NEWS

J. League Division Two champions Vegalta Sendai reached the semifinals of the Emperor’s Cup on Saturday as they edged Division One runners-up Kawasaki Frontale 2-1 in extra time in their quarterfinal match.

Former Japan international forward Tomoyuki Hirase struck the winning goal two minutes from the end of extra time in Sendai.
Vegalta’s next opponent will be defending Cup holders Gamba Osaka on December 29 at the National Stadium in Tokyo.
Gamba advanced to the semifinals with a 2-1 win away to J. League champions Kashima Antlers thanks to two strikes from forward Masato Yamazaki.
Shimizu S-Pulse reached the semifinals after overcoming 10-man Albirex Niigata 3-2 after extra time at home, Arata Kodama scoring the decisive goal.
On Sunday, Australian international Joshua Kennedy struck a hat trick in Nagoya Grampus’s 3-0 win over Division Two club FC Gifu that earned his team a semifinal matchup against Shimizu.
Playing at Kashima Soccer Stadium, Gamba showed they had recovered from their shocking 5-1 defeat to Antlers two weeks ago.
The visitors played aggressively and took control of the game, going ahead in the 29th minute when Yamazaki headed in a Yasuhito Endo free-kick.
Kashima, playing without forward Marquinhos who returned to Brazil to be with his sick mother, lacked their usual momentum and cohesion.
Although Kashima leveled the scores through Yuzo Tashiro shortly before the break, Gamba continued to pressure the league champions and broke the tie in the 69th minute when Yamazaki tapped in after a return ball from Hideo Hashimoto.
“I’m feeling relieved,” said Gamba boss Akira Nishino.
“We hadn’t played well against Kashima in our last three matches, and especially last time around; we couldn’t show our brand of football at all. But today, we made a good recovery from that and could play at our own pace.”
He added: “Perhaps Antlers were still savoring the taste of champagne after winning the league.”
Nishino said he’d like to have “two more good games in this tournament.”
Kashima manager Oswaldo Oliveira commented, “This was the game many wanted to see, but we were too erratic in the first half. I don’t think our players were tired, but you cannot expect to have an easy game with Gamba, as they have quality in their players and abilities.”
In Sendai, Kawasaki played without injured Brazilian forward Juninho and faced tough resistance from J2 champions Vegalta.
Cheered on by their enthusiastic home fans, Sendai took the lead in the 35th minute through Yuki Nakashima.
Kawasaki rallied hard in the second half and managed to equalize with a left-foot shot by Kazuhiro Murakami shortly before the end of the second half.
But former Japan forward Tomoyuki Hirase, a second-half substitute, headed home a cross from Kunimitsu Sekiguchi two minutes from time to give Sendai the win.
Kawasaki manager Takashi Sekizuka commented, “After we gave up the first goal, our players played hard in the second half but couldn’t score on the big chances we had.”
In Nagoya, Grampus played without attacking midfielders Yoshizumi Ogawa (illness) and Magnum (suspended), and struggled against Gifu’s solid defense.
But Kennedy broke the deadlock shortly before the break, heading in a cross from full-back Shohei Abe.
The Australian forward found the target with his right foot in the 67th minute, before completing his hat trick in the 81st minute with a left-foot shot after a poor Gifu clearance.
In a seesaw game in Shimizu, Niigata came back to level the scores twice. Toshihiro Matsushita cancelled out Shinji Okazaki’s 11th-minute opener in the 15th minute, and Kisho Yano headed home two minutes after Frode Johnsen had put Shimizu ahead in the 86th minute.
But Shimizu defender Kodama pounced after a poor Niigata clearance and fired in the winner in the 104th minute.