In the heat of the international week, the Japan League Cup got underway in earnest, with Wednesday's (21st) first leg of the best-of-four series coming to an end. Sanfrecce Hiroshima won a thrilling 3-2 away match against Kyushu Fukuoka Wasps, while Sakura Osaka drew 1-1 at home with Urawa Red Diamonds. This weekend, the four powerhouses will meet again in the second round in different places. Now, let's take a look back at these two exciting first-round matchups.
Fukuoka Hornets 2:3 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Neither side's star players have been selected for the Japanese national team, so both teams have fielded their strongest lineups in the quarterfinal match of the League Cup. Currently, Fukuoka Hornets are fighting for relegation in the JCL, while Sanfrecce Hiroshima is in the third place in the league, so the difference in strength between the two teams is obvious. Although Sanfrecce are the visitors, they are generally favored ahead of the match.
Fukuoka Hornets were missing their top scorer Yutaka Yamagishi for this match, and Lukian was withdrawn. Coach Shigeru Hasebe started youngster Yuji Kitajima and gave debut to Kennedy Mikuni, who was previously on loan to Tochigi SC.
For Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Keisuke Osako, Shio Shiotani, Sho Sasaki, Taketo Nozuta, Makoto Manda and other starters start, and there are also players like Binkarifa, Kosei Shibasaki and Tomoya Fujii on standby on the bench, which makes for a pretty solid lineup.
At the beginning of the match, Fukuoka Hornets grabbed an early lead thanks to the twin towers of strikers Zuandi Gado and John Marley, but Sanfrecce Hiroshima's three-man defense managed to cope with the situation and gradually weakened Fukuoka Hornets' superiority in the air.
After stabilizing their position, Sanfrecce Hiroshima started to organize an effective attack and scored the first goal in 22 minutes. Sho Sasaki sent a long pass to the left side of the penalty area, Hayato Araki sent a second pass to the center of the field, Fukuoka Hornets midfielder Duglasgori misjudged the ball and Takumu Kawamura grabbed the ball and scored the goal, giving Sanfrecce Hiroshima a 1-0 lead in the first half.
In the second half, Sanfrecce Hiroshima quickly extended their lead as a free kick from Taketo Noguchida was headed home by veteran Shiotani to give Sanfrecce Hiroshima a 2-0 lead. Only 4 minutes later, Sanfrecce added another goal, Kashiwa Hiromun grounded a ball into the penalty area, and Takumu Kawamura scored with a powerful left-footed shot to make it 3-0.
Despite being down by 3 goals, Fukuoka Hornets didn't get discouraged by the cheering of the home fans and recovered a goal in the 27th minute of the second half. Jordy Garrus and Kusamin Tanabe combined on the right side of the pitch and substitute center forward Lukian sent in a direct ball which was picked up by Zuandigaardo, bringing Fukuoka Hornets back to 1-3.
After trailing 2-3, Fukuoka Hornets continued to pressurize with the cheering home fans and finally gained a goal in extra time. Mikuni Kennedy scored with a header, Lukian crossed the ball from the center of the field, Tanabe Kusamin killed the ball into the penalty area, and Zuandi Kado met the far post to make it 2-3 for Fukuoka Hornets.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima coach Skippy said that although he gained an advantage in the first round, he admitted that his team was slightly overwhelmed by Fukuoka Hornets' physical style of play, and hoped to make improvements as soon as possible before the second round; he also praised Takumo Kawamura, who is believed to be getting better and better as he recovers quickly from his injury.
Fukuoka Hornets coach Shigeru Hasebe admitted that his team's monotonous attacking setup in the first half put them at a disadvantage, but the team managed to use the width of the pitch in the second half to attack in a more three-dimensional way and recovered two goals. He expects his team to improve the weakness of their offense before the next match.
Sakura Osaka 1:1 Urawa Red Diamonds
Cerezo Osaka and Urawa Red Diamonds are quite close in strength, and a draw is generally expected to be a reasonable result before the match. The hosts, Cerezo Osaka, have left a lot to be desired, with Hiroshi Kiyomu and Vladimir Ventis on the bench, while Australian goal-scorer Adam Taggart has been selected for the national team and is out of the lineup.
The visiting team, Urawa Red Diamonds, although Hiroki Sakai was selected for the national team and missed the game, but Alexandre Schultz, Carlson, Atsuki Ito, Yusuke Matsuo and other key players are in the lineup, the strength is not bad.
The battle attracted over 10,000 fans to the venue and the atmosphere was electric. The two teams started to attack quickly in the fierce competition. Just two minutes into the match, Osaka Cherry's center back Shoji broke free, Hiroyoshi Okuno received a quick pass, and Tomoki Sakamoto scored a world-class goal from outside the penalty area to give Osaka Cherry a 1-0 lead.
Urawa Red Diamonds then launched a counterattack, Yoshiho Koizumi's one-touch shot was deflected by Keisuke Shimizu of Osaka Cherry Blossoms. In the 25th minute, Urawa Red Diamonds left tackle Koho Akimoto assisted, Atsuki Ito's left-footed shot was parried by Keisuke Shimizu, and Yoshiho Koizumi supplemented with a shot to bring Urawa Red Diamonds to 1-1.
After the draw, both teams went on the offensive again to try to win the first leg. Sakura Osaka started with Sung-Ya Per Kumagi's shot which was saved by Kosaku Nishikawa, and then Rikuji Kato's overhead kick from substitute Hiroshi Kiyotake went over the bar.
Urawa Red Diamonds attacked with crosses from the left and right sides, but both were deflected by Keisuke Shimizu. In the end, both sides finished the first leg with a score of 1-1, with Urawa Red Diamonds having the advantage of a visitor's goal.
Urawa Red Diamonds coach Ricardo Rodiguez said that he has known the power of Tomoki Sakado since his days in the Japanese Second Division, and as a result, his team was punished in the opening half. He also said that the team's poor grasp of goal scoring opportunities in the first half was improved in the second half and tied the game. He promised to use these few days to make adjustments for Urawa Red Diamonds and hopefully succeed in beating their opponents to reach the final at the weekend.
Osaka Cereals coach Akio Ogiku said his team played a good first half by playing deployed, but was slightly conservative in the second half, allowing the opponents to grab the dominant position to press. He promised to do more to improve this in the next round. He also praised the goal scorer, Tomoki Umen, who has great potential to become a starter for the team.
The second leg of the Japan League Cup quarterfinals will take place this Sunday, with both matches kicking off at 4pm HKT. Fans who wish to watch the matches live should keep an eye on the JLF's official YouTube channel for live streaming information at that time.
This week's Sunday B live streaming schedule:
September 24, 1:00 p.m. Gunma Kusatsu Onsen vs. Yamaguchi Refa Cable 602/662
September 24, 3:00 p.m. Tokyo Green vs. Yamagata Yamagami Cable TV 602/662
