The SURUGA bank Championship 2016 IBARAKI, in which the winner of the J.League YAMAZAKI NABISCO CUP (J.LEAGUE YBC Levain CUP) played against the COPA SUDAMERICANA 2015 champions, was held on Wednesday 10 August. Kashima Antlers faced Independiente Santa Fe from Colombia at Kashima Soccer Stadium and lost to them 1-0. Kashima failed to win the title for the first time in three years and the team from the J.League lost the annual championships for two consecutive years.

The players of Santa Fe took their time to go into a huddle on the pitch prior to kick-off, showing their enthusiasm for this match. However, Kashima, the home team, took the initiative first. 

After 10 minutes, Kashima grabbed their first opportunity by earning a free kick in front of the opponents’ goal. Defender YAMAMOTO Shuto reacted to a loose ball, which had been once punched away, and fired a volley with his right foot. However, the smashed shot hit the right goalpost.

Kashima went close to Santa Fe’s goal, passing a long-distance ball with one touch. In the 12th minute, the team got through the opponent. Defender NISHI Daigo send a cross from right side and midfielder KANAZAKI Mu reacted to it with a header, but it went wide to the right side of the goal.

Just one minute later, the midfielder NAKAMURA Atsutaka looked for scoring chance through numerous forward and square passes. Then, in the 18th minute, midfielder SHIBASAKI Gaku, who played out the ball from the goal kick by goalkeeper SOGAHATA Hitoshi, sent a quick forward pass. Although Kanazaki got through to face the opponents’ goalkeeper 1-on-1, he could not find the back of the net.

Both teams showed competitiveness around the ball. In the 21st minute, Kashima put in a superb defence. Although the opponents counter-attacked from cleared ball of a corner, NISHI defended tenaciously against the midfielder JONATAN GOMEZ, who dribbled up strongly. He came up to the goal line, but Kashima managed to defend without giving away a corner kick. Kashima’s defensive line stayed concentrated against Santa Fe, who were looking for opportunities with long-distance passes.

Santa Fe patiently waited for their limited opportunities in the second half. In the 50th minute, although Santa Fe got through and faced goalkeeper Sogahata 1-on-1, fortunately the opponents missed a shot. After substituting players in the middle of the second half, Santa Fe attacked from the right side and put pressure on Kashima.

In the 79th minute, both teams sent new players on, and then the momentum of game changed. A free kick, which was given away by Kashima, was still far from the goal. However, substitution had a real impact. Kashima could not adjust their positions in time for the free kick after a new player came on to the pitch. The ball was headed home from the penalty box. It was a painful goal for Kashima, but a promising one for Santa Fe.

Kashima also created a goal-scoring opportunity. In the 84th minute, Nakamura, who had received a floating ball from Nishi in the box, was taken down by the opponent, and a penalty kick was awarded. However, Kanazaki’s shot was punched away by the goalkeeper.

Kashima never gave up. In injury time, defender HWANG Seok tried to slot the ball from a corner kick into the goal, only for it to be saved superbly by the goalkeeper. Kashima earned another corner but was unsuccessful in finding the net. The score stayed at 1-0 until the end of the match. 

At the moment of the final whistle, all Santa Fe’s players on the bench ran towards the pitch, congratulating them on their victory. Santa Fe, the newcomers at the championship as a team from Colombia, gloriously earned the title to bring back home.

Match details

Coach and Players' Comments

ISHII Masatada, Coach (Kashima Antlers)
I feel frustrated that we couldn’t earn the title in this kind of match despite the fact that many fans came over to encourage us to win a victory. We had learned from video footage that Santa Fe would press forward strongly with high individual skills, while defending solidly. In general, I’d like to point out that the players reacted well. Having said that, the opponents didn’t miss an opportunity during their set piece, which led us to concede a goal and lose the match. It’s really frustrating. I believe we displayed Kashima’s playing style. As we didn’t get the desired result, it could be misunderstood that our performance was not good. However, I believe the content is truly getting better. 

FW #18  AKASAKI Shuhei (Kashima Antlers)
We’re gutted, as we were talking about building momentum for the J.League by winning this match. Despite our goal-scoring opportunities, I think something in our performance was not quite right. As we were not performing well in the league, we started to play aggressively. We could replace six players during the game, so we decided to play at full stretch from the beginning. We did have few goal-scoring opportunities and a penalty kick. We once dominated the game, in which we didn’t let the opponents do anything. Now all of us need to play hard and make sure we’ll win against Avispa Fukuoka in the next matchday of the league.

DF #22  NISHI Daigo (Kashima Antlers)
Although we didn’t let the opponents control the match, we made consecutive mistakes before conceding a goal. We tried to earn free kicks up front, but ended up giving them away to the opponents. It happened several times from the first half. As there is still room to improve, we need to work on it. Despite our defeat, I don’t believe we performed badly. It’s a difficult time for our team, but the slightest change can make all the difference. I took the initiative by becoming the captain the other day. But, more importantly, we need to find our way to win when we’re struggling. Going back to where we performed well is not necessarily improvement. We need to take action and move forward, so that we can improve ourselves even more. 

GUSTAVO COSTAS, Coach (Independiente Santa Fe)
We’re over the moon to earn the title. It’s a precious trophy, because it’s the first victory for a team from Colombia. During the first 20 minutes, we couldn’t perform well, while the opponents were creating goal-scoring opportunities. I think we calmed down a little later on.

In the second half, we played better and more tactically. We played the match cleverly, which brought us the victory. A strong desire from the players to earn this title enabled us to win the match. We’ve been through a lot before coming here. We won a domestic championship first, followed by the one in South America. I’ve kept thinking about how’d the people in Santa Fe support us. I’m really pleased that we can bring the trophy back home for them.

SURUGA bank Championship 2016 IBARAKI
J.LEAGUE YAMAZAKI NABISCO CUP / COPA SUDAMERICANA Championship Final

Kashima Antlers (Japan/Winner of 2015 J.LEAGUE YAMAZAKI NABISCO CUP)
vs  Independiente Santa Fe (Colombia / Winner of COPA SUDAMERICANA 2015)
Wed. 10 August 2016  kick off  19:00/open 16:00 (subject to change)
Ibaraki/Kashima Soccer Stadium

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