Emperor's Cup 4th Round, utilizing fresh members to advance to the quarterfinals

　The 4th Round of the Emperor's Cup will be a match against JEF United Chiba (J2) at Ajinomoto. Although it will be a series of matches alongside the league, the team aims to express the atmosphere of pulling victory towards themselves through their play, achieving consecutive wins to connect back to the league. Coach Okuma stated, "In order to properly balance the goals of the league and the Emperor's Cup, we will consider the consecutive matches and the condition of injured players, and select the current best members," indicating that there will be changes in the member composition for this match.

　Chiba is currently in 4th place in J2. They are in the midst of the promotion battle to J1, but Coach Okuma is on high alert, stating, "Chiba must be thinking about achieving results in the Emperor's Cup to connect it to the league matches." Chiba will change their lineup from the league matches, utilizing the tall Net at the forefront and forwards Ota and Fukai on both sides. They will maintain a 4-3-3 formation, aiming to win the ball with quick pressing from the front and midfield, with midfielder Kurata and others boldly pushing forward to initiate their style of play.

　In Tokyo, FW Maeda and MF Yong Duk SEO made their first official starts in Tokyo. The formation features a two-top with Maeda and Shigematsu, Ohtake and Yong Duk SEO on the sides, Matsushita and Tanabe as double defensive midfielders, and Hiraide serving as the left side back. Coach Okuma stated, "We want to play a style of football that aggressively pushes forward, but we must not forget the aggressive approach we have built up in both offense and defense so far," emphasizing the need to start with solid defense. The key is to maintain a calm and resilient defense, preventing easy access to the goal area. In attack, we hope to see the energetic play of our fresh players.

　There should be difficulties considering the match against the J2 team and the consecutive games, but we will challenge with all our strength, aiming for advancement to the Semifinal Round. As the cold rain continued to fall on the chilly night at Ajinomoto, the match started at exactly 19:00 with Chiba's kickoff.

Breaking through the press and transitioning to attack, but go into the second half scoreless

　The match started with both teams competing for the ball, leading to a fast-paced exchange of offense and defense. Chiba initiated an attack from the right side, and there was a moment when a shot was taken from the middle after a cross led to a second chance, but in the 4th minute, a shot by MF Nakago from a loose ball after a right cross went over the bar. In the 14th minute, Chiba's FW Ota utilized his speed to break through Tokyo's left side. A cross was delivered, and FW Neto dove in at the near post, but Tokunaga effectively covered and prevented a shot, avoiding a major crisis.

　Tokyo cautiously started, and there were times when they couldn't advance the ball to the front line even after winning it, but gradually they settled down. In the 21st minute, Tanabe made a move to the center, and Otake to Maeda aimed for the goal from just outside the area, but it hit the defender and went straight to the goalkeeper. In the 25th minute, from a through pass from Tanabe to Otake, Shigematsu approached the Chiba goal. In the 28th minute, from Morishige's interception, Mukuara sent a cross, and Morishige, who advanced to the front of the goal, took a header shot, but it lacked power.

　Maeda created opportunities in the front line, and there were increasing scenes where he connected with Shigematsu, Otake, and Tanabe to bring the play to a finish. In the 36th minute, Shigematsu dribbled into the left area from a direct pass by Maeda and earned a left corner kick, but Matsushita's kick was caught by the goalkeeper. In the 38th minute, Shigematsu aimed directly at the goal from a long-distance free kick, but it went wide. In the 42nd minute, So Yondoku pressed Chiba's defender who was trying to advance, stole the ball, and launched a counterattack, but the left cross did not reach Shigematsu or Maeda in the center. Both sides utilized their strengths to attack, but neither could create a decisive chance. The match went into halftime scoreless.

Otake marks 2 goals from linked plays! A significant victory pulling away from Chiba!

　The second half required more aggressive play, and in the 54th minute, Gonda's long ball was cleared by the Chiba DF. This was received on the left side by So Yondoku, who boldly aimed for a shot. The ball hit the opposing DF and went in front of the goal. Here, Otake jumped in and scored with his right foot! Each player's bold attitude towards the goal paid off, and they took the lead!

　In the 57th minute, they launched a speedy attack, with Muku Hara passing to Ohtake just outside the right area, who took a well-aimed shot. This went slightly to the left, but in the following 59th minute, Chiba's DF cleared Gonda's kick again. After stealing the ball, Seo Yong-duk initiated a play, passing to Ohtake in the left area. Timing his run perfectly, Tanabe skillfully dribbled past the opposing DF and delivered a backward pass to the center. Ohtake received it and struck a well-aimed shot, scoring the second goal in a brilliant display of teamwork!!

　Tokyo completely grasped the rhythm and gained momentum. They connected passes and launched a wave attack. In the 64th minute, Yong Duk SEO intercepted a pass from the opposing defender and shot from the left area. In the 67th minute, Yong Duk SEO on the left connected with Matsushita in the center, who then passed to Tanabe, but Tanabe's shot from distance went wide. In the 71st minute, Ricardinho came on for Yong Duk SEO. Chiba replaced forward Nett with MF Murai, shifting to a 4-4-2 formation with Yonekura and Kanazawa as the two forwards.

　However, Tokyo did not decrease their activity level and did not give Chiba a chance to counterattack. In the 73rd minute, Otake made a sharp dribble to break through the center, and from Ricardinho, Maeda in front of the left area took a decisive shot, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper's save... In the 80th minute, Ricardinho skillfully turned past the opposing defender in the left area and aimed for the goal with a loop shot, but it hit the post and bounced back. In the 83rd minute, Mukuara's pinpoint cross found Otake free in front of the goal, and he headed it down, but... it missed the target, and the hat trick was not achieved.

　Although they couldn't score the third goal, in the 79th minute, Konno was substituted for Tokunaga, and in the 88th minute, Sakuno, who made his official match debut, was brought on for Tanabe, shutting down Chiba's counterattack. The fresh members showed passionate play, securing a significant victory and advancing to the Semifinal Round to face Avispa Fukuoka (J2) on December 25.

　[Player Comments] {Otake} "I felt that I had the chance and was determined to make it happen. I absolutely wanted to score, so when I entered the area for the first goal, the ball came to a good spot. I think the connection for the second goal was great with the teammates I usually play with in practice matches. I was sure the pass would come, so I was able to shoot calmly. I want to keep this momentum going, and if there are opportunities in the future, I want to score and contribute to the team's victory."

　"There was tension, but I tried to show what I had prepared so far. In the first half, I was too anxious, but at halftime, the coach instructed me, 'You are being too passive. Receive the ball more up front, take on defenders with dribbling, and show your strengths.' I think I was able to respond to that instruction in the second half. I have a strong desire to play beyond just the regular players, but right now, I want to be a strength for the team above all else. To contribute to the team, I want to continue doing what I need to do."

　[Summary of Coach Okuma's Press Conference] "Players who have not had the opportunity to play until now have been preparing well and training hard, and considering each player's condition and injuries, today we have the best members. There are issues with quality, but even with changes in the lineup, we were able to play the same style of football as a team. That was gratifying, and there were parts of each player's performance that moved me in this serious official match, which is different from a practice game."

　Maeda, who had not been able to play for a long time, created opportunities up front, and the effort of Shigematsu, who was thought to lack stamina, proved effective. Matsushita also maintained his work rate in both defense and attack for the full 90 minutes. In this intense match, we discovered new personalities and gained confidence that we can perform. While utilizing this moving forward, we will quickly switch our focus to the league matches. Only 11 players can stand on the pitch, but I want those who did not get the chance to play today to engrave the effort from today's match in their minds and hearts. Together, we want to fight in the next four league matches and the Emperor's Cup.

　[Chiba - Coach Ejiri's Press Conference Summary] "The result was a complete defeat. I wanted to simply exploit the opponent's back and do what they dislike, but today there were aspects where we challenged ourselves with the combination of players, and there were parts that we wouldn't know how to express unless we tried. Practice and actual games are indeed different, and I want to reconsider the combinations and partnerships of the players a bit more. In terms of offense, I felt a sense of progress that the breakthrough of right-side forward Ota and improving the quality of space on the sides will contribute to our fight for promotion in the league. We want to switch gears and head towards our biggest goal, the J League match against Kitakyushu."