Nabisco Cup, aiming to advance to the qualifying league

　The 3rd round of the Nabisco Cup qualifying league will be against Vegalta Sendai. The match will be held 3 days after the 2nd round, and with a tough schedule including a league match on the weekend, it will be an important game to earn 3 points towards qualifying for the league. Tokyo will be without Jean due to accumulated warnings in this tournament. They will face the match with Fujiyama as center back. Amaral will start as in the previous round. Abe, who has a right knee injury, will be rested and on the bench along with Ozawa, Miura, Wu, Baba, and Suzuki, a fresh lineup of players.

　Tokyo-based professional football league website Facing Sendai, who are in a difficult situation due to injuries and suspensions of key players such as FW Marcos, MF Silvinho, Iwamoto, and DF Fabiano. However, in the previous league match against Yokohama F.Marinos, they showed a high level of concentration and drew 1-1. FW Yamashita has also been selected for the Japan national team for the Japan-Korea match on the 16th of this month, so his morale should be high. We need to be very careful. The night game in spring with a lingering chill due to strong winds, kicked off at the home Japan National Stadium.

Toda's opening goal gives them momentum

　In the first minute, Toda breaks free behind the defense from a quick attack, but is slightly offside. In the 5th minute, they win two corner kicks and in the 7th minute, Ishikawa → Amaral → Miyazawa pass the ball and send a cross to the front of the goal. Unfortunately, Kelly's header doesn't connect, but Tokyo has taken control of the pace since the start.

　And it was 8 minutes into the game. From their own half, Miyazawa sent a well-judged pass to Toda, who was trying to break through the defense line. The opponent's goalkeeper made a clearance mistake outside the penalty area. The ball bounced in front of the goal, and Toda ran in and calmly slotted it in for a goal! Although it was a mistake by the opponent, their strong determination to score had already led to the opening goal.

　Tokyo attacked Sendai, who suffered damage early in the game. In the 14th minute, Kanazawa and Shigeta used the right side from the left side, and Miyazawa volleyed from outside the penalty area. In the 17th minute, Miyazawa spread the ball well from Amaral's post-play, and Kanazawa on the left, Amaral in the center, and Kaji on the right launched a strong attack from both sides with flowing passing. In the 19th minute, Miyazawa took a well-controlled shot from outside the left penalty area. Although it was saved by the goalkeeper's fine play, Amaral took an overhead shot from the resulting corner kick.

Amaral scores his first goal of the season!

　In the 32nd minute, Miyazawa made a smart decision to pass to the space on the right side, and Ishikawa caught up and crossed in front of the goal. Kelly's shot from just outside the goal area was blocked by a defender, but Amaral picked up the loose ball and shot it with his left foot, shaking the net for a goal! It was a splendid additional point that answered the expectations of Amaral's surroundings, and Tokyo gained momentum.

　In the 35th minute, Toda broke through the left side from a combination with Ishikawa and delivered a sharp cross. In the 38th minute, Ishikawa's free kick from the left side of the penalty area hit the post. In the 39th minute, Ishikawa took a shot from a one-two with Toda, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper.

　In the first half, they kept Sendai from having the ball and didn't let their attackers do any work. But it was in the 41st minute. Fujiyama, who had been perfectly holding them back with sharp reads and focus, was judged to have held an opponent in the penalty area and a PK was given. This was scored by Sendai's FW Yamashita, allowing them to catch up. Towards the end of the first half, they allowed Sendai to counterattack, but the Tokyo defense bounced back without losing their spirits and ended the first half with a score of 2-1.

Baba's two consecutive goals seal the deal

　In the second half, the first shot was by Sendai. In the 48th minute, Yamashita aimed for the goal after a cross from the right side, but missed the frame. After this, the game became a back and forth battle, but in the 55th minute, Kelly was fouled in the penalty area, resulting in a PK for Tokyo this time. Amaral took this PK and scored it perfectly, putting Sendai at a disadvantage.

　In the 57th minute, Kelly was replaced by Amaral and put in as the top player, in the 75th minute, Suzuki was replaced by Toda, and in the 81st minute, Ishikawa was replaced by Wu, and one after another, young players were put in. The fresh lineup in the front line played freely for a short time. In the 77th minute, Suzuki received a through pass from Ishikawa and took a shot. In the 83rd minute, Wu received a pass from Baba on the right side and brought it to the center, drawing out a last pass for Miyazawa's shot. In the 85th minute, Baba → Suzuki → Kelly connected, and Kelly, who exchanged a one-two with Wu, took a shot. They created chances and actively demonstrated their strengths.

　And in stoppage time, when it seemed like Sendai's counterattack was firmly under control, Kanazawa ran up the left side and was fouled just outside the penalty area, earning a free kick. Miyazawa took the kick and Baba, with his back to the goal, headed it in at the near post! This was Baba's second consecutive heading goal, following his goal against Verdy on the 5th, and it secured a valuable additional point as Kanazawa triumphed over Sendai 4-1. This victory will give them momentum for their league match in just two days.

【Player Comments】《Amaral》"I couldn't score a goal in the previous match, so I really wanted to score today and it happened. My condition is not yet 100% perfect, but it will continue to improve."《Baba》"I couldn't be happy even after scoring a goal in the previous match, but today I could genuinely be happy. I am being used as a top player because I am in good shape, but I have no discomfort even as a lone striker. I believe it is important to keep scoring goals."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "The previous Verdy match was not bad in terms of content. I think there are games where we cannot win even if the content is good, but in order to become a strong team, I talked to the players about how to switch their mindset and play faster, aiming for the center or sides. The first goal was also due to the opponent's mistake, but Toda's run into space, Ishikawa creating space on the side, and Kaji and Kanazawa going forward were all good strategies. We scored four goals, but there were more decisive moments. The desire to score goals is coming out, so we will continue to progress step by step from here. Sendai had many injured players, and it was lucky for us, but it was good that we were able to win firmly. There is a high possibility of advancing to the qualifying round, so while playing these games, we want to improve our scoring ability and create an even stronger team."

[Sendai/Shimizu Coach Press Conference Summary] "We conceded a goal from a mistake, and the line dropped due to chaos. In the first half, we planned to have 3 defensive midfielders and stop the attack from the half side, and bring it to the second half with a 0-0 score, but it collapsed early on. Towards the end of the first half, we regained our rhythm and went into halftime with a 1-2 score, so I told the players to stay calm and play the game, but we conceded a penalty after about 10 minutes, and the game fell apart from there. We had many injured players, and we ended up playing a game where we tried out young players and put Nakata at right back."