Nagoya Ease into Emperors's Cup 4th Round

A significantly changed team proves too much for J2's Sapporo and eased into the next round of the Emperor's Cup on Saturday. Second half goals from Nakamura and Hanai in the 62st and 88th minutes, overturning Consadole's 51st minute strike. Although the defence and midfield was stacked with fairly familiar or experienced faces, the front three saw several youngsters given a chance to prove themselves.

THis game was most notable for us giving our players nursing injuries a game off. Neither Takahiro Masukawa or Danilson even made the bench, despite playing hurt against Vegalta in the previous game. Pxie's gamble on youth paying off when Sho Hanai fired home the winner a couple of minutes from time. With the demise of the Satellite League this year, the youngsters need to make the most of these few opportunities to impress the manager in a competitive game.

Next up? Go on, take a wild guess. Or look at who we are playing next in the league. :-)

Grampus Lineup

                        Yoshinari Takagi
Hayuma Tanaka, Mitsuru Chiyotanda, Akira Takeuchi, Alex Santos
   Yoshizumi Ogawa,  Naoshi Nakamurs,  Magnum (Taishi Taguchi 90')
   Keita Sugimoto, Keiji Tamada (Yuki Maki HT), Koji Hashimoto (Sho Hanai 68')