The beginning of an unbeatable battle for the title of the Nabisco Cup

　It's spring, and during the J-League break, the 2002 Yamazaki Nabisco Cup qualifying league was held during Golden Week. Tokyo, who was in the same B group as Shimizu, Verdy, and Kobe, achieved an impressive record of 4 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw, and passed in first place. Four months later, in the quarterfinals, they will face Gamba Osaka, who finished second in Group C. With only 3 games left to win the title, the battle has begun where losing is not an option.

　Gamba Osaka, currently ranked 1st in the J1 League scoring rankings with FW Maglone, is in 4th place in the 1st stage. In addition, in the 2nd stage 1st round held 3 days ago, they had a big victory of 4-1 against Yokohama F. Marinos and are maintaining their good form. They are a strong opponent, but this is an important match to repay the loss suffered in the 1st stage 6th round. Manager Hara also showed a strong desire for victory, saying "Winning in any way is important."

Tokyo shows an aggressive momentum

　With the kickoff whistle, Miyazawa distributes a long ball that pierces the space on the left side of the enemy's territory, restraining Gamba. In the second minute, Gamba FW Yoshihara boldly aims for the goal, and in the third minute, Amaral heads a shot from a corner kick, both teams showing passionate play from the start. In the fifth minute, Amaral takes the ball up alone and shoots. In the tenth minute, this time Gamba's Maglone hits a header shot from a corner kick, but the ball narrowly misses to the left.

　Today in Tokyo, the positions of the left and right MF were changed. Toda was placed on the right, and Ishikawa on the left, with the aim of creating space from quick passing. In the 12th minute, Ishikawa received a pass from Kelly on the left side and made a dash towards the goal for a shot. In the 14th minute, Miyazawa made a surprising middle shot right after intercepting the ball. However, Gamba also had a clever play where Yoshihara quickly broke through the DF line with one pass from a goal kick. The looping shot was neatly saved by Doi, resulting in no harm done.

　After that, Tokyo dominated the game by connecting direct passes. In the 15th minute, Kelly received a pass from Ishikawa and took a shot from outside the penalty area to the bottom left corner, but the opponent's goalkeeper made a save. However, Gamba's attacking intentions were clear, either by developing from the side or by sending through passes to Yoshihara who was aiming for the back of the DF. In the 24th minute, Fabiño sent a through pass to Yoshihara, but Tsuchi caught it with a brave jump. On the other hand, in the 26th minute, Miyazawa passed to Toda who was trying to break through the back of the DF. Although the ball was cut off by the DF, Amaral took a shot from the rebound. The game continued at a fast pace with many shooting scenes.

Ishikawa showed perseverance, and with the combination of Kelly and Toda, they were able to turn their aim into a lead.

　Tokyo, pushing the sides with the speed and movement of Toda and Ishikawa. Finally, in the 28th minute, a long ball from the backline to the left side, Ishikawa catches up and dribbles up to the end line while being chased by the opposing defender, and crosses it back. Kelly, who had moved up to support in the center, passes it back and Toda, who had run in from the right side, scores! They successfully turned their planned strategy into a goal.

　Gamba, who launched a counterattack, made a pass to the right side in the 39th minute, with midfielder Endo pushing forward. Morioka, the MF, made a run and sent a cross into the middle, but the clearance fell back to Endo who took a direct volley shot. It missed above the goal, but this period of time continued to be a pinch for Tokyo. In the 40th minute, Maglone headed the free kick ball and aimed for the bottom left corner of the goal, but it was barely saved by Doi's great play. In the 41st minute, from Yoshihara's post-play, MF Nikawa took a shot just outside the penalty area. The defense blocked it and it went out for a corner kick, preventing a goal.

　The game progressed at a fast pace, and without any added time, Tokyo went into the second half with a one-point lead.

However, in the second half... we allowed a comeback and suffered a complete defeat.

　In the first half, Tokyo took the lead with aggressive soccer as planned. The problem was from here. In the second half, Gamba substituted FW Matsunami for Morio. They changed to an attacking formation with a front three of Maguron in the center, Yoshihara on the right, and Matsunami on the left. Early in the second half, Yoshihara made a move on the right side and won a corner kick. Maguron then headed the ball, but Doi made a fantastic save with a high shot. Next, Yoshihara took a shot from the corner kick and showed his fearlessness.

　Tokyo, in the 48th minute, launched a quick counterattack from a ball cut in the midfield, but Miyazawa's shot went over the goal. In the 49th minute, Ishikawa cut inside from the left side and forced a shot past the DF who was marking him, but it hit another DF in front of the goal and did not go in. In the 51st minute, Yoshihara dribbled down the right side, made it all the way to the end line, and crossed to Niikawa in the goal area, who turned past the DF and took a shot. It was a decisive moment, but once again, Tsuchi prevented the goal with a determined and fine save.

　But it was just two minutes later. In the midst of a frantic exchange of balls between the two teams, the ball was intercepted in the midfield and once again, Yoshihara charged towards the right side. He crossed an early cross from around the penalty area corner, and Endo jumped in with perfect timing for a header shot. Even Tsuchi could not stop it, and the game was tied.

　Gamba, who are on a roll, have repeatedly attacked from the right side with Yoshihara, while Tokyo is falling behind. Ishikawa fights hard but fails to make a shot. Then, in the 62nd minute, Gamba connects a free kick in the midfield, and Endo advances to the right side of the penalty area and sends a cross. Arai, who came in free from the left side, directs it directly and scores a powerful shot. In an instant, they were scored an additional point.

　In the 70th minute, Toda was replaced by Baba, but the thread of the counterattack could not be found. Just as they were about to replace Shimodaira with Fukuda, in the 76th minute, once again from a free kick, newly substituted FW Okubo flew out to the offside line and scored. The Tokyo players could only watch helplessly.

　In the end, we were scored on every 10 minutes and lost the second half 1-3. It was a disappointing comeback defeat, and our path to the Nabisco Cup Best 4 was cut off without any resistance.

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "We ended up in the same shape as our defeat in the 1st stage. In the first half, we tried to exploit the space behind Arai, who was on the left side for Gamba, and face him against Toda. We were able to play according to our plan, which was to attack behind Arai and use Ishikawa on the opposite side. As we headed into the second half, we talked about focusing on the first 15 minutes, as the opponent would switch to a 3-top formation. However, our defensive midfielders dropped too deep, and it was unclear who was marking Endo and the players behind him. In that situation, Jean took the ball and connected with Miyazawa, and we conceded a goal when we were trying to attack. The problem was that we suddenly lost our energy and couldn't make adjustments during the game. In the meantime, we conceded a second goal, and ultimately, we were unable to adapt to the opponent's changes. We have a strong desire to win the title, so it's very disappointing. However, we can't keep losing like this. We need to switch our focus to the league and make adjustments in the next two days to repay our debt."

[Gamba Osaka, Manager Nishino's Press Conference Summary] "The game changed completely between the first and second half. We were behind in the first half, so in the second half, it became clear what we needed to do to win. We switched to a 3-top system and told the players to push forward, for example, to connect with Miyamoto in the midfield and go for the finish. We clearly communicated this and were able to make adjustments at halftime, which was the key. Also, because we had played tough and difficult games since the qualifying round and still managed to advance, the players had confidence that they could turn the game around. I want to give credit to the second half performance. We will continue to work on improving and aim to play games like this in the next three days."