In the rain, away game at Tokyo Stadium

　The 2nd round of the Nabisco Cup qualifying league is an away game at Tokyo Stadium against Verdy 1969. The rain that started in the afternoon has weakened a bit, but it was a night game in continuous light rain.

　The starting members are the same as the previous match. This match also had no GK on the bench, with DF=Komine, MF=Hoshi, Baba, and Suwaen, and FW Amaral as the substitute.

Tokyo dominates with aggressive soccer, but...

　Former coach reflected after the game, "In the rain, we had to connect more carefully and create our own rhythm," but it was Tokyo who controlled the pace from the start.

　Verdy's attacking players, led by FW Edimundo, attempted to dribble through the defense, but were cut off by Jean's sharp reading of the game. Jean then connected the ball to the front line, not allowing any easy chances for the opposing team. When they switched to the offensive, Kelly initiated attacks from the side. In the 7th minute, they won a corner kick and Ishikawa took a ground shot from a short corner. In the 9th minute, they won another corner kick from the right side and Miyazawa took a shot after the GK punched the ball. They displayed bold and decisive plays.

　On the other hand, Verdy gradually played from a formation with two top players, Edmundo and Marquinhos, and MF Kobayashi, who moved up to the front line as a three-top. In the 11th minute, Tokyo DF cut off Edmundo's central breakthrough. The ball fell in front of FW Marquinhos, who was free on the right side. However, the ball was saved by Tsuchi after he trapped it. After that, they cut off the course and did not allow a shot.

　At 18 minutes, Miyazawa passes to Fukuda, who is trying to break through the DF from a deep position, but is barely caught by the Verdy GK's quick footwork. At 23 minutes, Kaji overlaps from the right side and at 24 minutes, Kelly passes to Fukuda in the center, continuously entering the penalty area, but is blocked by the DF and unable to finish.

First goal with Miyazawa's beautiful goal!

　At 26 minutes, Kelly's through pass, Ishikawa runs behind the DF, but the opponent's GK catches it. Ishikawa is not only involved in this play, but also consistently attacks. At 31 minutes, he aims for a goal from a direct FK, and at 32 minutes, he approaches the goal with a direct pass that shakes the opponent's DF, from right Miyazawa → center Kelly → again right Ishikawa. At 38 minutes, he traps the loose ball in the midfield, turns around and avoids the opponent's DF, and quickly dribbles up to make the last pass. Although Kelly was caught offside when he received it, the combination with Kelly and Miyazawa was good, and he quickly fit into Tokyo's soccer. Ishikawa continued to show abundant ideas and sharp plays.

　Despite pushing forward, they were unable to create any scoring opportunities and it was an unpleasant time, but they reached the 40th minute. A cross from the right side was deflected by Fukuda in front of the goal, but the defender cut it off and they earned a corner kick. Kicker Miyazawa said, "If someone can get on the end of it at the far post..." and took the kick, but the ball beautifully curved and went straight into the goal! Miyazawa's precise left foot play gave them the opening goal.

　Tokyo, gaining momentum, in stoppage time, Toda flew in with perfect timing on Miyazawa's early cross, attempting a diving header for the goal, but it narrowly missed the top left corner and the first half ended.

No chance for Verdy, 2 consecutive wins in the Nabisco Cup!

　In the second half, Verdy substituted the midfielder Takagi for the speedy FW Sakurai. Shortly after the start, Marquinhos took a header shot from a right FK, but narrowly missed the goal. After missing this chance, Tokyo dominated the rest of the game.

　At 50 minutes, Kelly took a shot from the pass sent by Shimohira with exquisite timing, taking the back of DF. However, the timing was slightly delayed and was cut off by the opposing DF. At 58 minutes, Ishikawa connected with Kelly with one touch, and finally passed to Fukuda who broke through on the right side, and took a shot from inside the penalty area. The shot from an angle hit the bar.

　On the contrary, in the 60th minute, Verdy FW Sakurai, who was left free in the penalty area, was able to take a shot from a cross from the right. It was a moment of panic, but the shot missed the goal by a large margin.

　However, even Tokyo couldn't score a shot that would make things easier... In the 62nd minute, Ishikawa stopped a long through pass from Kelly on the right touchline. Toda broke through in perfect timing in front of the goal, but his trap was slightly off and he couldn't take the shot. In the 71st minute, Toda received a pass from Kelly in the center and sent a final pass to the front of the goal from the open space on the left, but Fukuda's shot went just left of the goal.

　In the 74th minute, Toda was replaced by Baba, and in the 77th minute, Fukuda was replaced by Amaral, but there were moments when they couldn't keep up with the rhythm and were under attack. However, Tokyo remained calm and maintained their balance. They also managed to hold off Verdy's late comeback and secure a one-point victory.

　From the next match, it is expected that Ishikawa will be called up for the U-21 national team, while Baba and others will be absent from the U-19 national team. "We will somehow manage," said Manager Hara.

　This qualifying league, which continues for two days, is characterized by a lively attacking unit and a balanced soccer with two consecutive games without conceding a goal. We want to maintain our good form.

[Summary of the original coach's press conference] "I think the first half was affected by the rain, and the ball was slipping, so we couldn't make our usual through passes and our rhythm was disrupted. Also, Verdy adjusted their system to match ours, with Edmundo and Marquinhos playing in the center and Kobayashi playing on the side of Kaji, making it more like a 3-top formation. This made the field wider, and in the first half we were barely able to keep up with Verdy's ball movement. So, we decided to push up our line a bit more and connect our passes, or when Edmundo dropped back, we instructed Miyazawa and Shimodaira to mark him closely."

　Miyazawa not only scored, but he is also growing with each game, and Ishikawa was able to showcase his strengths and add a good accent. And Fukuda, too, did not lose in the battles and ball contests, overflowing with power and making an impact. As a team, it was not a game where everything was good enough to be praised. We really wanted to play more aggressively, but considering the rainy conditions and the game being played every two days, we can say that it was a good achievement to earn 3 points.

[Verdy LORI Press Conference Summary] "Today, FC Tokyo was able to move the ball quickly, keep possession, and be aggressive, and they were also strong in the duels. However, Marquinhos was hit in the first half and couldn't continue until the end of the 90 minutes, so I think that was one of the reasons for our defeat. Also, we couldn't handle FC Tokyo's pressure and couldn't make quick passes or attacks from the sides. In the second half, we had two chances but couldn't convert them, which didn't help our team's momentum. FC Tokyo's positioning was good, but we couldn't finish, which was also a factor in our defeat."