Match Report

Fujieda MYFC (Shizuoka)   1-2 (1-0, 0-2)  Montedio Yamagata (J1)

The third round of the 95th Emperor's Cup All Japan Football Championship was held on Wednesday 14 October at ND Soft Stadium Yamagata in Yamagata. Fujieda MYFC (Shizuoka), who beat Shimizu S-Pulse (J1) in the second round, challenged against Montedio Yamagata (J1), the previous runners-up.

Fujieda displayed their playing style without hesitation against Yamagata from the beginning, passing the ball around, which they do in J.League Division3. Although Yamagata tried to prevent it with their usual pressure from up front, Fujieda’s attack overwhelmed them in the first half, creating numerous goal-scoring opportunities.

In the 23rd minute, MANSHO Mitsuru headed a left cross from SATO Masaya, but the goalkeeper YAMAGISHI Norihiro punched it away. Then OISHI Tsugutoshi took a firm shot, striking the opener.

Fujieda continued to create several more goal-scoring opportunities, but the score stayed the same in the first half. In the second half, Yamagata looked for counter-attacks, gradually playing more and more in Fujieda’s area.

Then after 62 minutes, KAWANISHI Shota, who initiated an attack by dribbling to right wing, took a sharp shot from a tight angle. The ball went in to the opposite corner of the net and Yamagata levelled the game.

Although Yamagata put further pressure on Fujieda, who was slowing down a little due to fatigue, the opponent held their defence in front of goal and Yamagata could not finish their shots. In the 83rd minute, however, TAKAGI Toshiya, who came off the bench, sent a swift cross to the goal. Then DIEGO reacted to it to strike a goal and Yamagata succeeded in turning the match around.

Since Yamagata changed their tactics to defend strongly, the score stayed the same at 2-1 until the final whistle. Yamagata got through to the round 16 (the fourth round). Fujieda, who played this match after a two-day break following their league game, stayed aggressive until the end. They could not perform a “giant-killing”, as they had in the second round.

Match detail (Japanese version only)

Coach and Players' Comments

OISHI Atsuto, Coach (Fujieda MYFC)
In the Emperor's Cup, in which you have to go home as soon as you lose, I think we could show off what Fujieda have been focusing on this year without changing our concept and without hesitation. In the first half, we could press from up front, passing the ball around whenever necessary, in order to look for goals. 

Having said that, we could not react to long-distance passes against Yamagata, who have been engaging in fierce competition in J.League Division1, and we struggled with tiredness from the first half. So we ended up conceding two goals.

OISHI Tsugutoshi (Fujieda MYFC)
I was really frustrated in the game, and realised how much more I have to improve. As we did have our goal-scoring opportunities, I needed to be able to score with them in order to contribute to the team. In terms of the opener, I reacted to a loose ball from Mansho, who tried hard to get the ball and headed it. All I had to do was focus on the ball to kick it. I was glad I could score. 

It was a good experience that I struck a goal in a showcase match of a big championship. Having said that, I can’t be optimistic, as we couldn’t win.

ISHIZAKI Nobuhiro, Coach (Montedio Yamagata)
The Emperor's Cup is one of the most difficult championships. We conceded a goal in the first half, and were pressed badly several times. We did defend well at those times, which, I believe, allowed us to turn the game around in the second half. I’m impressed with the fact that we stayed calm and patient for the whole 90 minutes until we won the game. 

After a two-day break, we will play a league match. We still have four more games to play, and we’d like to build up positive momentum from this match.

DIEGO (Montedio Yamagata)
The content of the first half wasn’t great, but I thought we had to stay patient. Toshi (TAKAGI Toshiya) passed me an excellent ball. As I was in a good position, all I had to do was just score a goal. I was pleased that I scored the deciding goal, but it doesn’t matter too much to me. We have to avoid relegation, that’s all we want.

The 95th Emperor's Cup All Japan Football Championship

Sat. 29 August 2015 - Fri. 1 January 2016
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