Pick-up Match

Jubilo Iwata (J1)   2-0 (1-0, 1-0)   Kanagawa University (Kanagawa)

Saturday 3 September saw the second round of the 96th Emperor's Cup All Japan Football Championship across the country, and Jubilo Iwata (J1) played against Kanagawa University (Kanagawa) at Yamaha Stadium in Shizuoka.

Kanagawa University beat FC MACHIDA ZELVIA (J2) 1-0 in the first round and are aiming to win two consecutive upset victories against teams from the J.League – maintaining their reputation as ‘giant-killers.’

Kanagawa University once showed a high level of concentration in their performance. The team kept their defence compact to prevent Iwata from passing easily, while playing tenaciously around the ball. The defenders marked quite tightly against MORISHIMA Yasuhito, the tall Iwata forward. As soon as the team stole the ball, they went close to Iwata’s goal, using TAKEDA Syohei’s passes of his left foot.

Although SHIMIZU Takafumi of Iwata got through to the penalty area to fire a shot in the 3rd minute, Kanagawa University created goal-scoring opportunities after that.

After 21 minutes, NOJI Takayuki, who reacted to MINAMI Shota’s ball, split two defenders and took a shot. In the 30th minute, KAWAMURA Hideyuki boldly dribbled towards the centre from the left side and fired at goal. Although neither found the back of the net, they gave the opponents a few ‘skipped heartbeats.’

However, it was Iwata that struck the opener. In the 40 minute, ISHIDA Ryoma on the right sent a cross, which Morishima picked up and headed home.

Despite conceding a goal, Kanagawa University kept playing harder than the opponents on both ends. After an attack from the wing in the 42nd minute, they created a big opportunity in the 44th minute. From a forward pass, two attackers completed a one-two pass and fired a shot, hitting the right goalpost. Onrushing Minami reacted to the loose ball, but could not control his speed well enough and adjust himself to take a shot on target. His attempt went wide of the open goal.

From the start of the second half, Iwata attacked aggressively driving the ball forward. Their attacking mindset, along with better and quicker decision making, allowed them to find better rhythm of the game. In the 54th minute, they went close to the goal with a cross from the left flank. Furthermore, in the 58th minute, they moved diagonally up the pitch and attempted a shot, but failed to add to the scoreline.

Kanagawa University remained focused and went on the hunt for goals. They created scoring opportunities from consecutive free kicks and corners. In the 73rd minute, evading the man-mark in the centre and crossing the ball, they fired a shot, only to be denied by the crossbar. In the 78th minute, OKUDA Koya, who came off the bench, created a goal-scoring opportunity for Takeda, dribbling up towards the goal. Takeda, in turn, took a shot from mid-range, but his attempt at the corner of the goal was saved superbly by Iwata’s goalkeeper HATTA Naoki.  

Iwata scored the deciding goal during injury time of the second half. Their substitute, NAKAMURA Yuki, ran towards a fine early cross going over the heads of two defenders from ARAKI Daigo on the left, and struck a goal with his right foot. They won the game 2-0.

Jubilo Iwata will meet the winner of the match between OMIYA ARDIJA (J1) and Gainare Tottori (Tottori) in the third round on Thursday 22 September.

Coaches' and Players' Comments

NANAMI Hiroshi, Coach (Jubilo Iwata)
This is what football can be. The opponents played extremely well, creating numerous goal-scoring opportunities. I truly believe it was the best performance of Kanagawa University as far as we’ve see from their match videos. Despite the fact that the number of shots exceeded us, we won the match 2-0 in the end. This kind of thing can happen in football. We did not put in the solid display of a professional team, and I’m not completely satisfied with the players’ performance. Having said that, I’d like to point out that we got through to the next stage, which was our minimum expectation. I’d rather praise Kanagawa University today. 

MORISHIMA Yasuhito (Jubilo Iwata)
It was only natural that we struggled against the opponents that played so relentlessly. Personally, I faced today’s game with enthusiasm. When I scored, all I had to do was react to an excellent cross. There were flaws in trapping the ball, but I tried to refocus. Although I expect some criticism of our poor performance, I was keen on scoring and we are surely better off scoring goals and winning the match. I hope the players, who watched this match, got some inspiration, bringing some meaning to this victory.

HASEGAWA Dai, Coach (Kanagawa University)
We faced today’s game to show our aggressive playing style against a J1 team and to see how much we can exploit the space behind the opponents by controlling the transitions between defence and offence. In terms of the opener, although centre back CHIDA Kaito defended competently against Morishima, our defenders, including the goalkeeper, couldn’t react well enough against a high ball from the wing.

In regards to the second goal, they scored brilliantly without stopping the ball. I saw the kind of high-level techniques you expect from a professional team. I strongly believe that only through daily hard work you can perform like that.

Despite our defeat, we played without fear, which brought us confidence. We’d like to play hard back in the Kanto University Football League.

MINAMI Shota (Kanagawa University)
(When I couldn’t fire a shot into an open goal) I thought I will be able to play without thinking too much, as I have already struck a goal in the first round against Machida. But, I guess I forced it too hard or perhaps I lacked the ability to slot it in.

We were able to keep our team compact and wait for a loose ball to attack with sufficient number of players against a J1 team. It will help us in the league matches. We learned that we need to improve our scoring skills today, so I’d like to work on that and perform better in the league. I was really pleased when Iwata supporters sent a shout-out to us after the match.

The 96th Emperor's Cup All Japan Football Championship

2016-8-27-2017-1-1

More information
Ticket Information (Japanese version only)