NEWS

Defending holders Gamba Osaka and Kashima Antlers will face each other in the quarterfinals of the Emperor’s Cup after winning their fourth-round matches, but J. League Nabisco Cup winners FC Tokyo bowed out of the season-closing tournament.

Gamba downed second-division side Sagan Tosu 3-1, with Brazilian forward Lucas scoring once and setting up two other goals in Hiroshima on Saturday.
The Osaka team played without key midfielder Yasuhito Endo, who was on national team duty, but had no problem in overcoming their opponents.
Lucas gave his team an early lead with a ninth-minute penalty, before fellow Brazilian Pedro Junior made it 2-0 with a strike off a Lucas pass five minutes before half-time.
Tosu replied two minutes after the break through forward Mike Havenaar.
Two minutes later, however, Tomokazu Myojin helped Gamba widen their lead to 3-1 when the midfielder connected with a Lucas feed.
In Kashima, Antlers came from behind to beat Vissel Kobe 2-1.
Vissel went ahead through Yosuke Ishibitsu in the 49th minute, but Kashima midfielder Takuya Nozawa cancelled that out in the 56th minute. Brazilian midfielder Danilo, a second-half substitute, headed home the winner two minutes from time.
In Tottori, Kazuki Hara and Shun Nagasawa scored to highlight Shimizu S-Pulse’s 3-0 win over Division Two side Ventforet Kofu.
But FC Tokyo were shocked by Division Two side Vegalta Sendai 3-0 on Sunday. Takayuki Nakahara, Yuki Nakashima and Brazilian substitute forward Marcelo Soares scored for Sendai.
J2-bound JEF United Chiba joined Tokyo in the losers' column, falling to J2 second-year club FC Gifu 1-0 in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture. Gifu defender Kazunori Yoshimoto scored the game’s only goal shortly before halftime.
Albirex Niigata won 3-1 over Meiji University – the only amateur side to reach the fourth round – in Tendo, Yamagata Prefecture.
Niigata took a 2-0 lead through Hideo Oshima’s low header in the 17th minute and forward Kisho Yano’s 41st-minute strike.
Meiji responded soon after the break to pull a goal back through Hiroyuki Yamamoto, but Yano found the target again for Niigata in the 65th minute.
Kawasaki Frontale and Nagoya Grampus both advanced to the next round.
Kawasaki’s substitute forward Takuro Yajima gave his team the edge as Frontale beat hosts Yokohama F. Marinos 2-1.
Brazilian forward Juninho’s first-half opener was cancelled out by Koji Yamase’s skillful equalizer in the 58th minute, but Yajima, who came off the bench late in the second half, blasted home the winner.
In Nagoya, Grampus rallied past Jubilo Iwata 3-1 at home.
Trailing 1-0, Nagoya midfielder Keiji Yoshimura struck two minutes before the break and Maya Yoshida scored the tie-breaker in the 53rd minute. Substitute forward Keita Sugimoto added an insurance goal six minutes from time.
In the December 12 quarterfinals, Gamba will play Kashima, Nagoya will meet Gifu, Sendai will challenge Kawasaki and Niigata will face Shimizu.
The semifinals will be held on December 29, with the final slated for January 1 at the National Stadium in Tokyo.
The winners there will earn a berth in the 2010 AFC Champions League along with the top three finishers in the J. League's Division One.