NEWS

Gamba Osaka kept alive their hopes of securing a place in next year’s AFC Champions League by advancing to the semifinals of the Emperor’s Cup with a 2-1 win over Nagoya Grampus on Wednesday night at Kobe Universiade Stadium.

Gamba, the Asian champions, had only three days to prepare for Wednesday’s game after playing in the FIFA Club World Cup third-place playoff against CONCACAF champions Pachuca on Sunday, a game Gamba won 1-0.
But the north Osaka team used their strong passing game to overwhelm Nagoya and take a 2-0 lead in the first 30 minutes.
In the 14th minute, Brazilian forward Lucas took a pass from Hideo Hashimoto and fired home from outside the box to put Gamba 1-0 up.
Defender Sota Nakazawa rose high at the far post to head home a Hashimoto cross in the 23rd minute.
Hashimoto could have made it 3-0 if his attempt in the 35th minute hadn’t been denied by Nagoya goalkeeper Koji Nishimura.
Nagoya, who qualified for next year’s ACL by finishing third in the J. League earlier this month, had a single chance in the first half when Keiji Tamada had a try in the 42nd minute.
Nagoya rallied hard after the break with the help of half-time substitute Keita Sugimoto, who added pace to Dragan Stojkovic’s side.
Brazilian midfielder Magnum came close twice early in the half before Sugimoto pulled a goal back for Grampus after latching onto a long feed from defender Maya Yoshida in the 71st minute.
With Gamba appearing tired, Nagoya applied more pressure and threatened the Osaka goal with attempts from Frode Johnsen in the 74th minute, Sugimoto in the 75th minute and Magnum in the 77th minute. But Gamba goalkeeper Yosuke Fujigaya was in fine form and was able to keep the Grampus attack at bay.
“I think we used the energy we’ve been feeding off,” said Gamba manager Akira Nishino. “We’ve had a tight schedule, but I could see our players played with strong determination to win this title, and that helped us play well.”
“If we’d had better finishing, we could have won by a bigger margin. I think our games [in the Club World Cup] have raised the standard of our game,” Nishino noted.
Stojkovic commented, “We didn’t play well in the first half but could show a different side of our game in the second half. I’d like to congratulate Gamba for their win and also would like to compliment our players for their hard work.”
In Monday’s semifinals, Gamba will next play the Yokohama F. Marinos at the National Stadium in Tokyo, while Kashiwa Reysol and FC Tokyo will face each other in the other semifinal at Shizuoka Ecopa Stadium.
The final will be held on January 1 at the National Stadium in Tokyo. The winners of the annual season-closing tournament will qualify for next year’s ACL.