Yokohama F. Marinos captured the Emperor’s Cup for the first time in 21 years on Wednesday, beating Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-0 in the final at Tokyo’s National Stadium.
　Japan internationals Saito Manabu and Nakazawa Yuji scored midway through the first half of the last final at the National Stadium before it is rebuilt for the 2020 Olympic Games.
　“This is our first Emperor’s Cup title as Marinos and since the J. League started,” Marinos manager Higuchi Yasuhiro pointed out. “We’d like to celebrate this with everyone – our players, club staff and our supporters.”
　Marinos looked determined to claim the season-closing title after Higuchi’s side failed to win the league following three losses in their last four matches, which allowed Hiroshima to retain their league crown.
　The Yokohama players started brightly, applying good pressure as they took control of the game.
　The opener came in the 17th minute. Kobayashi Yuzo attacked down the right and dribbled into the box on the right, but after losing the ball Hanato Jin and Hyodo Shingo helped it on to Saito, who fired home from 15 meters.
　Four minutes later, Marinos went 2-0 up. Nakamachi Kosuke, who had a good game along with his midfield partner Tomisawa Seitaro, headed a Nakamura Shunsuke corner toward goal. Hiroshima goalkeeper Nishikawa Shusaku was able to punch it away but Nakazawa reacted well and headed home the loose ball.
Marinos came close again shortly before the break with efforts from Hyodo and Saito and continued to control the game early in the second half. Shortly before the 60-minute mark, Nishikawa had to be alert with a shot from Tomisawa and another tricky Nakamura corner.
　Hiroshima, playing in the final for the first time since they lost in the 2007 edition, had good chances in the first half when Ishihara Naoki volleyed from the right and Mihael Mikic and Sato Hisato hit back-to-back shots.
　Hiroshima, who won their semifinal against FC Tokyo after 120 minutes of football and a penalty shootout three days previously, struggled to penetrate the Marinos defense after the break. 
Ishihara managed two good shots and Mikic forced Yokohama keeper Enomoto Tetsuya into a good save from just outside the box, but the J. League champions couldn’t find the net.
　Marinos boss Higuchi commented: “Before the game, I told our players that we should play our brand of football. If we did what we’d been working on during the season with good accuracy, we would produce a result. Our players did well from the start and played a good game.”
　Higuchi praised his players for their preparation for the season-closing tournament after failing to clinch the league title. He gave his players four days off after the league finished to help them recover from their mental and physical fatigue. 
　“It must have been hard for our players to reset their focus on this tournament after the league, but they did a good job,” Higuchi said.
　Hiroshima manager Moriyasu Hajime said the key to the game was the way the two teams started.
“Marinos came out aggressively for the first 20 minutes,” he said. “We gave up the goals during that period and made the game hard for us. We had some chances in the second half but couldn’t really accelerate our attack as we usually do due to the fatigue from playing 120 minutes in the semifinals.
　“Yokohama’s performance was wonderful and they deserved the victory. I’d like to congratulate them from the bottom of my heart. We’ll remember this disappointment to work on our game for the coming season.”
　Yokohama and Hiroshima will face each other again in the Fuji Xerox Super Cup – the curtain raiser for the 2014 season – on February 22 (1:35 p.m. kickoff) at the same venue in Tokyo.