Seek "results" and win with calmness through our own soccer!

　The Emperor's Cup 4th Round will be against Vegalta Sendai. In the 3rd Round, the players struggled against the tenacity of Kusatsu, but each player fulfilled their role and achieved a solid victory. This match will be played in 3 days and in a distant location, making it difficult for the players to adjust their condition. However, they will give their all in this upcoming match and aim to advance to the final through a united effort.

　Sendai, who will face Zweigen Kanazawa in the 2nd round of the Emperor's Cup and Omiya Ardija in the 3rd round, have advanced by winning in extra time in both matches. They are currently in 2nd place in the J2 league. They have already secured promotion to J1 for next season and will surely come with a strong determination against Tokyo in J1. In particular, manager Jofuku is wary of the attacking line centered around forwards Nakahara and Nakajima, and midfielders Yan and Sekiguchi, saying "they can break through from passing and have sharp counterattacks. They also have fullbacks joining in the attack while keeping possession of the ball."

　Tokyo has changed its members since the Kashima game. Kanda and Kajiyama return to the starting lineup, and Suzuki, who has been carefully preparing for his injured foot, will also make it to this game. The key will be how to contain Sendai's attacking force. Hiramatsu says, "There were some half-hearted moments in the Kashima game. First and foremost, we need to focus on defense and be especially careful at the start of the game." It is important not to give up the first goal. We want to thoroughly mark and cover without being confused by Sendai's fluid positioning of their attacking force.

　In addition, the key to breaking through Sendai's solid defense, which boasts the fewest goals conceded in the J2 league with a total of 38, will be how to continue playing Tokyo-style football and calmly fight even in a stalemate situation, making movements to shake off the marks of players like Hanyu and Suzuki, and connecting chances from attacks by the defensive midfielder. Without losing to Sendai's momentum, we aim for victory with a calm and collected style of football, seeking above all for "results"! The match started at exactly 1:00 PM with Sendai's kickoff at the Marugame Athletic Stadium in Kagawa Prefecture.

Unable to create a shooting chance, we end the first half by conceding the first goal.

　Tokyo, who carefully connects the ball and waits for the timing of the attack, and Sendai, who quickly heads towards the goal with a counterattack after stealing the ball. At the beginning, a strong determination to show their strengths and fight was felt from both sides. In the 12th minute, Kondo was fouled just outside the box and they were awarded a free kick. Suzuki aimed directly for the goal, but the ball went just wide to the right. In the 15th minute, Sendai's FW Nakahara received the ball in front of the goal and passed it back to FW Nakajima who was behind him. Nakajima tried to shoot directly, but Gonda made a save!

　At 22 minutes, Robert overlapped with Hirayama on the left side and crossed. Although it was cleared once, Yonemoto picked up the loose ball and took a middle shot from the left outside of the area, but it went to the left of the frame. At 24 minutes, Mokuhara on the right side sent a low early cross and Hirayama in the center dropped the ball and took a direct shot. The ball hit the opponent's DF and Sendai started a counterattack.

　Then, in the 25th minute, Sendai's DF Sugai allowed a central breakthrough, and although FW Nakajima's shot was blocked by Yonemoto after receiving a pass in the center, the rebound was kicked in by FW Nakahara, resulting in the first goal being conceded. After that, Tokyo calmly tried to attack while passing the ball around, but they were unable to break through the opponents who were defending deep. Even when they were able to bring the ball to the attacking third, they were unable to take a shot as it was bounced back. In the end, they ended the first half trailing by one goal.

Defeated without scoring despite attacking without regard for anything

　In the second half, Nagatomo was substituted for Kondo and played as left MF. Hayu moved to right MF, and Hirayama and Suzuki formed a 2-top formation. Shortly after the start of the second half, Nagatomo dribbled deep into the left side and passed to the center, but was unable to take a shot. After that, they were able to bring the ball to the goal as in the first half, but were unable to shoot due to Sendai's strong defense. On the other hand, they were caught on a short counterattack when they lost the ball, and were unable to gain momentum.

　In the 59th minute, MF Tomita picked up the ball touched by Gonda from a counter and passed it to FW Nakajima in the center, who then took a shot. This resulted in another goal, allowing the opposing team to score. In the 63rd minute, Hirayama competed with the opposing GK for a cross in front of the goal, but Hayashi picked up the loose ball and scored. However, the goal was disallowed due to a foul during the competition. As the game went on, Tokyo's usual ball possession and passing were not seen, and mistakes continued. In the 67th minute, Akamine was substituted for Hayashi in an attempt to activate the front line, but the rhythm remained the same.

　From around the 15-minute mark, center backs Bruno QUADROS and Muhara, left and right SBs Nagatomo and substitute Nakamura took charge, with Sasaki moving up to the front line to attempt a power play. However, long balls were not able to be effectively utilized and did not lead to successful attacks. In the 41st minute, Muhara sent a long ball to the front line. It was bounced back in front of the goal, but Suzuki quickly picked it up and took a shot, only to be blocked by the opposing defender. In stoppage time, they conceded a decisive third goal and their hopes for the Emperor's Cup were dashed. They ended their tournament without advancing to the semifinal round.

　【Player Comments】《Kelly》"I couldn't show what I've been doing. I feel really sorry for Sarri, Fuji, and all the supporters. Even Nao, who said he would come back on New Year's Day despite his injury... I'm really sorry to lose in a place like this. (3 goals conceded?) The way we conceded was bad, and in various aspects, the opponent was running more and we were losing in terms of mentality. (How do we bounce back?) We have to switch to the league. In the remaining three games, we will focus on the league from the next practice, and we will do our best based on today's reflection. (Couldn't we control the pace?) There were various aspects, and there were also many accidents. We are a team that has overcome such things, so we want to win all three remaining games and also have a chance in the ACL, so we will do our best as a team."

　"《Gonda》"The Emperor's Cup is all about the result. When we lose, we lose like this, and when we win, we can win even if we defend. Today, I think there was something missing in order to win. (What was missing?) If we had realized it during the game, we could have improved more... Throughout the 90 minutes, we couldn't create many chances and we were in a situation where we were constantly under pressure from counterattacks, so we should have been a little faster... or rather, it would have been better if we had noticed it during the game. (Did the change in players prevent you from playing your own football?) I think that's the reason we lost today. No matter who the opponent is, no matter what players we have, we have to play the same football and win. From an outsider's perspective, it may be said that it was because the players were different, or because there were no national team players, or because of the consecutive games, but for us, those are just excuses. In order for us to win the Emperor's Cup, we knew that we would lose national team players, and there were many injured players, but it was only natural for the players who played to do their best. It seems that we are being called "injured and exhausted", but it was most important for us to do what we could with the players we had and win with the players we had. It's frustrating that we couldn't do that. For example, even if a player who is not good at passing the ball plays in the game, that player should have other strengths that make them play. We need to cover for that player in order to bring out their strengths. I think it's necessary for Tokyo to become stronger by playing our own football while utilizing the strengths of the players who are playing."

　[Summary of Manager Jofuku's Press Conference] "I did not expect to hold a press conference first. It's very disappointing. I think the players had strong feelings for this game and they also had the mindset of not making excuses for their condition. I think they all tried their best to show their abilities. The loss is entirely my responsibility and it's because I didn't have enough power. The players did a good job. What's clear now is that we only have three games left to fight with this team. With all the players who are fighting with various emotions, I want to gather all their strength and continue to fight in the remaining three league games. *The press conference for the Emperor's Cup is held by the coach of the losing team first.

　[Sendai Teguramori's press conference summary] "The opponent is the champion of the Nabisco Cup, and we approached the game with the awareness of being a team that has secured promotion to J1. We also kept in mind that J1 soccer is fast-paced and made quick decisions to play. We were able to take the lead and win 3-0 in a back-and-forth game, which I think is a reflection of how we have been playing in J2 so far. FC Tokyo may have lacked speed due to their consecutive games, which worked in our favor. However, we will not get too confident and will continue to do our best in both the Emperor's Cup and the J1 league against Cerezo Osaka."