The remaining six second-round matches of the 39th Empress's Cup All Japan Women's Football Tournament were held Sunday 5 November, and all 16 teams to play in the third-round competition, which will take place on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12, were decided.

Pick-up Match 1

AS HARIMA ALBION（Nadeshiko Division2/Hyogo）3-5（0-4, 3-1）TOKIWAGI GAKUEN HIGH SCHOOL（Tohoku/Miyagi）

The first game at Mie Prefecture's Sport Ueno-Park Stadium saw the encounter between teams from two different leagues, AS HARIMA ALBION from Nadeshiko Division2 and TOKIWAGI GAKUEN HIGH SCHOOL from Nadeshiko Challenge League.

The match looked like an even contest in the early part of the game, as both side came out strongly and challenged the opponents, but it was Tokiwagi Gakuen who took the early initiative by opening the scoring in the 5th minute. SHIBUSAWA Hikaru netted a header into the goal from a direct free kick. Five minutes later, Tokiwagi continued to attack with OKINO Kurea reacting to an early cross from KATO Shiori and firing a shot at goal. The opposing goalkeeper blocked her initial effort, but Okino tapped in the deflection to give her side a two-goal cushion.

Trailing by two goals, Harima tried to create scoring opportunities by exploiting the space behind the Tokiwagi's defenders and attempted few shots from range. They had several set-piece chances, but failed to take advantage of them and cut the Tokiwagi’s lead.

After enduring a series of menacing attacks from Harima, Tokiwagi earned a penalty kick from a counter-attack where TAKIKAWA Yume went inside the box and was illegally taken down by the opposing defender. Okino converted from the spot, giving back the momentum to her side. Then just before the end of first half, KAWAKITA Miku scored the fourth and took a commanding four-goal advantage at halftime.

In the second half, Harima sent their captain FUJIMOTO Madoka on the pitch to strike back. KATSURAMA Fumina netted one in the 60th minute, but the team had a hard time finding a good attacking rhythm as they conceded a goal two minutes later. Harima succeeded in scoring on 76 and 89 minutes to cut Tokiwa’s advantage to two goals, but they didn’t have enough time or the strength to turn the game around. Tokiwagi beat higher division team Harima 5-3 and advanced to the third round.

Match Report (Japanese version only)

Pick-up Match 2

SFIDA SETAGAYA FC（Nadeshiko Division2/Tokyo）0-1（0-1, 0-0） JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies U-18（Kanto/Chiba）

In the second game at Sport Ueno-Park Stadium, SFIDA SETAGAYA FC from the Division2 of the Nadeshiko League squared off against JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies U-18, who finished third in the 20th All Japan Youth (U-18) Women's Football Tournament.

SFIDA Setagaya created several chances from the left side with NAGATA Maya taking the ball up and sending crosses inside the box. JEF U-18, on the other hand, neutralised the menacing attacks from their opponents by playing a high backline and catching their forwards offside.

The game stayed in the balance until 29th minute, but JEF U-18 finally broke the deadlock with SONE Nanami orchestrating a wonderful attack by switching from left to the right side. INOUE Chisato collected the ball and took it all the way up near the goal line where she earned a corner. SHIINO Ayaka fired in a loose ball from a corner-kick delivery to give the Chiba club an early lead.

In the second half, SFIDA had put strong pressure on the opponents by keeping possession inside the JEF's half as they looked for their chances to score an equaliser. The Setagaya club had several scoring opportunities, including a shot from NAGASAKI Akane which struck the crossbar, but failed to carve open the tenacious JEF defence and were unable to level the match until the final whistle. JEF U-18 edged a tough contest 1-0 by keeping a clean sheet. They will now face the reigning Nadeshiko League champions, NIPPON TV BELEZA (Nadeshiko Division1/Tokyo), in the third round.

Match Report (Japanese version only)

Coach's and Players' Comments

FUJIMOTO Madoka (AS Harima Albion)
I am really disappointed and it feels like the year is now over. Had we scored a goal in the first half, we might have had a chance to turn things around. We gained some momentum after making substitutions in the second half, but ended giving up a goal. I believe that was the deciding moment in the game. We failed to capitalise on our chances and instead allowed the opponents to stretch their lead. Togiwagi were a team with strong physicality and pace as well as excellent technical skills. I believe that if they can take the momentum to the next game, they have a chance of winning as well. I wish them the best of luck.

TAKIKAWA Yume (Tokiwagi Gakuen High School)
In the first half, we were able to score goals by taking advantage of our side midfielders, which I consider to be one of our strengths. I was also aggressively looking to score and earned a penalty kick as well. I think this worked well for the team. One of the main reasons for our win today was that we scored after we kept the opponents from scoring additional goals during tough stretches of the game. In regards to my assist of the fourth goal, we were working on that particular attacking play during practices and were able to shared the same vision on the pitch. It was a great goal and I am very pleased about it.

Mie Prefecture is where I grew up, and my family and coach and players of my former team came to see me play. It was a great feeling to win in front of them. I am going to face a team (AC NAGANO PARCEIRO LADIES) that I will be joining after I graduate from high school in the next round. I am very excited, but I don’t think we will have as many chances as we did today. We are looking capitalise on those few chances and showcase our strength to win the match.

NAGATA Maya (SFIDA Setagaya FC)
We watched how Harima played in the first game and knew that the high school team would come against us with a lot of energy. It did not matter how they played, we just did not play our game. I felt during practice that we were not connecting passes well and lacked toughness on the ball as well as the strong drive to attack and score a goal. We didn’t have enough time to work on those issues and wound up losing today. I was determined to score once I was on the pitch and even attempted from range to show my determination in scoring. I am dissappointed that there was no meaning to my effort, if the result did not follow.

FUJII Nana, Coach (JEF United Chiba Ladies U-18)
The game proceeded as planned. I think that we have improved our team to the point where our players make their own decisions on the pitch. To compete against a Nadeshiko Division2 team, we have to advance to the Empress's Cup. We struggled through the Kanto League and the Kanto Regional Qualifiers, but, as a result, we improved every week and were able to take advantage of those experiences for the matches in the proceeding weeks.

In preparation to challenge the Nadeshiko League champions (Nippon TV Beleza), we came in today’s game trying to earn some respect for our competitive spirit. Now that we gained a chance to face them, we are looking to showcase our strength and I hope this will be a great opportunity for my players to see where they currently stand in regards to the level of football that they play.

Tournament Period：28 October 2017(Sat.)～24 December 2017(Sun.)
First Round　Sat. 28 and Sun 29. October
Second Round　Fri.3, Sat. 4 and Sun. 5 November
Third Round　Sat. 11 and Sun. 12 November
Quarter-finals　Sat. 18 and Sun. 19 November
Semi-finals　Thu. 21 December
Final　Sun. 24 December

Tournament Information