Nabisco Cup 1st Round - Want to win decisively in the "fateful match against Kofu"

The 2001 Nabisco Cup has kicked off. The 1st Round is a match against Ventforet Kofu from J2. This cup competition will be held in a home-and-away format. Today’s first match is at home at Tokyo Stadium. In the league, Tokyo has not been able to achieve results in the last two away matches. Additionally, in last year's Emperor's Cup, Tokyo was defeated by Kofu, who advanced to the 3rd Round, so today's match should not be taken lightly. However, in this fateful confrontation, we want to win comfortably and gain momentum for the 2nd match and the league.

The starting lineup features forward Rohi, and Kagawa making his first appearance of the season up front. On the right side of midfield is Kelly, on the left is Masuda, and the holding midfielders are Asari and Miura.

A tense wait continues before Kofu's concentration.

Tokyo was calm from the start, but it took a while for the engine to get going. The first shot came in the 11th minute when Masuda volleyed a soft cross from Kelly on the right, but he didn't make solid contact and the goalkeeper caught it. In the 13th minute, Asari took a long-range shot, in the 15th minute, Ryo took a direct free kick, and in the 17th minute, Kagami shot from the corner of the penalty area, but the attacks ended up being sporadic. Kofu, at the beginning of the match, placed both full-backs high up and showed some intent to attack, but gradually found themselves pushed back by Tokyo's attacks from the sides, initiated by Kelly and Masuda.

In the 20th minute, a free kick taken by Rohi at the penalty arc hit the wall, and after connecting with the loose ball, Rohi made a header shot. In the 25th minute, a quick attack was shown from Kelly in midfield to Masuda on the left, then to Rohi in front of the goal, but Rohi's shots all missed the goal. In the 28th minute, Kagawa made a powerful header from a right corner kick, but the goalkeeper caught it. Rohi kept the ball in the front line and when he passed to the side, Kagawa also cut into the penalty area to make a return pass, trying to create chances. However, despite having possession, the frustrating situation continued as they couldn't break through Kofu's concentrated defense.

On the other hand, Kofu occasionally showed counterattacks, but they were a step behind and couldn't take a shot. Just before the end, midfielder Yoshida took a shot after a one-two pass in front of the goal, but it ended with just that one attempt, and both teams went into the second half with a score of 0-0.

From one penalty kick to a goal rush!

In the second half, Tokyo aggressively attacked the goal from the early stages. In the 47th minute, Asari advanced to the side of the penalty area to win a free kick, from which Miura connected for a shot. In the 50th minute, Masuda, seeing he was free in midfield, took a long-range shot. Then in the 53rd minute, Miura, applying intense pressure in midfield, stole the ball, passed it to Ryo, and dashed towards the goal. Ryo looked around carefully and delivered a through pass back to Miura. The Kofu defender had no choice but to foul Miura, who had caught up to the ball and entered the penalty area, resulting in a penalty kick for Tokyo. Ryo converted it cleanly to take the lead, and it seemed Kofu lost their focus, leading to a period of "Tokyo's time" from there.

In the 58th minute, from Kelly's left corner kick, Kagami scored with a header to make it 2-0. With a precise heading shot aimed at the upper right of the goal, Kagami showed his strength in front of goal. In the 67th minute, Sato was brought on to replace Masuda. Just after that, in the 69th minute, a pass from midfield by Robis to the right found Kagami. Kagami dribbled a long distance into the penalty area, and with a last pass that drew Kelly in front of the goal, Robis easily scored to make it 3-0. An unfortunate incident occurred when Kagami got injured, but forward Toda, who made his first appearance of the season, was brought on as a substitute. Two minutes later, in the 73rd minute, as if to recreate the play that earned the first penalty, a pass from Miura to Robis led to Miura scoring the fourth goal with a shot over the advancing GK. Nevertheless, against Kofu, who tried to counterattack by pushing up their defensive line, the team relentlessly continued to score.

In the 78th minute, midfielder Kina was brought in to replace center-back Ito. Tokyo, trying a formation with a thick midfield while having Asari take care of the final line, moved closer to a three-back setup. In the 89th minute, Toda was fouled in midfield, but he and Sato made a quick restart with good judgment, advancing rapidly to Ropisu in front of the goal. This one play secured the fifth goal, effectively sealing Kofu's fate.

Showcasing Tokyo's uniqueness, a match that leads to the next

Along with the performance in the first half, there was still one step left to improve on finishing. In the 56th minute, Kelly used individual skill to dribble past the DF along the right sideline and took a shot after bringing the ball into the penalty area... In the 64th minute, Masuda broke through the DF line of Kofu but was denied by the GK in his shot... And in the 79th minute, Sato's free kick hit the crossbar, showing there were still scoring opportunities. However, Robson demonstrated that he is a truly frightening presence by being involved in four goals, including a hat trick, and it can be said that the match showcased the Tokyo style, with Miura and Asari stealing the ball from basic pressing and linking it to attacks. It was a game that raised expectations for the next battle.

[Coach Heis Comment]

The first half was really good, but the players must have thought, 'We can win.' Because of that, after the penalty in the second half, they lost focus and became disorganized. There were several moments when Daily and Yoshida were fouled in contact plays up front, but the game flowed on, resulting in a frustrating battle. If we hadn't conceded the penalty, I believe the result would have been completely different. Rohi is a wonderful player, and I feel strongly that we were outplayed by him. The players have been losing continuously and are feeling the pressure, so we want to come up with strategies to achieve good results from now on.

[Coach Okuma's Comments]

In the first half, Kofu also had moments of retreat, but even taking that into account, the forwards lacked the spirit to challenge, resulting in a dull match without intensity. In the second half, although the opponent was getting tired, players like Masuda and Robis showed their commitment to fulfilling their roles, which was somewhat encouraging. However, there is still dissatisfaction in that we were only able to play our game after the pressure eased. Moving forward, we want to push harder from the first half and create a new flow with the substitutes. This game served as a reflection on that.