Starting with the Emperor's Cup opening after the break

The Emperor's Cup of this season has begun. J Team will face Blaublitz Akita, the representative of Akita Prefecture, in the 2nd round. It will be the first game after the break, and the start of this tournament. Manager Massimo said, "The first game of the cup is always difficult. We have to regain the feeling of official games after the break, but we will give our all and focus on winning by showing what we have been working on. And we want to present a good result to the fans and supporters who always create a wonderful environment." He also mentioned that they will give their all in each game and take one step at a time towards the final.

Akita, on the other hand, has a traditional TDK soccer team as its predecessor. After going through the Tohoku Amateur League and the Japan Soccer League, they joined the JFL in 2007. From this season, they have also joined J3 and are currently in 10th place out of 12 teams. In the first round on July 6th (Sunday), they had a big win of 7-1 against Saitama SC, the representative of Saitama Prefecture, and advanced to the 2nd round. Akita, who will continue to show their challenger spirit with that momentum, must not be passive. However, it is also the first game of the Emperor's Cup, which is played in a unique atmosphere. It is an important match where we must not panic, but instead persistently grab the victory and carry it over to the league matches.

MoriShige, Gonda also started from the Japan national team, with Edu and Muto as the top two. Kono is in the top position. Takahashi is the anchor, and the midfield is lined up with Yonemoto and Mita. The match started at 18:00 in Tokyo at the Ajinomoto Stadium, with a summer-like climate.

Mita's opening goal is followed by Kawano, Morishige, and Edu! 

Immediately after the start, Edu aggressively pressed the opponent's DF and took the ball, showing an aggressive attitude in defense and trying to grasp the rhythm. In the 11th minute, Tokunaga took the ball in his own zone and passed it to Mihon on the right front line. From here, Kono crossed to Kono near the center, and Mita passed to the left from Edu in the center. Mita took the ball forward in the left area and swung his left foot from an angleless position. A powerful shot pierced the net, giving them the lead from a speedy attack!
 

After that, Akita held onto the ball and calmly responded even when passed around. They quickly switched to an attack after stealing the ball. In the 22nd minute, Takahashi stole the ball from the opponent's DF after a pass from Yonemoto and boldly aimed for a middle shot while carrying it out to the right. The shot was saved by the left post. Kono reacted faster than the opponent's DF and pushed it into the goal.
 

After taking a 2-point lead, Akita also launched a counterattack from the development of midfielder Kumabayashi. In response, Tokyo changed their formation to a 4-4-2 with a double pivot of Takahashi and Yonemoto, and placed Mita and Yonemoto on both sides to match up. In the 25th minute, Edu was fouled and awarded a free kick just outside the penalty area. Ota's powerful shot hit the right post, but Takahashi persistently connected with the ball that bounced to the left and MoriShige took a ground shot from a distance on the left side. The ball slipped through the players and went into the bottom right corner for a GOAL!!
 

In the 29th minute, Morishige entered the area from a CK scene and received a foul, earning a PK. Edu then neatly scored it in the lower left corner, expanding the lead. In the latter part of the first half, there was also a period of time when Akita attacked, but they were able to withstand it without losing focus, maintaining a 4-point lead as they headed into the second half.

The team scored 4 goals in the second half and won with the most points!

Add another goal in the second half. In the 47th minute, Mita receives a foul in the right area and earns a free kick. Ota's shot towards the far post is sucked into the top left corner for a GOAL!! The game continued to be played in Akita's half. In the 58th minute, after stealing the ball from Yonemoto, a quick counter attack is launched and Edu advances through the center. He then moves to the right area, evading the Akita defenders, and scores a goal with his right foot.

Substituting Edu, who scored two goals today, for Hirayama at the 60-minute mark. In the immediate 62nd minute, Tokunaga's cross found Hirayama in the center. Despite being contested, Hirayama tenaciously used his ball control skills and calmly scored the 7th goal into the net.
 

In the 63rd minute, Hayabusa replaced Kono, and in the 68th minute, Watanabe replaced Muto and went on the attack without letting up. In the 70th minute, Hirayama and Watanabe both took decisive shots in succession, but were unable to capitalize on the chance due to Akita GK's save. After this, there were also scenes where Akita attacked from the side in an attempt to retaliate. However, in the 84th minute, Hirayama pressed the opponent's DF and Watanabe marked the long-awaited goal with a powerful dribble.

Akita kept their defense strong against the counterattack and scored 8 goals from their aggressive and speedy attacks. They surpassed their previous record of 7 goals in the 4th round of the 2006 Emperor's Cup (November 5th) against V-Varen Nagasaki, securing a victory in their first match.

[Player Comments]

《Mita》
"I wanted to score as well, but first I was conscious of the speed of switching between offense and defense, and I was also thinking of doing my best in defense. By being able to take the lead early on, I also felt relieved and I think it gave me more room to play the game. This is also a restart for me. I want to do my best to keep winning in the league matches as well."
 

《Edu》
「Cup tournaments are always difficult, no matter what kind of competition it is. Especially when facing teams from lower categories, it becomes even more challenging. That's why the most important thing is to play with our own rhythm from the beginning. And if we can score an early goal, we can also get additional points. It's great that the result turned out as we expected. It's always a joy to score a goal and it also gives us confidence. We want to continue like this.」
 

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"Although it may seem like an easy game just by looking at the results, every game has its own difficulties. As some other J1 teams have already been eliminated, there must have been difficulties after the break. However, the players entered the game in a good shape, took the lead and scored the second and third goals, making it easier to manage and adding more goals afterwards. I think it's positive that we fought until the end with continuity. Also, the return of Morishige and Konda was a big factor for the team. Not only in terms of technique and tactics, but also in giving the team a sense of security. Our team has many young players and players who had few chances last season playing in the game. We are in the process of patiently building the team. I am confident that if the fans and supporters can watch patiently, we will definitely achieve stable results."

[Akita YONASHIRO Jorge Coach Press Conference Summary]
"It feels like it wasn't bad, but we let Tokyo control the pace and score. In the second half, I could see the players trying their best to score. However, we were defeated by 8 points and I think it was a complete defeat. We didn't start the game well, but we need to work hard to bring our play closer to that of a J1 team. I felt that we need to improve our level of play. In the midst of a tough battle in the league, I wanted to make this Emperor's Cup a game where we could gain confidence. However, many players were looking down after the game, and it will be a challenge to figure out how to turn things around for the league."