Eight first-round matches of the 38th Empress's Cup All Japan Women's Football Tournament took place on Sunday 23 October. Along with the games held on the previous day, all 16 teams that advanced to the second round were decided. They will compete against the seeded Nadeshiko League teams in the next round on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 October.

Pick-up Match 1

BUNNYS KYOTO SC (Kansai/Kyoto) 1-0（1-0, 0-0）University of Tsukuba (Kanto/Ibaraki)

At Tochigi Green Stadium, the first match saw the meeting of Bunnys Kyoto SC (Kansai/ Kyoto), who is seeking to win their first round match for the second consecutive year, and the University of Tsukuba (Kanto/ Ibaraki), who is looking to qualify for the second round for the first time. Coincidentally, they also played each other in the first round the previous year.

While Bunnys dominated ball possession in the early part of the game, Tsukuba placed five defenders in the final line and constructed defensive blocks, and they did not allow the opponents to create decisive scoring chances. Then off counter-attacks, Tsukuba attempted to open the scoring from mid-range shots, but were denied by the opposing defence.

Bunnys, who were the stronger side of the two teams, found the golden opportunity to score from a simple mental error made by the opponents’ defenders. In the 43rd minute, centre-back ISHII Saki saw the vertical line to pass towards SATO Rina, who broke loose and got into one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper. She then calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net and scored the much-awaited opener for Bunnys.

In the second half, Tsukuba changed their formation to back-four system. The battles for the ball intensified as they were no longer defending in defensive blocks, but rather were dependent on individuals to win back the possession.

While Bunnys created chances from well-coordinated offensive play, Tsukuba, looking to equalise, attempted to advance the ball by passing to MIZUTANI Yuki, who has been called up for both U-18 and U-19 National Teams. However, both teams defended persistently and resiliently, not allowing either side to change the scoreline until the final whistle. Tsukuba could not avenge the previous year’s loss, where they were defeated in the penalty shootout. Bunnys got through to the second round.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

Pick-up Match 2

TOYO UNIVERSITY (Kanto/Gunma）3-0（1-0, 2-0）JAPAN SOCCER COLLEAGE Ladies (Hokushinetsu/Niigata)

The second match at the Tochigi Green Stadium saw Toyo University (Kanto/ Gunma), who was formed four years ago and qualified for the nationwide completion for the first time, squaring off against Japan Soccer College Ladies (Kitashinetsu/ Niigata), who got through to the tournament for the sixth time.

Neither of the teams took the early initiative, but Toyo University gradually started to take control of the match. MIURA Kozue and AKAGI Natsumi attempted shots at goal in the 31st and 39th minutes, respectively, but both were denied by the superb saves made by Soccer College’s goalkeeper HAMADA Momoka. The match finally moved in the 41st minute, where from a well-coordinated offensive play, OSHIMA Ayaka found the line to dribble the ball forward and struck a long-awaited opener for Toyo.

Right after the kick off of the 2nd half in the 46th minute, Toyo University’s Takagi took a shot from the left side of the goal. This was blocked once by the goalkeeper, but Miura reacted to the loose ball and slotted into back of the net, stretching their lead to 2-0.

Toyo gained momentum after their second goal and attacked even more fiercely. In the 86th minute, MOTOHASHI Yuka’s corner went directly into the opponents’ goal, extending their advantage to 3-0. In the closing minutes of the match, KISHI Minori earned a penalty kick and attempted to score herself, but the spot kick was denied superbly by goalkeeper Hamada. Toyo’s relentless attack continued until the final whistle, but failed to add to their tally of goals. Toyo University won their first-ever victory in the tournament and advanced to the second round.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

Coach's and Players' Comments

CHIMOTO Tetsuya, Coach (Bunnys Kyoto SC)
We did research on how to play against the University of Tsukuba. The fact that we were able to display what we have done in training allowed us to manage the match in the first half well, creating scoring chances and defending against the opponents’ attacks as intended. In the second half, we became more passive due to our opponents’ formation change and gave away the initiative of the match.

Last year, we lost the second match against INAC Kobe Leonessa, but I think the players were able to display their style of football. From the next game on, we will have to compete against stronger teams, but we are not afraid of them mentally. We will try to win as many matches as possible.

ITO Shiori (University of Tsukuba)
It’s been a while since we played against a club team, and we were nervous entering the match. We could not perform well in the first half. After we changed our system in the second half, our defense improved and we could steal the ball better by putting more pressure up front. This allowed us to take better control of the game, but yet we could not score. From the qualifiers, capitalising on the limited scoring chances was one of the issues we had. Clearly, the lack of scoring was the reason why we lost the game today. I will make use of this lesson learnt from competing in the nationwide competition of the Empress’s Cup.

KISHI Minori (Toyo University)
We didn’t have a clear idea as to how they would play, hence we were bit unsettled in the beginning of the match. After talking with my teammates, we got relaxed and played more calmly on the pitch. This team was newly assembled when I was in the first year at the university, and there weren’t enough members to form a team of 11 players. At that time, I could never imagine that we would be able to play in the Empress’s Cup. After four years, we now have younger players and improved significantly as a team. I am very happy that we are here playing in this competition. However, this is only a beginning, and we shouldn’t be satisfied with our first victory. We will do our best and attempt to advance further in the tournament.

TAKAHASHI Sakura (Japan Soccer College Ladies)
In the first half, since we could not play at our pace, we spent most of the time defending. However, in the second half we were able to pressure the opponents better and defend solidly. Even though we placed many players in defence, we conceded the opening goal easily. In addition, we allowed the opponents to score from a set play. I felt the need to practice harder. It is such a shame that we performed poorly. We will work hard to correct those issues found in today’s match and make a good preparation for the relegation match of Division 3 the Challenge League of the Japan Women’s Football League in November.

First Round Fixtures and Results (10/23)

Second Round Fixtures (10/29)

Second Round Fixtures (10/30)

Fixtures and Results (Japanese version only)

38th Empress's Cup All Japan Women's Football Tournament

2016-10-22(Sat.)～2016-12-25(Sun.)

Tournament Information