we have played so far. The key will be how long we can play a scoreless game while we look for ways to score. Furthermore, which side score the opening goal will be crucial as well.

Tournament Period：28 October 2017(Sat.)～24 December 2017(Sun.)
First Round　Sat. 28 and Sun 29. October
Second Round Fri.3, Sat. 4 and Sun. 5 November
Third Round　Sat. 11 and Sun. 12 November
Quarter-finals　Sat. 18 and Sun. 19 November
Semi-finals　Thu. 21 December
Final　Sun. 24 December

Tournament Information