Kochi United SC

Emperor's Cup

Kochi United SC's season began in mid-March with an Emperor's Cup regional qualifying game (QF) against Showa Club of the Kochi Prefecture Soccer League. They won 6-0, thus qualifying for the semi-final. On April 1st they defeated Rossorise KFC 5-1 to reach the regional final against KUFC Nangoku: This was the first time that they had conceded a goal against Rossorise KFC in three matches. In the area final they were again victorious, winning 3-0 against their local rivals Nangoku and so progressed to the first round proper for the 3rd consecutive year. For the third time in three years, but in different competitions, they came up against Mitsubishi Mizushima FC of the Chugoku League, but got a home tie for the first time at this stage of the competition. The match was held on May 26th and due to the importance of the game was played in the larger athletics stadium rather than the usual football only ground. Kochi got the best possible start with an early goal in the 4th minute scored by Ryo Taguchi. In the 6th minute of the second half they scored again through defender Kenichiro Hirata and completed a 2-0 victory in front of 621 fans. A historic moment as they reached the second round proper for the first time in their short history. They were rewarded with an away tie against J2 League Albirex Niigata (アルビレックス新潟) in the next round, a team only just relegated from the top flight the previous season. In the second round match held on June 6th at the 42,300 capacity Denka Big Swan Stadium famous for hosting 3 matches at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Kochi United SC held their own for 120 minutes against their J2 opponents, with the score 0-0 at the end of extra time. They only missed out on the third round by losing 5-3 in the resulting penalty shootout. A fantastic effort from the Shikoku League club.

All Japan Senior Football Championship

In the All Japan Senior Football Championship, Kochi Utd SC first faced a Kochi prefecture play-off match against Rossorise KFC at home on May 4th. The first half was goalless, but once again attacking the north end in the second half proved fruitful and Kochi Utd ran out comfortable winners scoring four goals without reply. In the Shikoku Playoff Tournament first round they were drawn against Koyo Sealing Techno, familiar opponents from the Shikoku League. On July 21st, despite scorching temperatures at the Tokushima Sports Village venue, they thumped KST 9-0, with three of the goals coming in the last three minutes of additional time at the end of the match. Eight different players got on the score sheet with On Byung-hoon bagging a brace. That result meant that Kochi progressed to the playoff match to be held the following day with the winner earning the right to enter the first round proper. Once again they faced another Shikoku League team; this time Tadotsu FC. Again playing in extreme heat at Tokushima Village, Kochi United prevailed with two goals in the first half and three in the second to record a 5-0 win. Veteran striker Kota Sugawara scored twice as Kochi reached the first round proper for the third consecutive year. Their 2018 opponents would be reigning champions Suzuka Unlimited FC on October 20th.

Shikoku Soccer League

The first league game of the Shikoku League season was at home against Koyo Sealing Techno; a team from Aizumi, Tokushima Prefecture. After a slow start they broke the deadlock at the end of the first half through new signing Takunosuke Funakawa. In the second half they ran riot somewhat and scored a further 5 goals with no reply, winning 6-0. The following match was a Kochi Derby against Llamas. Again they took a while to get going, leading 2-0 at the break. However, in the second half they scored six more goals for an 8-0 victory, consolidating their early season position at the top of the table. Another home game followed against Niisho Club of Niihama, Ehime Prefecture. Once more they took a slender 1-0 lead into half-time and despite the majority of possession in the second half, and due to a combination of wasted chances and desperate defending from the visitors, they only managed to add two more goals, but kept a third consecutive clean sheet for a 3-0 win: Captain Tsubasa Yokotake was on target with two headed goals. The next match was their first away game proper in Kagawa Prefecture against R.Velho Takamatsu. It took 40 minutes for Kochi to take the lead and 1-0 was the half time score, but once again the floodgates opened in the second half. A further 7 goals were scored, including 3 in injury time, giving them their second 8-0 win of the season and another clean sheet. Kai Murakami, Kota Sugawara and Kazuki Nakabayashi each scored two goals apiece. Kochi's 5th game in the league was a home game, but away from their regular home ground in Haruno, in Noichi Town on the banks of the Monobe River, east of Kochi City - the first time for them to play at that venue. The opposition was Tadotsu FC from the Nakatado District, Kagawa. The new surroundings seemed to help break their usual first half home hoodoo, and Ryo Taguchi fired a 28-minute hat-trick, followed by a brace from Kai Murakami before half time; Kochi United with a comfortable 5-0 lead at the break. In the second half, the opposition rallied and proved more difficult to break down and it took until the 34th minute for Kochi to score again through Hiroki Maehara. A further 2 goals were added before full time (captain Tsubasa Yokotake and Kota Sugawara on target) to give Kochi United another thumping win and their third 8-0 victory of the season. The 6th league game of the season was not only a local derby, but also a top of the table clash with leaders Kochi United SC taking on second placed KUFC Nangoku in a repeat of the Emperor's Cup tie earlier in the season. An own goal gave Kochi a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute and in-form striker Ryo Taguchi added another before half time. Kochi went 3-0 up in the 17th minute of the second half through Kai Murakami, his 9th goal of the season, but KUFC Nangoku pulled one back 12 minutes later; the first goal conceded by Kochi United SC in the league: Final score: 3-1. Another victory and that resulted in some daylight at the top of the table between Kochi and the chasing teams. However, the 7th match of the season saw Kochi United SC lose for the first time in 20 league games; conceding a goal in the second minute of injury time and going down 1-0 away to FC Tokushima. Certainly a shock result and one which moved Tokushima within 2 points of Kochi at the top of the table; these 2 teams and KUFC Nangoku clear of the rest at this stage. After a two week break, Kochi United SC travelled back up to Tokushima for the first reverse fixture of the league season against Koyo Sealing Techno who they had beaten 6-0 at home on the first day of the season. They were rampant in the first half against bottom of the table Koyo, scoring seven goals including two apiece from captain Tsubusa Yokotake and striker Hiroki Maehara. The second half produced no further goals until the second minute of injury time when new signing Alex Pires de Souza, on as a substitute, headed in a Kota Sugawara cross for his first goal for the club. The 4th 8-0 win of the season for Kochi Utd, and an important one with rivals FC Tokushima winning 4-0 at Llamas Kochi and KUFC Nangoku also winning. A Kochi derby followed against Llamas and KUSC started well with an early goal from captain Tsubasa, adding 3 more before the break for a healthy half-time lead. Frustratingly they weren't able to add to their tally until over 30 minutes of the second half had passed, but eventually scored two more including a second for Ryo Taguchi- his 10th goal of the season in all competitions. Final score: 6-0. Once again both their main rivals also won, so an important win for the league leaders albeit a routine one. Towards the end of August, Kochi United faced R. Velho Takamatsu; a home game but played in the larger athletics stadium rather than their regular ground and broadcast live on local television. They had beaten Takamatsu 8-0 in the reverse fixture earlier in the season and in fact had never conceded a goal against them with six wins out of six. The trend continued with Kochi scoring 5 goals in each half for a season’s best 10-0 victory. Nakabayashi, Maehara and new Brazilian player Paulo Sousa all scored twice. Wins also for FC Tokushima and KUFC Nangoku meant Kochi United's two rivals for the league title were still just 2 points behind with 4 games left. The following weekend’s match between those two teams would be vital in the battle for the championship. Kochi’s next match was a trip to Kagawa to play Tadotsu F.C. for the 3rd time that season. They established a 2-0 half time lead and went on to win the match 5-1, conceding a rare goal to the opposition. Kazuki Nakabayashi bagged another brace taking his season’s tally in all competitions to a team leading 15 goals. In the battle between 2nd and 3rd, F.C. Tokushima came out on top to remain just 2 points behind Kochi United with 3 games to play. September 9th however, saw results that swung the league title in Kochi’s favor. In torrential rain at Sakawa Sports Park,the Kochi Derby between KUFC Nangoku and Kochi United was delayed twice due to lightening, and no doubt partly due to the extreme conditions just one goal decided it; Kochi United legend Kota Sugawara striking in the first half to give the defending champions a vital 1-0 victory. That ended KUFC Nangoku’s slim title hopes. In addition, FC Tokushima only managed a shock 2-2 draw at Tadotsu F.C. which meant Kochi United’s lead at the top stretched to 4 points with only 2 games left. With their superior goal difference, that meant 2 points from the last 2 games would be enough to win them the championship. In fact, due to their next opponents being FC Tokushima, a draw would give them a second consecutive Shikoku League title. A big crowd turned up for the final home game; 600+ according to official figures. FC Tokushima were also well supported alongside the home fans. The weather was kind; warm and sunny for this possible title decider. It was the away team that drew first blood, scoring after just 10 minutes, but Kochi equalized in the 24th minute with a goal by top scorer Kazuki Nakabayashi. Then, in the 31st minute Kochi midfielder Kai Murakami received a straight red card for a challenge on the Tokushima goalkeeper. Down to ten men, Kochi surprisingly managed to take the lead 8 minutes later with a close range goal by Paulo: Halftime score 2-1. In the second half Kochi started brightly and scored a third goal after 53 minutes through Shuhei Horie. After that though as the players began to tire, the extra player began to tell and Tokushima began to control the game. On 65 minutes they pulled a goal back, and 7 minutes later they equalized. Still eighteen minutes of normal time remaining and Kochi were on the back foot. Tokushima had further chances and Kochi rather wasted theirs, but managed to hold on through 5 minutes of additional time and get the draw, thus winning the title with one game left. The last league game saw Kochi United heading north to Niihama in Ehime prefecture to play Niisho Club; a game that had been rescheduled due to a typhoon earlier in the season. Kochi completed their championship winning season in style with an emphatic 11-0 win. Paulo scored 4 goals and Kota Sugawara and Ryo Taguchi bagged a brace apiece. Defender Son Ho-Young also scored his first goal for the club. A fitting end to the league season.

Japanese Regional Football League Competition