The first round of the Emperor's Cup JFA 101st Japan Football Championship took place on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 May. At Hiroshima, Fukuyama City FC (Hiroshima) squared off against Matsue City FC (Shimane).

Pick-up Match

Fukuyama City FC 2-1 (0-0, 2-1) Matsue City FC

The match started with Matsue City taking the initiative, as they created chances from their build-up plays, but struggled to threaten the opposing goal, as coach SANENOBU Noriaki later reflected, “Similar to our league matches, it was disappointing to see our side lack quality in the final third.” Despite recording seven shots in the first half, Matsue City fell short from scoring a goal, as the match entered halftime scoreless.

After finishing the first half with zero shots, Fukuyama City made two changes during halftime, which allowed them to change their rhythm and create opportunities in the early minutes of the second half. With the home side gradually picking up momentum, the deadlock was broken in the 59th minute when TAKAHASHI Hiroki converted the cross of SOGA Daichi with a diving header.

However, it was Matsue who took control of the match following the opening goal. With SAWASHIMA Akira penetrating the right flank, the Shimane side started to apply more pressure against the Fukuyama defence. The match was levelled in the 83rd minute, when SHIMOMURA Naofumi redirected the ball delivered from a CK to allow HOTTA Keisuke to score the equaliser.

With momentum on their side, Matsue continued to apply pressure against Fukuyama, but the game winner was scored by the home side in the final minute of the match. The goal came in the fourth minute of additional time, when TAGUCHI Shun responded to a pass delivered by TAKADA Kengo and struck a shot. Although his initial effort was blocked by the GK, and KATABIRA Tomoyuki’s shot was also blocked by the DF, Taguchi converted the deflection into the open net to give Fukuyama City the victory.

Fukuyama who belongs to the first division of Hiroshima open league advanced to the second round with a 2-1 victory after defeating Matsue who plays in the JFL. Following last year’s remarkable run, where they advanced to the quarterfinals in their first ever Emperor’s Cup appearance, the Hiroshima side will now face Shimizu S-Pulse (J1) in the second round on Wednesday 9 June.

The remaining two fixtures in the first round, Tochigi City FC (Tochigi) vs Yamanashi Gakuin University Pegasus (Yamanashi) and tonan Maebashi (Gunma) vs Juntendo University (Chiba), have been postponed.

Coaches and Players' Comments

KOYANO Hiromu, Coach (Fukuyama City FC)
It was a tough match, but I am glad we were able to win. I told my players during halftime that our defence was holding up, so we just needed to make some adjustments in our offence. We weren’t able to possess the ball as we anticipated, so we changed our game plan in the second half, which turned out to be effective. We must strive for a higher level in order to win against our next opponent. Our goal has been to win against a J-Club, so we hope to achieve that goal this year.

SOGA Daichi (Fukuyama City FC)
During halftime, our coach gave us directions to position ourselves where we can evade the pressure of our opponents, and that allowed us to score the opening goal. The last goal was a goal scored by a total team effort, so that was amazing. We will be facing a superior team in the second half, but I believe that we can put up a good fight as long as we can showcase our usual football. Our team’s goal is to give back to Fukuyama. I cannot achieve it by myself, but we can make it happen as a team, so we will continue to give our utmost efforts.

SANENOBU Noriaki, Coach (Matsue City FC)
Similar to our league matches, we were able to possess and carry the ball to the final third, but we lacked quality to capitalise on our opportunities, which was very disappointing. I told my players during halftime to keep playing the way we did in the first half and to deliver more crosses. After we scored the equaliser, we were able to dominate the match in terms of ball possession, but still struggled to find the net and ended up conceding in the closing minutes. Fukuyama City showcased their strong will to win this match, and that was the difference maker. We must accept this result and try to make the most of it in our league matches.

INOUE Ryota (Matsue City FC)
This would’ve been a much different match if we could’ve capitalised on our opportunities in the first half. We have been focusing on our passing game since last year, but we need polish the quality of our plays in the final third. The last play made us realise the importance to finish our plays with a shot, as we conceded that last goal from a counterattack. We will now reset our minds and strive to finish in the top 10 in our league.

Emperor's Cup JFA 101st Japan Football Championship

【1st Round】Sat. 22, Sun. 23 May[Backup date: Mon. 24 May]
【2nd Round】Wed. 9, Wed. 16 June
【3rd Round】Wed. 7 July[Backup date: Wed. 14 July]
【Round of 16】Wed. 18 August[Backup date: Wed. 13 October]

Tournament Information