Playing for a spot in the Nabisco Cup Semifinal Round

　The second leg of the Nabisco Cup quarterfinals will be played at home against Urawa Reds. As the first leg ended in a 2-2 draw, today's match will determine the winner. This is a crucial game that cannot be lost as both teams are vying for a spot in the semifinals. In the first leg on the 13th, Tokyo was missing players such as Ishikawa, Suzuki, and Tokunaga due to the U-22 national team's expedition. However, today, Ishikawa and Tokunaga will be starting. Similarly, Urawa's midfielder Suzuki will also be starting, making it a match between the best lineups of both teams.

　The rain that was falling in the morning stopped in the afternoon, and although the temperature was not high at 24.3℃, the match in Tokyo began with a high humidity of 75 percent.

In the early stages, Urawa dominated, but Tokyo created many chances.

　2 minutes into the game, Tokyo launched a counterattack from the opponent's corner kick, but the pass from Amaral to Toda for a quick attack did not reach Ishikawa and went out of bounds. In the 6th minute, Urawa's FW Emerson sent a pass to the space on the right side with a heel, and MF Yamada crossed. FW Tanaka headed the ball, but it was offside. Urawa continued to threaten the goal with corner kicks and free kicks, but Tokyo did not allow any clear chances. In the 14th minute, Suzuki from Urawa picked up a clearance from a left cross and took a shot from outside the box. This was the first shot for both teams combined.

　Tokyo took 21 minutes, Amaral headed the first shot after an early cross from Kanazawa. Immediately after that, Tokunaga overlapped and sent a sharp ground cross, but Ishikawa, who received it in the middle, couldn't finish it. In the 26th minute, Ishikawa attacked from the right and passed to Amaral, who shot in front of the goal. In the 27th minute, they launched a quick attack and connected with Amaral and Toda, and Miyazawa took a middle shot from the loose ball of the DF. However, both shots missed the goal.

　In the first half, both teams played defensively and avoided taking risks in their attacks, as time passed. In the 35th minute, a long pass from Miyazawa went to the right side, where Ishikawa cut back and made a final pass to Miura who ran in and took a shot, but was blocked by the DF. Shortly after, Tokunaga dribbled past the sliding DF and took a powerful shot from inside the penalty area. In the 41st minute, Urawa attempted a direct goal from a free kick on the left side with Emerson. In the 43rd minute, Emerson headed in a free kick from Yamada. Urawa had a total of 3 shots in the first half, including these two. Tokyo did well to contain Emerson and Tanaka as their top two, and the first half ended.

Emerson took advantage of a momentary gap.

　Both teams are vying for a spot in the semifinal round in the remaining 45 minutes. In the second half, Tokyo took control. In the 47th minute, Kelly dribbled and took a shot. In the 50th minute, Kanazawa overlapped on Kelly's side change pass and crossed. Toda and Amaral were waiting in front of the goal, but the clearance from the Urawa DF was quick and they couldn't take a shot. In the 52nd minute, DF cut off Miyazawa's through pass and won a corner kick. Amaral headed the ball, but it went outside the frame. In the 54th minute, Toda boldly aimed for the goal from the right area, but the opponent's GK caught it. In the 56th minute, Amaral on the right side passed Kelly and attempted a one-two, but took a shot from a difficult angle.

　Immediately after, Kelly dribbles and shoots, but the GK catches it. Urawa then launches a quick attack, with FW Tanaka taking a shot that misses the goal. In the 58th minute, Toda catches up to a pass from Miyazawa on the left side and crosses it to Ishikawa, who runs in from the right side with his back to the goal and attempts a forceful shot. The counterattacks lead to a thrilling development, but Tokyo is overwhelmingly creating chances.

　Urawa moved here. In the 60th minute, MF Hasegawa was replaced by MF Yamase. It happened right after that. Urawa DF cleared Tokyo's goal kick, and Emerson received it in the midfield and swung it to the left, while moving towards the goal. MF Uchidate received the lob pass and Emerson received it again, dribbling smoothly towards the goal. He evaded the chasing Tokyo DF and made his way towards the goal to take a shot. The ball grazed Doi's hand and went into the left side of the goal, and in just a few seconds of play, Tokyo conceded the first goal.

Unable to score despite fierce attacks, we were dealt the final blow from a counterattack.

　Tokyo, who is trying to score a goal, launches a fierce attack from here. However, in the 62nd minute, a pass to Toda, who broke through from Kanazawa's DF, was offside. In the 64th minute, Miura entered the left area from a short corner, but the opponent's DF cut it off. In the 65th minute, a pass from Amaral on the sideline reached Kelly, who then entered the right area and won a corner kick. However, they were unable to break through the thick wall of Urawa's defense, as all of their players were pulled back to defend.

　Kelly comes in for Ishikawa in the 69th minute. In the 72nd minute, a free kick is connected to the front line, and Kelly takes a shot from the center of the goal, but it bounces off a defender and Abbe also takes a shot, narrowly missing the goal. In the 76th minute, Suzuki is substituted for Miura. Miyazawa moves to a one-man midfield, and Jean also moves up to the front line for a power play. Tokyo continues to dominate the game, while Urawa counters. The game is intense. Tokyo picks up loose balls and connects them to attacks. In the 86th minute, Kelly takes a powerful mid-range shot from outside the penalty area, but unfortunately hits the crossbar! In the 87th minute, Miyazawa also boldly aims for the goal, but misses the target. In the 88th minute, Kanazawa takes a shot from the middle range in the midfield, but the opponent's GK saves it and it goes out for a corner kick. In the final 3 minutes of stoppage time, Kanazawa crosses in front of the goal, and Abbe takes a shot from just outside the right goal area. However, they just can't seem to break through and score.

　And it was in stoppage time. Tokyo cleared the attack and Yamada on the right side passed forward. Emerson and Shigetani competed for the ball around the half-line, but Emerson snatched the loose ball from Shigetani and ran alone towards the goal. With speed, he allowed a shot and scored. Tokyo conceded a devastating second goal. In the end, they were unable to score despite taking 17 shots, and were caught on the counterattack after conceding the first goal. This was their first loss at home this season and they were unable to advance to the semifinal round of the Nabisco Cup, suffering their first defeat against Urawa.

【Player Comments】《Moriya》"Personally, I was in good condition, but the fear of one mistake leading to a goal was once again emphasized."

It became known in this form. (Except for the scene of losing points) I was able to concentrate and fight, but I was broken by man marking while taking risks to score. "Toku Nagai" "I was conscious of attacking vertically. I think I was able to attack to some extent because Ishikawa opened up space for me... As for Emerson's goal, this is what decisive work is like. Every game, the experience at a high level is a learning experience."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Last week, we had a tough loss against Nagoya in the league, so we talked about switching our mindset and did some training for that. I think we were able to achieve our team's goals today, except for the fact that Emerson scored against us. However, when they come at us with such speed, there are moments where we are caught off guard and they are able to score. It's unfortunate, but the opponent was strong. Overall, it wasn't a bad performance, but the result is disappointing. We had the desire to win in any way and fight in the semifinal, but I think the fact that we were leading in the first game and then got tied in stoppage time affected us today. We need to switch our mindset to the league with a sense of frustration. Urawa had 7 shots, but they were able to score 2 of them. Of course, we need to improve on our shooting accuracy as well."

[Urawa Ofto Coach Press Conference Summary] "It was a typical cup match. Many problems occurred in front of the goal, and I think it was an exciting game for the audience, but it was a game on the edge of life and death. We were able to take a one-point lead, and then Tokyo came to score, so there were some chances to exploit the space. In the end, we closed it out with a 2-0 score, but in the last 10 minutes, we dropped our defensive line from our own penalty area and created space in front of the goal. We ended up getting a shot like Kelly's bar. However, looking back at the whole game, I think our decision-making has improved. We will be well prepared for the semifinal."