Eight second round fixtures of the Empress's Cup JFA 42nd Japan Women's Football Championship took place on Saturday 5 December. Two fixtures took place at Miki Sogo Bosai Park Athletic Field, which featured three teams from the Kansai region.

Pick-up Match1

AS Harima Albion 2-1 (1-0, 0-1, Ex: 1-0, 0-0) Waseda University

In the first fixture held at Miki Sogo Bosai Park Athletic Field, AS Harima Albion (Nadeshiko2/Hyogo), a team based in Hyogo, welcomed Waseda University (Kanto/Tokyo), who is coming off a dominating performance, defeating Okayama Yunogo Belle (Chugoku/Okayama) 5-0 at the first round.

The match started with AS Harima taking the initiative, as they utilised their speed and power to stir up the Waseda defence, while the university side showed great composure to defend their goal. The opening goal came in the 22nd minute when Harima’s CHIBA Sonoko showcased an individual effort to setup the goal of SINBORI Kanami.

Waseda struggled against the aggressive pressure applied by Harima but continued to deploy their passing football style. With the Nadeshiko side showing signs of fatigue in the second half, Waseda gradually picked up their pace to take control over match. The golden moment arrived for the university side during additional time, when TAKAHASHI Hina penetrated the opposing penalty area and drew a foul. Takahashi calmly converted this PK to send the match into overtime.

With momentum on their side, Waseda looked to be the dominating side in overtime, but it was AS Harima who scored the next goal. The goal came just before the end of the first half of overtime, when KOHATA Shiho struck a powerful shot that shook the net. This goal scored by a Waseda OG turned out to be the deciding match, as AS Harima made their way into the third round.

Pick-up Match2

Cerezo Osaka Sakai Ladies 2-1 (1-1, 1-0) Speranza Osaka Takatsuki

The second match featured a matchup between two Osaka sides, Cerezo Osaka Sakai Ladies (Nadeshiko1/Osaka) and Speranza Osaka Takatsuki (Kansai/Osaka). Ahead of the match, Speranza’s MORISAKO Ayame shared her aspiration, “With this being an Osaka derby played in Kansai, we want to showcase a strong performance for our fans.” Just as Morisako mentioned, Speranza started the match strong, inducing an own goal from the Cerezo side in the fourth minute to take an early lead.

Despite conceding an early goal, Cerezo managed to keep their composure and started to pickup their pace. While their attackers anticipated to penetrate the space behind the opposing defence line, their fullbacks effectively utilised the width of the pitch to take control of the match. The equaliser came in the 17th minute, when the ball was connected through MAEGAWA Miki and HAYASHI Honoka, before finding YAKATA Miyu, who delivered a lobbing pass that allowed NOJIMA Sakura to strike a header that pierced the right-hand corner of the Speranza goal.

After conceding the equaliser, Speranza retreated deep in their own territory to defend against the Cerezo offence. However, their defensive approach allowed Cerezo to add more layers to their attacks. With TSUTSUI Riko and other defenders pressing forward, Cerezo started to create more opportunities from the flanks. The decisive goal was scored by Cerezo in the 74th minute when INOUE Hina delivered a cross into the mix. Following a goalmouth scramble, Hayashi managed to strike a right footed shot that accurately captured the goal, giving Cerezo the long awaited lead. With Cerezo showing their dominance, the match ended with a final score of 2-1, sending Cerezo into the third round.

Coaches and Players' Comments

MF #6 KOHATA Shiho (AS Harima Albion)
We told each other that we need to play with pride as a team from the Nadeshiko League, and I feel like we were able to showcase a little bit of that. Waseda University’s coach Fukuda took great care of me while I was at school and we know about each other very well. I knew she is capable of making adjustments against us and they sure showed us the “Waseda football” in the second half. We will analyse what we lacked in today’s match and try to make the necessary adjustments ahead of our next match.

FUKUDA Aya, Coach (Waseda University)
We needed to keep our calm while our opponent was applying pressure against us, but we ended up conceding a goal during that span, so that is definitely an aspect we must improve on. We managed to make adjustments as the match progressed and we were able to showcase our usual football style in the second half. We have been working on our collective attacks, and it is allowing us to compete against stronger opponents. We still have plenty of room for improvements, but our players played well today.

MF #10 HAYASHI Honoka (Cerezo Osaka Sakai Ladies)
Despite conceding the lead, we were playing well, so we did not feel the need to rush our plays. We spoke to each other during halftime that we wanted to use the open space more effectively and to take more shots from distance. We also told each other that we need to score a goal within the first 15 minutes of the second half. (reflecting on the goal) The loose ball came in front of me, so I just focused on hitting the target.

TANEDA Kaori, Coach (Speranza Osaka Takatsuki)
We started the match by applying aggressive pressure and anticipated for our opponent to make mistakes. However, we were overwhelmed by our opponent’s speed and power. There is nothing we can do when our opponent shows that much accuracy in their attacks, while they also effectively utilised the width of the field. We don’t usually see this kind of match at the Challenge League, so this was a great learning experience for us. We will try to make the most of this experience ahead of our Challenge League playoff match against NGU Loveledge Nagoya.

Empress's Cup JFA 42nd Japan Women's Football Championship

Tournament Duration: Sat. 28 November - Tue. 29 December 2020
【1st Round】Sat. 28 / Sun. 29 November
【2nd Round】Sat. 5 / Sun. 6 December
【3rd Round】Sat. 12 / Sun. 13 December
【Quarterfinals】Sat. 19 / Sun. 20 December
【Semi-Finals】Thu. 24 December
【Final】Tue. 29 December

Tournament Information