On Saturday 25 May, the first round of the Emperor's Cup JFA 99th Japan Football Championship kicked off, as nine fixtures were played on the opening day.

Pick-up Match

Toin University of Yokohama 8-0 (3-0, 5-0) Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine

In the match held at Shonan BMW Stadium Hiratsuka, a fixture between two university sides clashed. The match saw Toin University of Yokohama (Kanagawa) taking the initiative in the early minutes, but it was Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine (Yamagata) who came close to scoring the first goal of the match. In the fifth minute of the first half, Yamagata University struck a low driven freekick that captured the target but came short from finding the back of the net.

The Yamagata side showed a collective effort in defence to effectively keep the opposing attackers marked, while seeking for their opportunity to counterattack. In the seventh minute, Yamagata University created an opportunity from another freekick, when they sent a long ball into the box to induce a goalmouth scramble, but once again fell short from taking the lead. The opening goal of the match came from an unexpected play in the 17th minute, when Toin University of Yokohama’s forward SHIMOMURA Tsukasa swept away a backward pass made by Yamagata University and struck the opener.

Despite the persistent efforts showcased by the Yamagata side, Toin University of Yokohama added two more goals in the last five minutes of the first half, as they capitalised on a corner kick in the 42nd minute, followed by a long distance shot that captured the net from the half way line in the 43rd minute.

With momentum on their side, the Yokohama side went onto to a goal spree in the second half, as they effectively utilised the long balls and attacks initiated by their fullbacks. Toin University of Yokohama scored three consecutive goals from corner kicks, including the 60th minute goal scored by YAMADA Shin. Yamada went onto to capture two more goals in the closing minutes of the second half to complete his hat-trick. As a result, Toin University of Yokohama won the match with a final score of 8-0, cruising through the first round in a convincing fashion.

Coaches and Players' Comments

YASUTAKE Toru, Coach (Toin University of Yokohama)
Before we worry about our opponents, we focused on keeping our transitions quick and entered the match with the intention to give a solid fight. Despite taking the lead early, we struggled for a little while, but we still managed to keep possession of the ball for a long time. After we ended the first half with a three-goal lead, our players were able to play with confidence in the second half. During halftime, I told my players to heighten the quality of their plays and they were able to do just that. We will be facing a J1 side when we play against FC Tokyo in the next round and we are looking forward for the match. Winning the match is one thing, but getting our players assessed by a J. League club is another thing we consider as a win for us. It will be icing on the cake if we can win the match.

FW #11 SHIMOMURA Tsukasa (Toin University of Yokohama)
We conceded a close opportunity to our opponents in the early minutes of the match, but it wasn’t anything outside of our expectation. We played with the intention to fight as a team and that approach has led us to this sweeping victory. When we first started as a team, we were just another good team, but we have been striving to become a strong team. We still have long ways to go, but this win at the Emperor's Cup means a lot for us. As a member of a university team, I would like to leave a mark both as a team and as an individual. But for now, we will focus on our next match against FC Tokyo.

ISHII Kuniaki, Coach (Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine)
Entering a match against a division one team from the Kanto University League, we knew our opponents weren’t going to allow us to score goals easily. We felt like we were able to put up a good fight in the first half, but our opponents really showed their superiority in the second half. Our players will now participate in a major tournament held in Eastern Japan, where teams in the medical field compete, but being able to participate in the Emperor's Cup as the representative of our prefecture was one of our major goals, so I am proud of our team and feel very honoured for this experience.

MF #16 MIYAWAKI Leo (Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine)
We entered the match with a game plan to keep a clean sheet while seeking for our opportunities to score from set-plays and counterattacks, but we conceded way too early and our plans went out of the window. With the laboratory courses and exams, it is very difficult to balance out our schoolwork and football, but we are doing our best to train at least four times a week. We entered the match with the intention to advance through to the next round so that we can face a J. League club, but it turned out to be a disappointing result. I am still in my fifth year, so I will continue to give my efforts to return to this stage next year.

Results of other matches

Honda Lock SC 5-1 (3-0, 2-1) FC Tokushima
Tochigi City FC 0-2 (0-1, 0-1) Vanraure Hachinohe
Matsue City FC 2-2 (2-1, 0-1, Ex: 0-0, 0-0, PK: 2-4) Kamatamare Sanuki
Fukui United FC 2-4 (2-0, 0-4) Honda FC
Iwaki FC 2-3 (1-0, 1-3) Sendai University
Arterivo Wakayama 3-0 (1-0, 2-0) Saga LIXIL FC
Thespakusatsu Gunma 1-0 (0-0, 0-0, Ex: 0-0, 1-0) Tokyo International University
MIO Biwako Shiga 0-2 (0-0, 0-2) FC Osaka

Fixtures and Results through the 3rd Round

【1st Round】Sat. 25, Sun. 26 May
【2nd Round】Wed. 3, Wed. 10 July
【3rd Round】Wed. 14 August
【Round of 16】Wed. 18 September
【Quarterfinals】Wed. 23 October
【Semi-final】Sat. 21 December
【Final】Wed. 1 January 2020

Tournament Information