Nabisco Cup Opening, A New Challenge for the Title

　After completing the second round of the league, this season's Nabisco Cup has begun. Tokyo belongs to Group C of the qualifying league and will compete in home-and-away matches against Chiba, Kashiwa, and Oita. The top team from the group and the two highest-ranked teams from the second place (as well as Yokohama FM and Jubilo Iwata participating in the AFC Champions League) will advance to the knockout stage, so we definitely want to aim for first place in the group. Therefore, the first match is a very important battle.

　As the defending champions, they may be marked closely, but Coach Hara emphasized, "Of course, I have a strong desire to stand on that National stage once again and to win, but being a champion is something that has already passed. Every team will come with a new team and new battles," highlighting that this is also a new challenge for Tokyo. Due to the Japan national team's World Cup qualifiers, Doi and Kaji will be absent, but the lineup for the opening match will include Shiota as goalkeeper and Fujiyama as right side back.

　Kashiwa has two draws in two league matches this season, which reflects their current situation of not being able to secure a win. However, the team's proactive and flexible approach to aiming for goals, even when changing systems during matches, is a hallmark of this season. With the absence of Japan national team FW Tamada, new signing FW Choi Seung-guk (Korea national team), who has not played in the league matches, will start. The lineup has been altered from the league matches, with the average age of the starting members being 23.91 years for Kashiwa compared to 25.27 years for Tokyo. They aim for their first victory of the season with a fresh lineup.

　Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Field is a stadium with a record of 3 wins and 1 draw, unbeaten in the past. Last season, both teams competed in the Nabisco Cup group stage, and their combined record in league matches is also unbeaten with 2 wins and 2 draws. However, with each team's strength being closely matched, Coach Hara stated, "The difference between winning the championship and being eliminated in the group stage is very slight." Despite being an away game, they start the new battle with strong determination. The match kicked off at 15:01 under a clear sky, although the wind was strong.

Ishikawa scored the opening goal and started to find their rhythm, but...

　Kashiwa plays in a 4-4-2 formation, with one holding midfielder, MF Myojin, and both sides occupied by MFs Tanizawa and Ohno, strengthening the midfield. From the early stages, they steal the ball and launch quick attacks through forward FW Choi. Tokyo, trying to evade Kashiwa's pressure, sends long balls to the sides to develop their play, but it doesn't connect well. Until around the 10th minute, they were unable to create any decisive chances. In the 9th minute, Kashiwa's center-back Nagata was injured, and DF Tsuchiya was substituted in. In the 10th minute, Miyazawa directly aimed for a free kick from outside the right area, but the ground shot was caught by the opposing goalkeeper.

　Kashiwa gradually found their rhythm and began to dominate the ball in the 17th minute. Tokyo stole the ball in their own half and launched a quick counterattack. Starting with Lucas, they shifted the ball to the left where Konno surged up the left side and delivered a cross to the far side from just outside the area. This went over Lucas, who had moved up to support, and found Ishikawa in the right area. Ishikawa took a touch and unleashed a right-footed volley that found the back of the net! They scored the opening goal from a counterattack that turned the tide in their favor.

　It seemed like they were about to regain their rhythm, but just after that, in the 18th minute, they gave a free kick to Kashiwa on the left side of Tokyo's defense. Choi sent a long pinpoint free kick in front of the goal, and DF Nakazawa made a perfect header. This resulted in an immediate equalizer. In the 24th minute, Kanazawa was bypassed by Kashiwa MF Tanizawa on the left side, allowing him to penetrate into the center. Tanizawa delivered a floating last pass in front of the goal, and MF Ohno, who ran in from the right, found himself free and took a shot. The ball went through Shioda's legs and into the goal. They lost their second goal by being caught off guard by a momentary lapse in Tokyo's defense.

　However, Tokyo did not get discouraged and launched a counterattack. Despite Lucas and Toda making runs forward several times, their coordination was not effective. In the 35th minute, they initiated a counterattack from an opponent's corner kick, starting with Kurizawa, connecting through Konno to Ishikawa, who shot from just outside the right area. The ball barely crossed the goal, and Lucas, who was closing in at the far post, just missed it. In the 44th minute, Toda picked up a clearance from a back pass by the Kashiwa goalkeeper and shot at the open goal, but it went over the left upper corner. In stoppage time, Konno took a shot from a left corner kick, but a foul was called in front of the goal. Struggling, Tokyo had 8 shots in the first half compared to Kashiwa's 5, but they could not find the decisive blow and went into halftime trailing by one goal.

The芽 of counterattack was crushed, and the substitution strategy did not bear fruit.

　The instructions from Coach Hara at halftime were, "Each individual contest is lacking. Let's apply pressure on the ball strictly from the start. Once we win the ball, let's attack from the sides." Following these instructions, in the 46th minute, Ishikawa created a chance on the right side and delivered a cross in front of the goal. In the 48th minute, Fujiyama advanced and tried to break through the right side in combination with Ishikawa. However, Fujiyama's shot after moving inside could not find the target.

　However, in the 49th minute, Kashiwa scored their third goal, catching Tokyo off guard. The Tokyo defense cleared the cross, but the loose ball was picked up by Ohno and passed to midfielder Kleber in the midfield. Miyazawa closed in, but Kleber evaded him with a feint and unleashed a powerful long-range shot. This hit the crossbar and went in. Tokyo found themselves in a difficult situation.

　Kashiwa is gaining momentum, repeatedly launching fast attacks starting from Choi, who flows to the side after regaining possession. In the 54th minute, Tokyo substituted Noriyuki SUZUKI for Toda, and in the 59th minute, Danilo GOMES was brought in for Miyazawa. They are trying to score, but instead, scenes of Kashiwa attacking increase. In the 65th minute, Danilo received a long ball from Jean while running forward and stretched out to shoot, but it went over the goal. In the 75th minute, Fujita came in for Fujiyama. He created a play on the right side with Ishikawa and delivered a cross, but it did not lead to a shot.

　After that, both teams rapidly exchanged possession on the field, and in the 83rd minute, Norio SUZUKI shot the ball dropped by Lucas, but it went over the bar. In the 88th minute, a crucial chance arose when Danilo headed a cross from Lucas after a pass from Fujita, but unfortunately, it was ruled offside. In stoppage time, a shot from Kanazawa, who picked up a loose ball in a scramble in front of the goal after two corner kick opportunities, also missed the target. The match ended with a score of 1 to 3, marking a surprising start to the Nabisco Cup according to expectations. However, we sincerely accept today's result and aim to regroup before the next match.

　【Player Comments】《Ishikawa》"I felt that the opponent had studied us. Kashiwa was different from the expected lineup, and we couldn't adjust to that on the field for 90 minutes. Simply getting behind the defense is Tokyo's, and my strength, but we lost the second ball and couldn't get that far. (Regarding the scoring scene) I was in a position to score, so I want to keep attacking and scoring goals from now on." 《Konno》"Losing the first match is indeed painful. Kashiwa was energetic and had a strong desire to win. In the midfield, player Myojin was effective, picking up loose balls, and we couldn't find our rhythm. Player Choi also had speed and ball retention, providing a good accent. However, more than anything, conceding a goal immediately after scoring told the story of today's match."

　[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "Kashiwa was tougher in the battles, and we ended up losing. Especially in the midfield, Kashiwa had four players, and with Ishikawa and Toda being somewhat stretched, the loose balls were mostly picked up by MF Myojin and quickly played forward. Then, FW Choi kept the ball, and the situation continued to develop positively for them. We didn't start well, but just when I thought we could regain our rhythm with Ishikawa's goal, we were equalized, and then we conceded again in a bad way. At halftime, we talked about making adjustments and properly contesting the battles, but when we finally got into a good rhythm, we couldn't score, and instead, we were caught by MF Kleber. It was a wonderful goal, but we were slow to close down. We tried to get one more goal until the end, but we couldn't reach it. There are no easy opponents to beat, no matter who we face. Last season, we also started the Nabisco Cup with a loss at home in the first match, so I want to switch our mindset and focus on the next match against Oita. Although we lost, Danilo was able to play for a decent amount of time, and Fujita was able to come on in a crucial moment. There is also a satellite match tomorrow, so I want to prepare well for the next match while using players in good condition."

　[Summary of Coach Hayano's Press Conference] "I am very happy because it is a long-awaited victory. I want to continue experiencing this victory with our supporters multiple times. Since it is the Nabisco Cup, I had the players enter the game with the image of a season opener. The content of our previous games wasn't that bad, so against Tokyo, which is said to have strong attacking power, we also entered with the attitude to show our attacking strength. From the start, we performed very well; although we conceded a goal, we quickly equalized and fought without losing confidence. The entire team performed very well. However, there are six matches in the qualifying league, and we have only completed one match so far. I want to continue shooting more and more in this direction and create opportunities to score. Choi also performed very well. Krebler similarly, if he fits in, we will see even better combinations. If I were to be greedy, it would have been nice to score 4 or 5 goals, but I want to stay humble and prepare for the next match."