The remaining first round fixtures of the Empress's Cup JFA 41st Japan Women's Football Championship took place on Sunday 3 November, as two more matches were played at Moka City Sports Park (Moka, Tochigi) following the day before.

Pick-up Match1

Sendai University (Tohoku/Miyagi) 0-2 (0-0, 0-2) Hokkaido Bunkyo University Meisei High School (Hokkaido)

The first fixture was between Sendai University and Hokkaido Bunkyo University Meisei High School.

For Hokkaido Bunkyo University Meisei High School, this is their 11th tournament appearance, but the team has lost in the first round in the past seven tournament appearances. With the team showing great development under coach SEINO Kuniyasu, the Hokkaido side entered the match with a strong intention to break the losing streak at the Empress's Cup.

On the other hand, this is the sixth tournament appearance for Sendai University, where they have advanced through to the second round in two occasions in the past. Led by coach KUROSAWA Takashi, the team has fully prepared themselves to face the fresh high school side.

The two sides showcased an equally matched bout, as the game entered the second half scoreless. The deadlock was broken by Hokkaido Bunkyo University Meisei High School in the 63rd minute, when in the 63rd minute, when SASAKI Miyu delivered a pass to ETO Riona, who ran up the right flank and struck a shot into the Sendai goal to give her side a 1-0 lead.

With their backs against the wall, the university side picked up their pace to seek for the equaliser, as FUNAKI Rina and KAMURA Nanami led the offence to threaten the opposing goal. However, with the superb saves made by the Bunkyo goalkeeper SAITO Nanaka, the high school side managed to keep their lead intact.

In additional time, OIKAWA Momo scored a goal from a counterattack to seal the deal for Hokkaido Bunkyo University Meisei High School, as the high school side edged Sendai University with a final score of 2-0.

Pick-up Match2

Nippon TV Menina (Kanto/Tokyo) 4-1 (1-0, 3-1) Seiwa Gakuen High School (Tohoku/Miyagi)

The second fixture played at Moka City Sports Park was a matchup between Nippon TV Menina and Seiwa Gakuen High School.

With the team missing three of their core members to the U-19 Japan Women's National Team, who are currently competing at the AFC U-19 Women's Championship in Thailand, Nippon TV Menina struggled to pick up their pace against Seiwa Gakuen High School, who showed great foot skills to keep the ball moving.

However, as the match progressed, Menina found their rhythm and started to show their dominance to take over the match. The opening goal was scored in the 28th minute, when Menina’s HIJIKATA Maya connected with a corner kick delivered by OYAMA Aemu to knock in a header to give them a 1-0 lead.

Menina doubled their lead in the 43rd minute, when KIMURA Sana delivered a cross from the left side to connect with MATSUNAGA Miyu, who converted the opportunity to make it 2-0 at halftime.

In efforts to level the match, Seiwa Gakuen High School utilised their substitutes to change the dynamics of the match. In the 52nd minute, the ball was connected through SAKURAI Madoka to MIYATA Asuka, before the ball was sent to WATANABE Runa, who struck a shot with her left foot to cut the deficit in half for Seiwa Gakuen.

Despite the efforts made by Seiwa Gakuen to get within a goal, Menina captured their third goal in the 69th minute, when Hijikata scored her second goal of the match, followed by IWASAKI Kokona’s goal scored in the 85th minute to cruise through the first round with a final score of 4-1.

Coaches' Comments

SEINO Kuniyasu, Coach (Hokkaido Bunkyo University Meisei High School)
This was an intriguing match to watch from the beginning. Our players managed to keep their composure and enjoy the match. Prior to the match, I had a good feeling that we would be able to showcase the football style we have been striving for. Ahead of this tournament, we had been training to improve our defence, so I am glad that we were able to showcase a good performance in defence. (Regarding the substitution to replace Yakushi to Oikawa) I didn’t want our players to play too defensively in the closing minutes, so I made the change to send out my message. I feel like this is one of our best teams in recent years.

KUROSAWA Takashi, Coach (Sendai University)
We weren’t able to execute our game plan, and we couldn’t do anything today. Although we knew that our opponents will pressure us hard, we couldn’t make the proper adjustments against them. Our players were not on the same page to make decisions to evade the pressure when we had the ball. Including our one on one defence and our response to the loose balls, we weren’t able to showcase our usual performance today.

FURUKAWA Masahiro, Coach (Nippon TV Menina)
We looked rattled in the early minutes and failed to utilise the width of the field. However, our perspective got wider as time progressed, and we managed to make the necessary adjustments. Despite missing three of our players to the national team, we were still able to take control of the match, and I felt like there were new options we can try while we were missing those players. If we can see more players stepping up while we are missing our core players, that would be ideal for this club. Those players who were able to make use of this opportunity will eventually become the core members of our team and that cycle will continue on. Losing our players to the top team is a loss for us in the short run, but in the long run, that is a great thing for the players, so we are happy to see these players getting their opportunities.

SOYAMA Kanako, Coach (Seiwa Gakuen High School)
Although we were able to force turnovers in few occasions, we ended up giving up the ball shortly after, and except for the goal scene, we weren’t able to show good ball movements in this match. Our strong points were completely shutout by our opponents, and this was far from being our best game. I was hoping for a closer match, but Menina was way better than us, especially in one-on-ones, endurance, and accuracy of their passes. We will set today’s performance given by Menina as our standard to prepare the team ahead of the All Japan High School Women's Football Championship.

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