Emperor's Cup Match December 17

Mito will take on J2 champions FC Tokyo at home on Saturday, December 17, in the 4th round of the Emperor's Cup.

Manager Hashiratani stated that his goal was to win the Cup this year. It's an odd goal as opposed to league placement prediction, but so far he's done something no Mito fan has seen... Two straight victories against teams playing in J1 next year (Sapporo and Gamba Osaka), and with the win at Osaka, it was Mito's first defeat of a J1 side in a sanctioned match in the club's history.

If anything, Tokyo shouldn't be as rough as the Osaka match, but Mito couldn't beat Tokyo this year (although the home match was close to a draw). Not many would expect Mito to win this match but the same could have been said for the previous two...

In any case, after an exciting year in Japan's leagues, those wanting more still have good matches to check out on the 17th and beyond in the tournament. Of course my recommendation would be to visit K's Stadium, or to catch the game on SkyPerfecTV! as matches from the 4th round will be televised. This will be the only match not to feature a 2011 J1 side so the winner could be the last representative from outside the top division remaining.

Mito 1 - 2 Chiba

Mito finishes the season out in 17th place. Not good by any means, but there isn't much difference between the middle and bottom part of the table this year.

Next up, Mito tries to advance in the Emperor's Cup.

Mito 3 - 1 Tottori

Mito 0 - 1 Tochigi

With this win, Tochigi wins the North Kanto Derby trophy for the first time, following Mito winning the first two editions previously.

Mito 0 - 2 FC Tokyo

Mito 1 - 0 Kitakyushu

Mito 2 - 2 Kusatsu

A very good match but rough for Mito fans. Kusatsu's drawing goal came in the 88th minute by Nakamura, who played for years for Mito until this season.

If Mito defeats Tochigi next month, Mito wins the North Kanto Derby. If it is a draw, Mito can still win if Kusatsu later beats Tochigi or draws at 1-1 or 0-0. If Tochigi wins they win it all.

Statistics are fun!

Mito 1 - 2 Kumamoto

Not that it seemed so likely, but this loss mathematically eliminated Mito from promotion contention for 2011.

Honma Milestone

With yesterday's win, long time keeper Koji Honma has become the first J-League goalkeeper to earn 100 shutouts.

Honma also has 399 league appearances, which is a record for J2. He'll break the J. League record with 10 more appearances. This seems almost a sure thing as he remains a top keeper even at age 34, and should be continuing in 2012 as long as he stays healthy.

Mito 1 - 0 Chiba

Mito 1 - 1 Tokyo Verdy

Mito and Tokyo just played out an incredibly entertaining game. Even knowing the result, you should go out of your way to catch it if you couldn't see it live.