On Wednesday 4 December, the final third round fixture of the Empress's Cup JFA 41st Japan Women's Football Championship took place in Tokyo.

Pick-up Match 1

Nippon TV Beleza 5-1 (3-0, 2-1) Nippatsu Yokohama FC Seagulls

Due to their appearance at the AFC Women's Club Championship 2019 FIFA/AFC Pilot Tournament, the third round fixture for Nippon TV Beleza (Nadeshiko1/Tokyo) took place on a separate date from others, as they faced Nippatsu Yokohama FC Seagulls (Nadeshiko2/Kanagawa) on a Wednesday night.

After winning the inaugural AFC Women's Club Championship title, Beleza showed great intensity from the early minutes of this match. Seeking for their third consecutive title at the Empress's Cup, Beleza wasted no time to take the lead, as HASEGAWA Yui scored the opener in the fourth minute. With momentum on their side, Beleza added two more goals in the first half, including 19 year-old KANNO Oto’s 34th minute goal, as the team entered halftime with a 3-0 lead.

Despite being kept scoreless, Nippatsu registered more shots than Beleza, marking seven shots in the first half. With their backs against the wall, Nippatsu applied aggressive pressure from the early minutes of the second half. By adding more numbers upfront, the Kanagawa side took the initiative and scored the first goal of the second half in the 55th minute, as TAKAHASHI Miyuki broke through from a fast break to cut the deficit to two goals.

However, this goal has set the alarms off for the two time defending champions, leading to goals scored by KOBAYASHI Rikako and TANAKA Mina, giving Beleza a 5-1 victory that sent them into the quarterfinals.

Coaches and Players' Comments

NAGATA Masato, Coach (Nippon TV Beleza)
We entered this match with our focus set on our ball movements, chance making, and finishing plays. It was great to see our players executing our game plan and scoring multiple goals in this match. There are always times where our opponents will gain momentum during the course of a match, and that goal we conceded has triggered our players to pick up their pace. We hope to build on our strengths, while improving our weaknesses through our daily trainings and matches. We will continue to strive for higher goals.

KOBAYASHI Rikako (Nippon TV Beleza)
I didn’t have to do much when I scored the first goal. The second goal came from a quick counter, and I am glad I was able to score from that play. Despite the match being held shortly after the AFC tournament, we managed to showcase our usual performance with a different line-up. We are aware of the fact that the team is seeking for back to back years with the triple crown, quadruple crown if we include the AFC tournament, but we are just focused on executing our usual performance. The Empress's Cup is the final tournament of the season, so we hope to keep up the intensity and showcase our football style to win the title.

JINNO Takuya, Coach (Nippatsu Yokohama FC Seagulls)
We conceded the goal a bit too early, but the players played with great courage. It was a very disappointing loss, but we managed to showcase what we have been working all year and created some close opportunities against a strong team like Beleza. I feel like we should be proud of our performance. During halftime, I told my players to keep their heads up and play with courage. We hope to strive for a higher level and showcase a closer match against Beleza next year.

YAMAMOTO Emi (Nippatsu Yokohama FC Seagulls)
Despite conceding the early goal, we stayed positive and tried to execute our game plan. After the first half, we talked with each other during halftime to seek how we can improve ourselves, so we all shared clear vision on how we wanted to play in the second half. We took plenty of shots during the first half, so only if we had better accuracy, the match could have ended in a different result. We faced the best team in Japan, and they were very strong. We hope to reach their level and become a team that can win matches against them.

Empress's Cup JFA 41st Japan Women's Football Championship

Tournament Dates: Sat. 2 November - Sun. 29 December 2019
【1st Round】Sat. 2 & Sun. 3 November
【2nd Round】Sat. 23 & Sun. 24 November
【3rd Round】Sat. 30 November & Sun. 1 December
【Quarterfinals】Sun. 8 December
【Semi-Finals】Sun. 22 December
【Final】Sun. 29 December

Tournament Information