Nabisco Cup Preliminary League Kicks Off

　The Nabisco Cup kicks off today. Tokyo will compete against Kashima, Kashiwa, and Kobe in Group D of the qualifiers, with home and away matches, and the top two teams will advance to the Final Round starting in September. It will be a long battle with league matches in between, but first, we want to focus on the opening match and gain momentum for the upcoming league matches. Additionally, U-23 Japan national team players Shigeno, Konno, and Ishikawa, who secured a spot for the Athens Olympics, along with JFA/J.League special designated player Tokunaga, will return to the team. Japan national team players Doi and Kaji will be absent due to injuries, as well as Kelly and Jean, but this can be considered the official start of the team's season.

　In Tokyo, rookie goalkeeper Shiota makes his first start, with the defense consisting of Tokunaga, Fujiyama, Shigeno, and Kanazawa from the right. The double pivot features Konno and Miyazawa, with Ishikawa on the right MF and Toda on the left MF. Lucas and Abe form the two-top. The substitutes include Endo, Wu, Miura, Kobayashi, and Baba, making for a drastically changed lineup from the league matches. Kashima is also missing Japan national team goalkeeper Sogahata and MF Motoyama, but they remain unbeaten in the league so far with one win and one draw. New left-back Araiba is in good form, and the battles on the right side with Tokyo are one of the highlights. The match started at 3 PM at Ajinomoto Stadium, wrapped in the spring warmth, with Kashima's kickoff.

Lacking focus, trailing by 2 points

　However, the whistle blew, and it was not even 1 minute and 20 seconds into the match. A long ball from Kashima was cleared on the left side. Just as they were about to counterattack, a loose ball was picked up, and midfielder Nozawa delivered a superb cross to forward Hirase, who made a run behind Tokyo's right side. Tokyo's defense had pushed up, and Tokunaga chased after him, but Hirase managed to enter the penalty area with a single touch despite being closely marked. The shot he took was beautifully placed into the bottom right corner of the goal. As Tokunaga later reflected, "It was my mistake. I misjudged the situation, and he slipped right past me," it was a self-inflicted wound at a time when they couldn't find their rhythm, disrupting their momentum right from the start.

　However, there was still plenty of time left. Tokyo, attempting to counterattack quickly, saw Lucas head the rebound from Toda's shot in the 6th minute. In the 9th minute, Abe broke through the left side from Moniwa's long feed, and Ishikawa dove in for a grounded cross. In the 15th minute, Lucas contested a soft pass from Ishikawa in front of the goal, and Toda slid in where the ball dropped, but both were entangled with the defenders and unfortunately could not take a shot. In the 16th minute, Miyazawa aimed directly for the goal from a free kick.

　Tokyo actively tries to attack, but they often lose the second ball to Kashima, leading to quick counterattacks. Then, in the 17th minute, as Tokyo attempted to attack again from an interception, they lost the ball to Kashima's midfielder Ogasawara on the right side, who passed it to Hirase on the outside. Hirase sent a lobbed pass behind Tokyo's defense with a direct touch, and forward Fukai, who had surged up from midfield, struck with his left foot in a half-volley, scoring a goal. Shioda had no chance against the opportunity created by two passes, and Tokyo quickly found themselves two goals behind.

Regained composure and pressed Kashima, but no goal

　Tokyo gradually regained its composure and began to pick up the second ball to establish a rhythm, but they were unable to break through the goal of Kashima, who stopped pushing hard with a two-goal lead. In the 25th minute, Lucas fiercely pressured the passing play in Kashima's defensive line. He snatched a loose ball and found himself one-on-one with the GK, but his shot narrowly missed to the right of the goal. In the 29th minute, Shioda's long feed was cleared by the opposing GK Ozawa, and Lucas picked it up to take a looping shot, but this also went wide. In the 34th minute, there were two consecutive corner kicks. In the 36th minute, from Miyazawa's switch of play, Kanazawa delivered a cross. Abe connected with a header, but it just went slightly to the left.

　In the 39th minute, Toda broke through behind the defenders and created a great chance, but the shot was saved by the opposing goalkeeper. Kanazawa picked up the rebound and took a shot. It was blocked by the defenders, but they connected again, and finally, Kanazawa was free in front of the goal to shoot from Ishikawa's cross. They dominated the ball and completely won the battle on the sides, launching a fierce attack, but Lucas's header in the 40th minute went over the goal. Just before the end, Ishikawa cut deep into the side, and Abe almost scored with a heel flick in front of the goal... However, despite taking 14 shots, 9 of them missed the target, and they went into the second half trailing by 2 goals.

Lucas's first goal! A passionate performance that threatened the Kashima goal until the end.

　In the second half, Tokyo continued to dominate possession and attack, while Kashima maintained their strategy of countering with long balls behind the defensive line. In the 49th minute, Ishikawa connected with Lucas and Abe, taking a shot from directly in front of the goal, but it was saved. However, chances became fewer in front of Kashima, who were solidifying their defense. In the 60th minute, Baba was brought on to replace Toda. Baba became a key player in creating a more aggressive rhythm with his ball retention and bold approach towards the goal. In the 67th minute, he attacked from the right side with a dribble and took a shot. In the 68th minute, Baba broke free in front of the goal from Lucas's through pass, but his trap was slightly off, preventing him from taking a direct shot.

　In the 71st minute, Kure was substituted for Miyazawa, and in the 75th minute, Kobayashi was brought on for Abe. In the 74th minute, Kashima matched a long ball from the right side, and Hirase broke free in the left area to take a shot, but Shiota made a nice save. The defense also came together, and Tokyo launched a counterattack with all their might. Both Kure and Kobayashi boldly moved towards the goal. Then in the 85th minute, Tokunaga dribbled from the right side towards the center, and the last pass he sent deflected off a Kashima defender and spilled in front of the goal. Lucas, who reacted quickly to this, calmly kicked it in with his right foot, scoring a goal!! Although he had not scored until now, the stadium heated up with Lucas's joyful first goal after his passionate play.

　Tokyo, including 3 minutes of stoppage time, gave their all to approach the Kashima goal in the remaining time. Each play was filled with effort and determination. However, they could not break through to score, and the whistle for time-up blew. Although they were defeated, it can be said that this game allowed them to regroup during the 90 minutes, and each player gained valuable lessons and significant achievements.

【Player Comments】《Konno》"I wanted to play in my own way and gain trust, but it didn't go well. The press didn't work effectively, and it felt like if I went in, I would get kicked. When we conceded the first goal, I wanted to quickly recover without looking down, but it became a tough situation. There are many issues, such as combinations, rather than just feeling good about it. I want to clear them one by one." 《Baba》"I tried to hold the ball and create space, aiming to build a combination with Lucas. Lucas and the others understood that well, and they gathered the ball, making it easier for me. I regret the trap mistake during the decisive chance. However, I think my vision has expanded compared to last season. I want to make use of this in the future."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Until the 20th minute of the first half, we were basically asleep, or rather, the way we started the match was poor. Kashima anticipated that Tokyo would come out aggressively from the start and easily launched long balls. Hirase scored from that, which unsettled us. Rather than being broken down, it was more about momentum; we lost the ball from a contested situation, conceded a goal from the rebound, and things got chaotic. The Olympic squad returned, but Jean injured his leg, and with Japan national team players absent, half of the members were changed. Whether things would go well from the start was something we had to try and see. I actually thought it might not be so easy to find our rhythm, and indeed, there were subtle misalignments in passing and tempo. However, after conceding two goals, we woke up. Lucas was full of fighting spirit, trying hard to score a goal, and Baba returned from surgery. Although he might not be in top form yet, he showed his characteristic play. Kobayashi also played with passion in his first official match in two years, which was a big gain. If we had scored one goal a little earlier, I think we could have caught up. There are still five matches left in the group stage, so we can make up for it. Today, the lineup was almost like a first-time combination, but we want to build solid combinations and improve our team tactics. We will switch our mindset and head into the league matches."

[Summary of Kashima Coach Seleso's Press Conference] "We really wanted to secure the opening match, and it was a big away win against an attacking team like FC Tokyo. Tokyo was without Kelly and Jean, but I think they have become a very good team. We started well, but after scoring two goals, we became more defensive. Mistakes began to stand out in the defense, which made us nervous, and we started playing the ball directly from the goalkeeper. We tried to win the second ball, but kicked the ball before pushing up, and the opponent picked it up instead. It would have been better if we had stayed calm there. Tokyo's player Ishikawa has speed and excellent dribbling skills, and he effectively attacked Kashima's left side. Because of that, Araiba was too conscious of not leaving too much space between the center and the fullback and ended up retreating. Also, the ball did not settle well in the front line in the first half, so I gave instructions at halftime, and Kashima's mentality was better at the start of the second half. Certainly, Tokyo had higher ball possession, but I think the difference in converting chances led to the result. (Until now, we had never won at Ajinomoto Stadium,) but I believe the word 'impossible' does not exist, and with effort and some luck, we were able to overcome the barrier. The unpredictability is what makes soccer interesting."