In the rain, an "away game" at Tokyo Stadium

　The Nabisco Cup qualifying league Sec. 2 is an away game against Verdy 1969 at Tokyo Stadium. Although the rain that started during the day has weakened a bit, it turned into a night game in the continuing light rain.

　The starting members are the same as the previous match. This time, there is no GK on the bench, and the substitutes include DF = Komine, MF = Hoshi, Baba, and Suwazono, and FW Amaral.

Tokyo dominates with aggressive soccer, but...

　Coach Hara reflected after the match, saying, "In the rain, we needed to connect a bit more carefully and create our own rhythm," but it was Tokyo that took control of the pace from the start.

　At the start, the forward Edimundo and Verdy's attacking line attempted to break through with dribbling, but with Jean at the center, they cut it off with sharp reading and connected to the front line, not allowing easy chances to be created. When they shifted to offense, they developed an attack from the side starting with Kelly. In the 7th minute, they earned a corner kick, and from a short corner, Ishikawa took a ground shot. In the 9th minute, again from the right corner kick, Miyazawa picked up the ball that the goalkeeper punched away and took a shot. They displayed bold play.

　Conversely, Verdy gradually shifted to a formation where Edimundo played in a deeper position, with the two forwards Edimundo and Marquinhos plus midfielder Kobayashi pushing forward in a three-top-like setup. In the 11th minute, Tokyo's defense cut off Edimundo's central breakthrough. The ball spilled in front of the free forward Marquinhos on the right side. However, Dohi saved the trapped ball. After that, he continued to cut off the angles, preventing any shots.

　In the 18th minute, Miyazawa sent a pass from a deep position to Fukuda, who was trying to break behind the defense, but it was caught just in time by the Verdy goalkeeper. In the 23rd minute, Kaji, who overlapped from the right side with Ishikawa, and in the 24th minute, Kelly sent a pass to Fukuda in the center, both entered the penalty area in quick succession, but were blocked by the defense and could not finish.

Miyazawa scores a beautiful goal to take the lead!

　In the 26th minute, Ishikawa broke through the defense with a through pass from Kelly, but the opposing goalkeeper caught it. Ishikawa was involved in the attack consistently, not just in this play. In the 31st minute, he aimed for a goal from a direct free kick, and in the 32nd minute, a direct pass sequence from Miyazawa on the right to Kelly in the center and back to Ishikawa on the right threatened the opponent's defense. In the 38th minute, he trapped a loose ball in midfield, turned to evade the opposing defense, and surged forward with a dribble for a final pass. Although Kelly, who received it, was caught offside, the combination with Kelly and Miyazawa was good, and he quickly fit into Tokyo's style of football. Ishikawa continued to show abundant ideas and sharp play.

　Even after pressing on, we couldn't create any clear chances, and it was a tense moment, but then came the 40th minute. After a cross from the right side, Fukuda deflected the ball in front of the goal, which was cut off by the defender, resulting in a right corner kick. The kicker, Miyazawa, said, "If you could meet it at the far post..." and took the kick, but the ball beautifully arced and went directly into the goal! We took the lead with Miyazawa's precise left-footed play.

　Tokyo, gaining momentum, in stoppage time, Miyazawa's early cross from the left was perfectly timed for Toda, who dove in and aimed for the goal with a diving header, but it just missed to the upper left as the first half ended.

No openings for Verdy, two consecutive wins in the Nabisco Cup!

　In the second half, Verdy substituted the defensive midfielder Takagi for the speedy forward Sakurai. Right after the start, Marquinhos took a header shot from a right free kick, but it just missed the target. After missing this chance, Tokyo dominated the game from then on.

　In the 50th minute, Fukuda made a perfectly timed run behind the defense from a through pass by Shimohira, and Kelly shot from the pass sent in front of the goal. However, he was just slightly late, and the opposing defender cut it off. In the 58th minute, Ishikawa connected with Kelly in one touch, and finally, Fukuda broke through on the right side and shot from inside the penalty area. The shot from a tight angle hit the crossbar.

　Conversely, in the 60th minute, they were caught off guard, and Verdy forward Sakurai, who was free in the penalty area, took a shot from a cross coming in from the right. It was a moment of concern, but the shot went well wide of the goal.

　However, Tokyo also couldn't convert the shots that could have made things easier, saying, "If only we could score this..." In the 62nd minute, Ishikawa stopped a pass from Kelly just barely along the right touchline and sent a long through ball. With perfect timing, Toda broke free in front of the goal, but his trap was slightly high, preventing him from shooting. In the 71st minute, Toda received a pass from central Kelly in the open space on the left and sent a final pass in front of the goal, but Fukuda's shot went just left of the goal.

　In the 74th minute, Baba was brought on for Toda, and in the 77th minute, Amaral was introduced for Fukuda, but instead, they struggled to find their rhythm and faced some counterattacks. Nevertheless, Tokyo remained calm and maintained their balance. They effectively suppressed Verdy's counterattack just before the end and secured a one-point victory.

　From the next match, it is expected that Ishikawa will be called up for the U-21 national team and players like Baba will be absent for the U-19 national team, but Coach Hara said, "We will somehow manage to cope."

　This qualifying league continues after two days, and with the lively attacking players and two consecutive matches without conceding a goal, we definitely want to maintain our good form with balanced soccer.

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "I think the rain affected the first half, and the ball became slippery, causing all the through passes that usually work to go awry, making it difficult to establish a rhythm. Additionally, Verdy adjusted their system to match us, with Edimundo and Marquinhos positioned centrally, and Kobayashi staying wide on the side of Kaji, creating a three-forward setup. By remaining in those positions, they spread wide, and for much of the first half, we were barely able to respond to Verdy's ball movement. Therefore, I instructed the team to push the line up a bit more and connect better, or to ensure that when Edimundo dropped back, Miyazawa and Shitohira kept a close watch."

　Miyazawa not only scored but is also growing with each match, and Ishikawa showcased his strengths, providing a good accent to the team. I believe Fukuda also stood out with his power, not losing in battles for the ball. As a team, it wasn't a match that could be praised as everything went well. In reality, we want to play more aggressively, but considering the two-day gap between games and the rainy conditions, we can say that getting three points was a good achievement.

[Summary of Verdy Coach Lory's Press Conference] "Today, FC Tokyo was faster in ball circulation, able to keep possession and actively move the ball, and they were strong in duels. However, I believe one reason for our defeat was that Marquinhos received a foul in the first half and injured his back, which prevented him from fighting until the end of the 90 minutes, and we had to substitute him when we started to find our rhythm in the second half. Additionally, we couldn't execute quick passing or side attacks under FC Tokyo's pressure. In the second half, we had two chances but couldn't convert them, which didn't contribute to the team's momentum. FC Tokyo's positioning was good, but not being able to finish was also a reason for our defeat."