Emperor's Cup 2nd Round is held. Fight that leads to the league match!

The Emperor's Cup of this season has started. J Team will face their first match, the 2nd Round, at Ajinomoto Stadium against FC KAGOSHIMA (representative of Kagoshima Prefecture). In the league, they achieved 5 consecutive wins in the previous round, despite struggling against Tokushima. Coach Ohkuma stated, "We want to continue this momentum in the Emperor's Cup and give our best to prepare for the league match against Okayama." It is always a difficult game in the first round when facing lower category teams, but they have vowed to win with an aggressive play style.

　Konno and Gonda are absent due to the activities of the Japan national team. Therefore, Tokunaga will be used as center back and Nakamura as right back. In addition, injured Shioda and league suspended Tanabe will both return and start. Roberto CESAR has also made the squad for the first time since August 13.

　FC KAGOSHIMA (hereinafter referred to as Kagoshima) is a social team based in Kagoshima City, aiming to join the J-League in the future. The team's history is relatively new, and they have been playing in the Kyushu Soccer League (a regional league one level below the JFL) since last year. This will be their first appearance in the Emperor's Cup.

　In the 1st round, they defeated the same Kyushu League's Saga LIXIL (representing Saga Prefecture) with a score of 5-0 and advanced to the 2nd round. Kagoshima's basic formation is 4-2-3-1, but they are also able to play with a 5-back formation when needed and have the flexibility to defend well. However, there is also a possibility of being pushed back and having to defend, so the focus will be on how they can break through. The match will be played at Ajinomoto Stadium on a clear autumn day, with kickoff at 1:02 PM in Tokyo.

Tanihara takes the lead with quick passing! Morishige gets an additional point from the side.

　Tokyo dominated the ball from the beginning. Kagoshima was strict with Lucas and marked him closely, with a strong defensive mindset in a 5-back formation. However, Tokyo tried to break through this by moving their front line. In the 3rd minute, they managed to get past Kagoshima's tough defense on Lucas and Hanyu made a through pass into the area. Nakamura ran into the goal area from the inside, but it was cleared with a corner kick. On the other hand, in the 8th minute, Kagoshima launched a strong attack. A wedge pass was dropped to FW Taniguchi, and left MF Tagami made a through pass into the area. It was a dangerous situation, but Nakamura put his body on the line and prevented it from being completed.

　In the 14th minute, from a pass exchange between Tokunaga and Tanabe, Lucas in the center connected and Kajiyama sent a final pass to the right area. It bounced off the opponent's DF, but Taniyama, who had timed his run perfectly, scored a well-aimed shot into the opposite side's net to take the lead.

　At 17 minutes, Kajiyama was fouled in the area and got a PK. However, Lucas' PK was saved by the opponent's GK in the lower left corner, and there was no additional point. However, without getting discouraged, they continued to attack and at 30 minutes, Morishige joined the attack by entrusting it to Kajiyama. Kajiyama expanded to the right and Morishige, who had advanced to the area from the DF line, made a powerful header from Nakamura's cross! They built up from the DF line and scored the second goal with an unexpected attacking style and using the side as a starting point.

　However, after Tokyo took a 2-point lead, Kagoshima also actively attacked. In the 40th minute, a FK was given in the Tokyo zone, and a cross was made from the left side. In the 43rd minute, a shot was taken from a FK, but it was just outside the frame. Thanks to the missed shot, they went into the second half with a score of 2-0.

Despite conceding a counterattack from Kagoshima, Lucas and Tanizawa's goals pushed us ahead, advancing us to the 3rd round.

　In the second half, Kagoshima also changed their formation to a 4-back and made substitutions to attack. Tokyo also made a substitution in the 59th minute, replacing Hayabusa with Ishikawa and moving Tanizawa to the attacking midfield position. Then, in the 69th minute, they brought in Sakata for Tanabe to further aim for a goal.

　Lucas, who was near the goal, jumped in from behind Tanabe and hit a header, but it was saved by the goalkeeper. The chance continued but in the 76th minute, Kajiyama expanded to the right. Ishikawa and Nakamura exchanged passes and Ishikawa sent a right cross. Lucas, who was near the goal, headed the ball to the opposite side while competing with the opponent's DF, and scored! They continued to attack from the side and took the lead against Kagoshima.

　In the 78th minute, Roberto CESAR came in for Lucas. This further sped up the game, and in the 83rd minute, Nakamura entered the right area freely from the quick passing work of Takahashi, Cesar, and Ishikawa. He aimed for a shot, but it was blocked... There were also moments where Kagoshima, trying to retaliate throughout the second half, received sharp counters, but they calmly fought and kept a clean sheet.

　In the closing minutes of the match, Tanizawa intercepted the opponent's ball. Cesar went up the left side and connected with Sakata in front of the goal. Although Sakata couldn't take a shot, he skillfully controlled the ball and Tanizawa took the shot. A well-timed, powerful mid-range shot beautifully found the top right corner, marking Tanizawa's second goal. By pushing forward and attacking, they sealed the match and achieved a 4-0 victory, advancing to the 3rd round.

　【Player Comments】《Tanihara》"The opponent's defense was mostly man-to-man, so I just had to make sure not to lose in a one-on-one situation. It's inevitable to receive counters during a game. I think it was good that we were able to keep a clean sheet and win. As for the goals, for the first one, the ball came to me from Kajiyama's pass, so I aimed for the opposite side. For the second goal, it was towards the end of the game, so I was able to relax and take the shot. As a team, we have been wanting to create more chances from crosses and the wings. Today, we were able to score from that and I think it will lead to more opportunities in the future."

　《Shioda》"In the tournament, the most important thing is to advance to the next stage. Before the match, we confirmed with each other that 'there is no meaning other than victory' and stood on the pitch. The opponent formed a block and aimed for counterattacks. The system was different from what we had analyzed beforehand, but our attacking line was similar to Okayama, with one top and two shadows. Although the numbers were small, we were not beaten there and were able to keep the score at 0. The opponent dropped back, so it must have been difficult, but we were able to score from the sides and through vertical movements, showing a variety of scoring patterns."

　[Coach Okuma's press conference summary] "I watched FC KAGOSHIMA's game on video and analyzed it, but today the system changed and we started with a defensive emphasis in a 5-4-1 formation, which limited our space. We were a little confused by this, but we have experienced this in J2 as well. We wanted to make adjustments in a short amount of time. Against the opponent's 5-back, it was difficult to create gaps when our side backs were pulled back. In particular, MF Tagami is a good player in both attack and defense, so we tried to keep him away from the goal. We placed Tanizawa next to the top and had Nakamura take a high position, while dropping MF Tagami back and using the gap that was created there."

　I think we were able to pass the ball from the build-up of Tokunaga and Morishige at the same time. However, while holding the ball, we were often caught in a bad way and gave the opponent the chance to counter or create a free kick. We need to reflect on the fact that we created opportunities for the opponent to exploit. We want to review our speed in switching between offense and defense, how we lose the ball, and our preparation for counterattacks, and carry it over to the league matches."

　[FC KAGOSHIMA・Coach Tokushige's Press Conference Summary] "There are parts where we are losing to FC Tokyo in terms of name, so we started with a 5-back in the first half. However, the players started to feel relaxed and were able to pass the ball and attack, and then we conceded a goal. That's where Tokyo is strong, I think. In the second half, we changed to a 4-back and made the midfield 5, and tried to connect the ball and score. I think we were able to pass the ball more than I expected, especially from the left side. However, there are differences in each player's technique, strength, and speed. I wanted to keep it as low as possible, but I think it was a fight where we couldn't help but concede 4 goals. Many people came to support us from Kagoshima, and we could hear the loud cheers from the supporters who always support us, as well as the passionate cheers from FC Tokyo's supporters. It was a great feeling to be able to play soccer in such a stadium."