Break through the first match of the Emperor's Cup

　After FC Tokyo's promotion to J1, their performance in the Emperor's Cup has been as follows: In the 80th edition (2000), they lost to Kofu in the first round, and in the following 81st edition (2001), they were defeated by Yokohama FC in the first round as well, resulting in two consecutive first round losses against J2 teams. And this year, in the 82nd edition of the Emperor's Cup, their opponent in the first round was once again a J2 team, Shonan Bellmare.

　For FC Tokyo, the first match of the Emperor's Cup has already become a "demon's gate," but they cannot easily give up the chance to win the last title of the year in just one game. In the past two years, they have been defeated by a team of veteran regulars, but this year, with Amaral and Kelly unable to participate, they have become a fresh lineup that actively promotes young players. 22-year-old Abe will make his debut as the top, 18-year-old Baba as the top midfielder, and 18-year-old Suzuki as the left side, and 21-year-old Ishikawa as the right side, with an average age of 23.4 for the starting 11. The absence of two key players is painful, but expectations are high for the young players who are hungry for the game and have a fierce fighting spirit.

　Among them, there was particular attention on FW Yoshiro ABE, a current university student player who registered in November this year. With Amaral's injury and Fukuda's study abroad in Belgium, ABE suddenly got his chance to play. Although he has titles such as the top scorer in the Kanto University League Division 2 and MVP of the Japan-Korea Student Selection Tournament, his actual ability is unknown. It would be harsh to expect big results from his debut on the big stage, but as a player with high expectations as an immediate force for next season, not only the staff but also the fans were expected to watch him with a critical eye. The man praised by Manager Hara for his abilities as a striker will soon reveal himself without having to wait for next season.

Super debut goal by Abe that broke the unpleasant flow!

　Tokyo failed from the start. Shonan is known for their strong defense, so we knew they would let Tokyo attack first and then counterattack. If we had attacked aggressively from the beginning, we could have controlled the pace of the game. However, Tokyo's start was too weak, and Shonan ended up controlling the pace. In the crucial moments where we should have shown our strength and technique as a J1 team, we lost the ball due to careless plays, giving Shonan the confidence to launch bold attacks.

　At 2 minutes, a dangerous scene was created when a cross was put in from the left side and almost resulted in a goal, but at 8 minutes, a careless dribble was cut off in the midfield and a through pass was sent to the front of the goal, but Jean stepped in and cleared it. At 13 minutes, a heading shot was taken from a cross sent in from the left side, but the ball went over the bar. Then at 14 minutes, a direct pass was made in the midfield and a simple goal was scored from a through pass on the left side, resulting in conceding the first goal.

　I wonder if I've ever been passed through such a beautiful through pass in a J1 match. The development was so disappointing, but the movements of the Tokyo players felt a bit sloppy. The feeling of "it'll be okay somehow" was visible.

　It was a tough flow. In the attack, Suzuki proved that he could supply aggressive breakthroughs and accurate crosses from the left, and there were scenes where Ishikawa and Baba were involved in Abbe's post, but the way the ball was taken in the midfield was bad and there was no sign of it leading to a goal. Then, the air became even heavier with the unpleasant development of conceding the first goal, but in the 17th minute, Fujiyama made a big long pass from a deep position on the left side, aiming for the back of Shonan's shallow defense line, and Abbe, who left the opponent's DF behind with amazing speed, took a jumping volley from the right side of the penalty area. The ball grazed the opponent's GK's hand and pierced the net on the opposite side.

　The crowd was amazed by the super goal that is rarely seen in the world of soccer. This was Abbe's debut goal, which served as his greeting. It is a difficult task for a normal player to score a long ball on the opposite side with a jumping volley, instead of taking a direct shot. It was truly a striker's goal. With the wonder boy's goal, Tokyo quickly turned the game around.

Shonan attacks Tokyo, whose engine won't start.

　After Abe's super goal, Shonan was discouraged and Tokyo finally began to find their rhythm. In the 21st minute, a pass from Kaji on the right found Ishikawa, who skillfully evaded the defenders and charged towards the goal. He attempted a beautiful feint and a left-footed shot, but it missed the goal. In the 24th minute, Kaji broke through the opponent's defense with quick passing on the right side and took a powerful left-footed shot. In the 26th minute, Baba aimed for a header from a left corner kick, but unfortunately hit the side net. In the following 30 minutes, Suzuki intercepted the opponent's ball in the midfield and charged towards the goal. He took a low, powerful left-footed shot from just outside the penalty area, but the ball missed to the left of the goal.

　Shonan moves quickly here. In the 38th minute, they substitute tall FW Toda for a player who didn't function well in the midfield. Toda is a goal scorer who scored the winning goal in the Emperor's Cup 2nd Round and is the younger brother of Tokyo's Mitsuhiro Toda. Shonan's strategy pays off perfectly. In the 40th minute, they connect the ball from a FK given to Shonan in front of the goal, and when the player on the left side is free to cross, Toda runs in front of the goal and easily scores an additional point.

　Tokyo changed the flow by changing members when they got on the rhythm, and Shonan fought on the pitch with higher tension than Tokyo and put their bodies on the line. Their solid defense and speedy attacks after stealing the ball reminded us of the old Tokyo for a moment. Tokyo players must have felt that the opponent in front of them was tough. Shonan ended the first half with a 1-point lead.

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

　At halftime, Manager Hara said, "We are losing with our emotions. We need to fight harder for the ball. Abe and Suzuki should keep moving into open spaces. As soon as we steal the ball, let's target these two sharply. That way, we can push forward as a team."

　As soon as the second half begins, the results start to show. In the 46th minute, Kaji carries the ball up from the right side and sends a through pass to Baba in front of the penalty area on the right. Baba makes a vertical run and sends a perfect pass to Suzuki in the center with a direct shot. Suzuki receives the ball, turns gracefully to evade the opponent's defender, and shoots with his left foot, sending the ball into the right side of the goal. Suzuki, who scored a valuable equalizer in the best time of 1 minute into the second half, explodes with joy at his first goal in Tokyo.

　Tokyo, who has now begun to demonstrate their true strength, shows a fierce attack. After the tie, Tokyo launched a one-sided attack, but in the 53rd minute, once again, the right side of Kaji smoothly lifted the ball and passed it to Baba, who was waiting in a similar position. This time, Baba took a shot with his right foot. However, the ball did not meet perfectly and rolled towards the center, but before the Shonan DF could clear it, Abe stepped in front of the DF and stretched out his leg to take a shot. Mocking the timing of the goalkeeper, the ball slowly rolled into the goal. Two goals in his debut match. With Abe's performance living up to his reputation, the team quickly turned the game around.

　With the success of two rookies, Tokyo took the lead for the first time on this day and should have completely won the game. However, Shonan, who showed a fighting spirit from here on out, began to show their determination.

Defeated by Shonan's Determination with a V-GOAL Loss

　After Tokyo turned the tables, Shonan's movements became even sharper. They put pressure on Tokyo's defense with intense chasing from the front line, throwing themselves into the ball to take it back with all their might. The game gradually saw more and more pressure from Shonan, and in the 59th minute, they allowed a decisive breakthrough in front of Tokyo's goal, but Asari barely cleared it with a sliding tackle. In the following 61st minute, a powerful shot was taken from outside the penalty area after a corner kick, but the ball, which seemed to have gone in, luckily hit an opponent player and bounced back in front of GK Doi.

　Shonan, who has gained momentum, substitutes players again here and brings in 19-year-old Kato, who is known for his dribbling and speed. Tokyo will be thrown off by Kato's breakthrough later on. In the 67th minute, Shonan's Toda scores again from a chaotic situation in front of Tokyo's goal from a right corner kick, equalizing the score.

　Tokyo also made a move here, replacing Baba with Fumitake MIURA in the 73rd minute. It was the first time in 281 days that the "number 10" returned to the pitch. In the 80th minute, MIURA, who had the ball on the right side of the penalty area, sent a decisive pass to Ishikawa, who was free on the left, but Ishikawa's shot unfortunately missed to the right of the goal.

　The match was entering its final stages, but Shonan had been surpassing Tokyo in terms of physicality. In the third Emperor's Cup match for Shonan and the first match in two weeks with many unfamiliar players for Tokyo, it was only natural that there was a difference in game stamina. Shonan's Kato, who had entered on the right side, repeatedly made sharp breakthroughs as if anticipating the difficult situation of Tokyo's players, and attacked from there. On the other hand, Tokyo's Suzuki, who had the most physicality and contributed both in attack and defense, desperately tried to get involved with the ball. In the back and forth, Shonan made a decisive through pass in the 87th minute, but Tokyo's free Toda's shot was stopped by GK Doi, who came out and closed the angle with a fine save. The match lacked a decisive moment for both teams and went into extra time.

　Even in extra time, Shonan's energy did not drop and their determination to "defeat Tokyo" overwhelmed Tokyo. In the 103rd minute of extra time, Shonan sent a ground pass into the goal area, but Toda, carrying Jean on his back, accurately dropped the ball instead of shooting and it hit the post. Shonan's Kato ran in and noticed that GK Doi was coming out, so he lightly lobbed the ball and it was sucked into Tokyo's goal.

　The V goal that decided the match was like slow motion, but the Tokyo players could only watch in amazement. With this, Tokyo has suffered a first-round defeat to a J2 opponent for the third consecutive year in the Emperor's Cup. It's not about tactics or reasoning, but rather a problem of motivation when we are not challengers, in other words, when we are in a position to receive. Unless we become a team that can always give our all and fight against any opponent, we cannot truly be considered strong. We will break through this "difficult hurdle" of the 3rd round of the Emperor's Cup next year and show our victory.

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "We knew it would be a tough match for our first Emperor's Cup game, considering the past two years and the opponent's strong start. We have been conscious of this in our training. However, the opponent was quicker on the pitch today and we were outplayed and lost in the beginning. Shonan Bellmare had a higher motivation. Our usual rhythm only came back in the second half when we scored two consecutive goals, but then things went wrong. Today, we had to use young players due to the absence of Amaral and Kelly, but Abe performed as expected and Norio did well too. However, as a team, we need to be able to perform even without Amaral and Kelly. It was very disappointing to lose in our first Emperor's Cup game today, as we were determined to win at all costs."