Emperor's Cup 3rd Round, facing J1 Kobe with various emotions!

　The 3rd round of the Emperor's Cup will be held. Vissel Kobe, a J1 team, will face off against Ajinomoto. In the league, they are one win away from promotion after their victory in the previous round. However, they will face the challenge of playing in the Emperor's Cup just 3 days later. They also have an important away match against Tottori on the weekend, which will be physically and mentally demanding. But the players are all motivated and looking forward to playing against a J1 team. Coach Okuma also said, "This will be a good indicator for us as we prepare for J1 next season." He sees this match as a great opportunity to contribute positively to the team and prepare for the upcoming season.

　Kobe, who is currently ranked 10th in the J1 league. In last season's league, they were involved in a relegation battle until the final match, and ended up allowing a reversal in their ranking. It can be said that this is a match with a grudge, but as Kanda says, "Rather than wanting revenge, it's more about whether what we have built up as a team in J1 will work, or if we can compete against them. That is the stronger mindset at this stage, and it will be a match where our true value is tested."

　Manager Okuma stated, "We will not deviate from our base style of soccer, but it is not good enough to just maintain it. We need to have mental strength and come up with additional strategies. In J2, there are times when the opponent will make a mistake in return for ours, but that does not work in J1," emphasizing the importance of maintaining a calm decision-making process built up in J2 and adding persistence and momentum to aim for victory over J1's Kobe.

　However, Hayu, who has a discomfort in his leg, will not participate in this round considering the consecutive games. Morishige has returned from his suspension in the league, but Konno is absent due to his participation in the Japan national team. Therefore, Tokunaga and Morishige will play as center backs, and Sakata will play as a forward. The match started at 7pm at the cold Ajinomoto Stadium in Kobe.

Scored first with Takahashi's goal from a set play, but allowed an equalizer and went into extra time to regain momentum.

　Kobe, who comes with a fierce press at the start, took the ball and saw a scene where they were a little flustered. In the 3rd minute, Kajiyama → Tani saw a pass cut off and Kobe MF Yu OKUBO countered. FW Popo and a one-two entered the area, but they were able to defend with a tough defense. In the 6th minute, they were taken away by the DF line, and Kobe passed to FW Yoshida in the area with one touch. They were able to enter a shooting position, but Morishige cut it off with a sliding tackle. They escaped with a CK and defended it.

　However, as time passed, they gradually began to attack with a more Tokyo-like style of soccer. In the 12th minute, they passed the ball around in the opponent's half and pulled it to the center, where Tanizawa sent it to the right space. Nakamura then overlapped at the perfect timing and sent in a sharp cross. Although Sakata jumped for it, he couldn't connect and they earned a corner kick. In the 13th minute, Tanizawa's kick from the left corner was met by Takahashi's header near the goal. The ball slipped through the crowded goal area and into the net. They took the lead by making the most of their set piece opportunity.

　After taking the lead, Tokyo grabbed the rhythm and had more time to play in Kobe's territory. However, Kobe calmly launched sharp counterattacks from their solid defense. In the 37th minute, Kobe's MF Park took a controlled shot, but Gonda made a save and the ball went out for a corner kick. However, from this left corner kick, DF Kawamoto was allowed to make a diving header from MF Park's kick, resulting in a goal... Tokyo was caught up and the first half ended.

　In the second half, both teams continued to attack each other, and Tokyo made substitutions, replacing Tanabe with Ishikawa in the 55th minute and replacing Sakata with Roberto CESAR in the 64th minute. They made an early move to win the game. In the 65th minute, right after CESAR entered the pitch, Takahashi intercepted the ball in the center and made a through pass to the front line. CESAR broke through and created a big chance for a one-on-one with the GK. However, his shot was stopped by the brave dive of the Kobe GK...

　Afterwards, both teams continued to launch powerful attacks, resulting in a fierce exchange of offense and defense. In the second half stoppage time, Nakamura made a run from the right side and sent a through pass to Lucas in the area. Lucas made a run to get away from the defenders and took a decisive shot, but the goalkeeper made a save... The rebound was followed up by Morishige's shot, but it went over the goal, and they were unable to take the lead. The game went into extra time.

Mori Shige's valuable header! Grabbing a dramatic victory in a fiercely hot match, moving on to the 4th Round

　In the 102nd minute of the first half of extra time, Kobe MF Oya received his second warning and was sent off. In the second half of extra time, Tokyo launched a fierce attack against the 10-man Kobe. In the 112th minute, Suzuki was substituted for Tanihara. Tokyo continued to put pressure on the front line and attack. In the 116th minute, Suzuki's header from Ishikawa's free kick from the left side shook the net, but it was offside...

　Next, Mokuhara's left cross is deflected by the opponent's DF in the area, and Cesar, who is in close range, enters a shooting position but fails to finish. The ball is passed to Lucas in front, and a scoring opportunity is created. In the 119th minute, Cesar breaks through the right side. Kajiyama perfectly connects with the minus pass, but... both are stopped by the GK, and it seems that the game will go into a penalty shootout.

　But in the added time, Cesar's shot fiercely attacked Kobe's GK. Although it was escaped by a CK, Ishikawa kicked this left CK to the far side, and Morishige scored with a header! The intense and heated match had a dramatic ending. Without losing their spirit for 120 minutes, they snatched the victory with Morishige's priceless goal and advanced to the 4th round.

　【Player Comments】《Morishige》"Today, all the goals for both teams were set pieces, but first and foremost, we were focused on not being beaten defensively. Personally, I have some regrets. On the other hand, scoring two goals is a plus for the team. Kobe's speed was different from J2 and each player had a high level of ability. There were parts where we were able to compete, but also areas where we felt we needed improvement. However, as a team, we were able to create chances and break down the opponent's defense well. We can be confident in that and feel that we can compete well... but we need to improve our accuracy even more."

　"Takahashi" "I was aware that the opponent was Kobe, and above all, in the match against J1, I absolutely didn't want to be told personally that "I can't make it in J1". The goal was scored by Tanizawa's corner kick, which was aimed at a slightly outside zone. I was able to score a header in a good position. There were some careless ball losses throughout the game and we couldn't control the game. However, I think we were able to play with a sense of accomplishment in areas such as interceptions and midfield battles that we shouldn't lose."

　[Summary of Coach Oikuma's Press Conference] "Even in the match against a J1 team, if we give our all with determination, we can do it. The players did a great job of expressing the team's strength of 31 people on the pitch. Even the substitute players did not hold back in both offense and defense, and fought with determination. If we had let our guard down even a little, we would have been defeated. Even when we were tired from attacking, we continued to focus and attack, and there were also moments when Sakata returned to his position regardless of his role to take care of the counter. I think that continuing to do the most important thing in soccer led to the result. However, in the first half, we conceded a goal from a set piece while attacking with a good rhythm. At halftime, I told them that "there is no such thing as winning based on content in soccer," but if we had scored from a set piece and not conceded from a set piece, we could have dominated the game with even more advantage. We will continue to fight in the Emperor's Cup, and in the remaining league matches, we want to play with a strong performance."

　(What will the victory after the extension bring?) In the beginning, there was a feeling of not being used to the speed and pressure of J1, and there was an atmosphere of being defeated. However, as time passed, I got used to the physical contact and speed that I remembered in my body. I wanted to end the first half with a 1-0 score... However, I didn't think about the next Tottori game at all. There are only two days off from here, but I want to choose the members considering the condition. Sakata also showed his own strengths earnestly, and now there is a good competition and unity building up. In the current state, I think anyone can fight earnestly no matter who comes out.}

　[Kobe Wada's press conference summary] "It's very disappointing and frustrating to lose to FC Tokyo in J2. However, I thought FC Tokyo had the team strength to possibly compete in J1. We knew it would be a tough game if we didn't enter the game properly. We conceded a goal from a set piece, and then the game flowed in FC Tokyo's pace. It was good to score from a set piece in the first half, even though our performance wasn't great. We were able to equalize, but one of the reasons we couldn't control the game was because our defense wasn't coordinated. The pitch was heavily watered, and the passing speed was very fast. We were unable to press effectively and keep up with the passing speed. We couldn't play our usual defense."

　In the second half, MF Tanaka was substituted for MF Matsuoka, which allowed for support on the front line. In the second half, the ball started moving and chances were created. In extra time, we were one player down, but we fought with the mindset of not conceding and trying to score if we had the chance. We defended well and ran with our bodies on the line, but in the end, I think it was FC Tokyo's determination that led to the goal. With one less player, we were lacking in numbers in the back. I think that set piece was also a well-placed ball. GK Kishi also made some great saves and defended against all of FC Tokyo's chances. It's a disappointing loss in the end. However, I'm looking forward to facing FC Tokyo next season. We want to become a team that doesn't lose. Today, both teams fought well and I'm happy that we were able to have a great game."