Nabisco Cup 1st Round: Want to Win Solidly in the "Fateful Kofu Match"

The 2001 Nabisco Cup kicks off. The first round will be a match against J2's Ventforet Kofu. This cup will be played at home and away. Today's first match will be held at home at Tokyo Stadium. In the league, Tokyo has not been able to achieve results in the last two away games. In last year's Emperor's Cup, Tokyo was defeated in the first round against Kofu, who had advanced to the third round. Therefore, today's match cannot be underestimated. However, in this match that can be called a fateful showdown, we want to win and gain momentum for the second match and for the league.

Starting lineup includes FW Robisu, and Kaga who makes his first appearance this season. Kelly on the right in midfield, Masuda on the left, and Asari and Miura in the defensive midfield.

The anxious time continues before Kofu's concentration.

Tokyo, who had been calm since the start, struggled to get their engine going. In the 11th minute, Mori's volley from Kelly's floated cross on the right was caught by the GK without being met perfectly. In the 13th minute, Asari took a middle shot, and in the 15th minute, Robisu aimed directly for a free kick, and in the 17th minute, Kaga shot from the corner of the penalty area, but it ended up being a one-off attack. Kofu also initially placed both fullbacks in high positions and showed glimpses of attacking intent, but gradually they were pushed back by Tokyo's attacks from the sides, led by Kelly and Mori.

At 20 minutes, a FK kicked by Kelly near the penalty arc hit the wall and Lins connected with the loose ball for a header shot. At 25 minutes, a quick attack from the left by Masuda from the midfield to Lins in front of the goal showed promise, but Lins' shots missed the goal. At 28 minutes, Kaga kicked a header shot from a right CK, but the GK caught it. Lins tried to create chances by keeping the ball in the front and passing it to the side for Kaga to cut into the penalty area, but they were unable to break through the concentrated defense of Kofu. Despite their dominance, they were unable to score and the frustrating situation continued.

On the other hand, Kofu occasionally shows counterattacks, but they are one tempo late and cannot bring it to a shot. Towards the end, MF Yoshida took a shot with one-two pass in front of the goal, but it ended with this one shot, and both teams entered the second half with a score of 0-0.

From one PK, to a goal rush!

In the second half, Tokyo aggressively attacked the goal from the beginning. In the 47th minute, Asari advanced to the penalty area and earned a free kick, which was then connected to Miura's shot. In the 50th minute, Masuda took a free shot from the midfield. Then in the 53rd minute, Miura pressed hard in the midfield and stole the ball, passing it to Robisu who then dashed towards the goal. Robisu looked around and passed it through to Miura again. The Yamanashi defenders had no choice but to foul Miura, who had caught up to the ball and entered the penalty area, and Tokyo was awarded a penalty kick. Robisu made a solid shot and took the lead, causing Yamanashi's concentration to break. From here on, it was "Tokyo's time".

In the 58th minute, Kelly scored a header from a left CK and made it 2-0. With a precise header to the top right corner, Kaga showed his strength in taking chances. In the 67th minute, Sato was substituted for Masuda. Shortly after in the 69th minute, Roppisu passed to Kaga on the right. Kaga dribbled a long distance into the penalty area and passed to Kelly in front of the goal, who easily scored to make it 3-0. At this point, Kaga was injured and had to be replaced by Toda, who made his first appearance of the season. Just two minutes later in the 73rd minute, Miura scored the fourth goal with a shot that went over the jumping GK, similar to the play that earned the first PK. Despite this, Kofu continued to push forward and try to make a comeback, but the team relentlessly scored more goals.

In the 78th minute, MF Kina was substituted for center back Ito. Tokyo also tried a 3-back formation with Asari taking care of the final line and a thick midfield formation. In the 89th minute, Toda was fouled in the midfield, but Toda and Sato made a quick restart and sent the ball to Rohisu in front of the goal. With this one play, they scored the final goal and stopped Kofu's momentum.

Demonstrating the Tokyo spirit, a match that leads to the next one

Along with the first half's performance, there was still one step left in terms of decisiveness. In the 56th minute, Kelly dribbled past the DF on the right sideline and took a shot from the penalty area with individual skill... In the 64th minute, Masuda ran past the DF line of Kofu but was stopped by the GK's shot... And in the 79th minute, Sato's free kick hit the crossbar, showing that there were still scoring chances. However, Lori was a scary presence, involved in four goals including a hat-trick, and Miura and Asari showed the Tokyo style of taking the ball from basic pressing and turning it into an attack. It was a game that could be said to have raised expectations for the next battle.

[Coach Hey's Comments]

The first half was really good, but the players probably thought "we can win". That's why after the second half PK, their concentration was broken and they became scattered. There were a few times when I thought that Daily and Yoshida were fouled in contact plays on the front line, but the game flowed and it became a frustrating battle. If we hadn't given up the PK, I think the result would have been completely different. Robisu is a great player and I feel strongly that he was the one who did it. The players have been feeling the pressure of losing for a long time, so we want to come up with a plan to get good results from now on.

[Coach Okuma's Comment]

The first half was a boring and unimpressive game, with Kofu also playing defensively and the players on the front line lacking the motivation to challenge. In the second half, the opponent was getting tired, but players like Masuda and Robisu were able to show their determination and fulfill their roles, so it was decent. However, there is some dissatisfaction with the fact that we were only able to play our game once the pressure had eased. In the future, we want to push harder from the first half and use substitute players to create a new flow. It was a game where we also reflected on this.