Overcome the Demon Gate - Advance Past the First Round of the Emperor's Cup

　After FC Tokyo's promotion to J1, their Emperor's Cup record shows that in the 80th edition (2000), they lost in the 1st Round to Kofu, and in the following 81st edition (2001), they also lost in the 1st Round to Yokohama FC, marking two consecutive years of first-round exits against J2 teams. This year, their opponent in the 3rd Round of the 82nd Emperor's Cup is also a J2 team, Shonan Bellmare.

　For FC Tokyo, the first match of the Emperor's Cup has already become a kind of "demon gate," but they cannot easily throw away the chance to win the last title of the year in just one match. In the past two years, they fought with a veteran-centered regular lineup and were defeated, but this year, with Amaral and Kelly unable to participate, they have boldly promoted young players, resulting in a fresh lineup unlike any before. The lone striker is 22-year-old Abe, while both 18-year-olds Baba and Suzuki play as attacking midfielder and left winger, respectively, and 21-year-old Ishikawa is on the right side, making the average age of the starting eleven a very young 23.4 years. The absence of two key players is painful, but expectations are high for the fighting spirit of the young players who are hungry for the game.

　Among them, particular attention has been drawn to Yoshiro ABE, a current university student forward who was just registered this November. Due to Amaral's injury and Fukuda's study abroad in Belgium, ABE suddenly got his chance to play. Although he holds titles such as the top scorer of the Kanto University League Division 2 and MVP of the Japan-Korea Student Selection Tournament, his true abilities remain unknown. It may be a bit harsh to expect significant results in his debut match on such a big stage, but as a player with high expectations as an immediate asset for next season, both the staff and fans are likely to watch him with a critical eye. The time has come for the man praised by Coach Hara for his striker abilities to unveil himself even before next season.

Abe's super debut goal that broke the unpleasant flow!

　Tokyo failed to start strong. Shonan has always had a solid defense, and it was clear they would let Tokyo attack first, then aim for counterattacks after solidly defending. Therefore, if they aggressively attacked first, it should have naturally set the pace for Tokyo. However, Tokyo's entry into the match was too soft, which allowed Shonan to take control instead. During the crucial moments when they should have showcased the strength and skill of J1, there were many scenes where they lost the ball due to weak plays at the ball, and immediately, the Shonan players, filled with confidence, launched bold attacks.

　In the 2nd minute, a dangerous scene was created when a cross from the left side was jumped into near the goal, almost resulting in a goal. In the 8th minute, an unnecessary dribble was cut off in midfield, leading to a through pass in front of the goal, but Jean cleared it by getting his body in the way. In the 13th minute, a header shot was taken from a cross delivered from the left side, but the ball went over the bar. Then, in the 14th minute, a direct connection of the ball in midfield led to an easy goal from a through pass to the left side, allowing the first goal to be conceded.

　It was such a surprising development that I wondered if there had ever been such a beautifully executed through pass in a J1 match, but the movements of the Tokyo players felt somewhat lacking. There was a hint of a mindset of "It will somehow work out."

　It was an unpleasant flow. In the attack, Suzuki proved he could provide aggressive breakthroughs and accurate crosses from the left, and there were scenes where Ishikawa and Baba were involved with Abe's post, but the way the ball was lost in midfield was poor, and there seemed to be no signs of a goal. Just when the atmosphere became heavier with the unpleasant development of conceding the first goal, in the 17th minute, Fujiyama sent a long pass from a deep position on the left side targeting the shallow defense line of Shonan, and Abe, who left the opposing defender behind with incredible speed, shot with a jumping volley from the right side of the penalty area. The ball grazed the opposing goalkeeper's hand and pierced the goal net on the opposite side.

　The venue erupted with excitement at a super goal rarely seen even in the world of football. This was Abe's debut goal, serving as his greeting. It is an incredibly difficult feat to score with a jumping volley from a long ball that an ordinary player would not even think to strike directly, sending it to the opposite side. It was truly a striker's goal. Tokyo quickly returned the match to square one with the goal from the wonder boy.

Shonan attacks Tokyo, which won't start its engine

　With Abe's super goal, Shonan was demoralized, and Tokyo finally began to find their rhythm. In the 21st minute, a pass from Kaji on the right reached Ishikawa, who deftly sidestepped the defender and charged towards the goal. He unleashed a beautiful left-footed shot after a dazzling feint, but it went wide of the goal. In the 24th minute, Kaji unleashed a powerful left-footed shot after breaking down the opponent with quick passing on the right side, and in the 26th minute, Baba aimed for a header from a left corner kick at the near post, but unfortunately hit the side netting. In the following 30th minute, Suzuki intercepted the opponent's ball in midfield and charged straight towards the goal. He fired a powerful left-footed shot with a low trajectory just before the penalty area, but the ball veered to the left of the goal.

　Here, Shonan makes an early move. In the 38th minute, they replaced a player who was not functioning in midfield with the tall forward Mitsuhiro TODA. TODA is a goal scorer who scored the winning goal in the Emperor's Cup 2nd Round and is the younger brother of Mitsuhiro TODA from Tokyo. This strategy pays off brilliantly for Shonan. In the 40th minute, from a free kick awarded to Shonan in front of the goal, the ball was connected, and a cross was sent in from a player who was free on the left side, leading to a header from TODA, who ran into the goal area, resulting in an unexpected additional goal.

　Tokyo had gained momentum, but with a substitution, Shonan changed the flow of the game, maintaining a higher intensity than Tokyo in spirit and fighting hard on the pitch. Their solid defense and thorough, speedy attacks after regaining possession reminded one momentarily of the old Tokyo. The Tokyo players must have felt that their opponents were formidable. The first half ended with Shonan leading by one goal.

Suzuki's first goal and Abe's second goal led to a remarkable comeback, but...

　At halftime, Coach Hara said, "We are losing in terms of spirit. Fight harder for the ball. Abe and Suzuki should move into space more. The moment we win the ball, let's aim sharply for these two. That way, we can push the whole team forward."

　As the second half begins, the results come quickly. In the 46th minute, Kaji advances from the right side and sends a through pass to Baba just in front of the penalty area. Baba makes a vertical run and delivers a superb pass directly to Suzuki in the center. Receiving the ball, Suzuki elegantly turns away from the opposing defender with a beautiful trap, and as he turns, he shoots with his left foot, sending the ball into the right side of the goal. Suzuki, who scored a valuable equalizer in the best moment just one minute into the second half, exploded with joy for his first goal in Tokyo.

　With this, Tokyo began to show its true strength, launching a furious attack. After equalizing, Tokyo relentlessly pressed forward, and in the 53rd minute, Kaji on the right made a swift advance and delivered a through pass to Baba, who was waiting in a similar position. This time, Baba took a shot with his right foot. However, the ball was not struck cleanly and rolled toward the center. Just before the Shonan defender could clear it, Abe slipped in front of the defender, stretched out his foot, and took a shot. As if mocking the goalkeeper who was thrown off balance, the ball slowly rolled into the goal. Scoring two goals in his debut match, Abe quickly turned the game around, just as his pre-match reputation suggested.

　With the performance of the two rookies, Tokyo, which took the lead for the first time on this day, should have completely secured the game. However, from here, Shonan, who pushed forward with a fighting spirit, began to show their determination.

V-goal loss succumbing to Shonan's tenacity

　After Tokyo took the lead, Shonan's movements became even sharper. They applied intense pressure on Tokyo's defense with aggressive chasing from the front line, throwing their bodies to win the ball. The game increasingly saw Shonan pushing forward, and in the 59th minute, they allowed a decisive breakthrough in front of Tokyo's goal, but Asari barely managed to clear it with a sliding tackle. In the following 61st minute, a clearance from a corner kick was powerfully shot from outside the penalty area, but the ball, which seemed to have gone in, fortunately hit an opposing player and bounced back right in front of goalkeeper Doi.

　Shonan, gaining momentum, made another player substitution here, bringing in Kato, who is known for his dribbling and speed at just 19 years old. Tokyo would soon find themselves struggling against Kato's breakthroughs. Just after that, in the 67th minute, a scramble in front of the Tokyo goal from a right corner kick allowed Shonan's Toda to score again, leveling the match.

　Tokyo also made a move here, bringing in Fumitake MIURA in place of Baba in the 73rd minute. The 'number 10' returned to the pitch after 281 days. In the 80th minute, MIURA, who had the ball on the right side of the penalty area, sent a decisive pass to the free Ishikawa on the left, but Ishikawa's shot unfortunately went just wide of the right goalpost.

　The match was entering its final stages, but Shonan was outpacing Tokyo in terms of physical exertion. It was only natural that there was a difference in game stamina between Shonan, playing their third match in the Emperor's Cup, and Tokyo, who had many unfamiliar players after a two-week break. Kato, who entered on the right side, repeatedly made sharp breakthroughs as if anticipating the difficult situation of Tokyo's players, launching attacks from that point. On the other hand, Suzuki, who contributed the most in terms of physical exertion and defense, desperately engaged with the ball. In a back-and-forth battle, Shonan delivered a decisive through pass in the 87th minute in front of Tokyo's goal, but the free shot taken by Toda was stopped by GK Doi, who came out to block the path with a fine save. The match saw both teams lacking a decisive factor and went into extra time.

　Even in extra time, Shonan's work rate did not drop, and their determination to "defeat Tokyo" overwhelmed them. In the 103rd minute of the first half of extra time, Shonan delivered a ground pass into the goal area, but Toda, while shouldering Jean, did not shoot but accurately set the ball down on the post. Then, Kato from Shonan, having confirmed that goalkeeper Doi was out of position, lightly executed a looping shot, and the ball was drawn into Tokyo's goal.

　The V-goal that decided the match was like slow motion, but the Tokyo players could only watch in astonishment. With this, Tokyo has been eliminated in the first round of the Emperor's Cup for three consecutive years against J2. It's not about tactics or reasoning; it's a matter of motivation when we are not the challengers, meaning when we are in a position to receive the challenge. Unless we become a team that can always give our all against any opponent, we cannot claim to have true strength. We will surely break through this 'demon gate' of the 3rd Round of the Emperor's Cup with a victory next year.

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "Considering the past two years, I told the players before the match that the first round of the Emperor's Cup would be difficult, and we have been consciously working on it in practice. However, on the pitch today, the opponent was quicker to move, and we were losing in duels and in our initial efforts. Shonan Bellmare had higher motivation. The only time we showed our natural rhythm was when we scored two quick goals in the second half, and after that, things went awry. Today, we used younger players due to the absence of Amaral and Kelly, but Abe performed as expected, and Norio also did well. However, as a team, we need to be able to perform better when Amaral and Kelly are not present. I was very disappointed because we wanted to win today's first round of the Emperor's Cup at all costs."