The two semi-finals of the 94th Emperor's Cup were held on Wednesday 26 November. One of the matches was between JEF United Chiba (J2) and Montedio Yamagata (J2) at the Yanmar Stadium Nagai, Osaka.

Montedio Yamagata (J2) beat JEF United Chiba (J2) 3-2 (1st 2-1, 2nd 1-1)

Yamagata, who were building on their positive momentum after becoming semi-finalist for the first time, and Chiba played for a place in the final. Chiba were aiming to advance to the final for the first time since Furukawa Electric, the predecessor of this team, won second place in the 64th Championship in 1984. Chiba fielded many new players from the previous game, while Yamagata started with the almost same players.

Yamagata took the initiative from the beginning. After two minutes, Yamada Takumi, ran into the penalty area and headed a cross from Kim Byeom Yong. Then Yamazaki Masato slotted home a rebound off the opponent, opening the scoring. Although Yamagata continued to press, Chiba did not miss their opportunity. In the 23rd minute, Chiba earned a corner kick, and Nakamura Taisuke passed the ball to the far side, where Takeuchi Akira headed in a shot, levelling the game.

Yamagata had kept a clean sheet since their first match against Roasso Kumamoto (J2). Despite the fact they conceded a goal for the first time in this championship, they kept their concentration and started their attack immediately. In the 33rd minute, Kim headed a corner kick from Ishikawa Tatsuya to the left corner of the net. The game went into the second half with a one-goal lead for Yamagata.

During half time, Sekizuka Takashi, the head coach of JEF United Chiba, encouraged the players: "stay confident and let’s turn the match around." So Chiba started to take the initiative in the second half. After 48 minutes, Toshima Akira headed a cross from Nakamura, but it was saved by the Yamagata defender. In the 52nd minute, Ide Haruya reacted to a loose ball and struck a shot, which just missed. Then after 54 minutes, Onaiwu Ado stole the ball up front and passed it to Yazawa Tatsuya, who scored a superb goal, levelling the game once more.

Yamagata started to attack back. After 71 minutes, Kawanishi Shota received the ball in the centre and dribbled toward the right space, drawing the opponent’s defenders. Yamada, who ran into a pass from Kawanishi, directly shot a goal in the right corner, turning the game around. Yamagata kept their lead against Chiba, even though Chiba continued to attack adding a new forward Jair. Yamagata won the game to advance to the final for the first time ever in their 23 attempts.

More information of the game(Japanese version only)

Comments

SEKIZUKA Takashi, Head Coach（JEF United Chiba）
It was a regrettable outcome. I’m really disappointed that we let down all the supporters, who came to the stadium. I had to change the starting line-up, due to consecutive games in the league and injuries. The players performed much better in the second half compared to the first half, in which they seemed to be asleep. It was good to level the game, but we just couldn’t turn it around. Although this is the end of the Emperor's Cup for us, we still have a playoff to win a place in J1. We couldn’t win today, but we’d like to refresh our mind and get ready once more.

YAZAWA Tatsuya（JEF United Chiba）
We were impatient today, and we should have thought about how to start the game calmly. Early in the match, we couldn’t play as a united team and missed our opportunities. This showed what our team is like in a game. As the opponent was good at set plays and attacks from the wings, we had to move the ball. We found some issues to be fixed around how we should move the ball. Instead of bringing the ball toward the goal, we just moved it around. So I’d like to fix it before the playoff.

ISHIZAKI Nobuhiro, Head Coach（Montedio Yamagata）
We finished the league matches last Sunday, and played a match in the Emperor's Cup today. Then we’ll play a playoff this coming Sunday. So it’s a hard schedule. I chose the best players to advance to the final in the celebrated Emperor's Cup. From the beginning of the second half, the opponent started to attack back and they came through the left side. I believe, if we had reacted earlier, we wouldn’t have conceded a second goal. The players eagerly played to win, which was good, but the defence was a little careless. Although we’re honoured to be in the final of the Emperor's Cup, we’d like to rest and get ready for the match against Jubilo Iwata this weekend.

KAWANISHI Shota（Montedio Yamagata）
I think we could score earlier in the game and come back after conceding the goal because we showed our spirit for winning the game from first half. Second goal of the other side was caused by my mistake of pass, I could have stopped the goal if I made right judgment. I was determined to make up my mistake and I was relieved Yama (Yamada Takumi) breaking up for attack and led to third goal. The final is against Gamba Osaka (the club I was loaned from) but all I can do is play as hard as I can without considering about it too much.

Final

The 94th Emperor's Cup

Saturday  5 July to Saturday 13 December 2014
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