Restart of the Nabisco Cup, fighting without giving up

　The Nabisco Cup resumes. On the 4th day of the qualifying league, we will face Avispa Fukuoka at home. Currently, we have lost all three matches in Group A of the qualifying league, making it a tough situation for advancing to the Final Round. However, it is not impossible. Above all, we want to focus on winning the upcoming match and fight until the end without giving up.

　Due to Doi and Shigeno being away with the Japan national team, today GK Shiota and DF Masushima are starting. Additionally, Toda, who made his first bench appearance this season in the match against Omiya in Sec. 12, has been included in the starting lineup. Coach Garo is hopeful, stating, "Toda is in quite good condition both physically and technically. He has been working hard defensively, but I want him to focus more on the attack." They will kick off with a 4-4-2 formation, placing Toda and Kawaguchi up front, and Lucas in the attacking midfield. Toda and Kawaguchi will utilize their natural stamina to disrupt the front line and seize control of the match.

　In contrast, Fukuoka, which was promoted to J1 this season, has lost all three matches in the Nabisco Cup. They have only won one match in the league, putting them in a difficult situation. However, their total goals conceded in the league is the same as Tokyo's at 16, so they are not falling apart significantly. In attack, they excel in a style where both side midfielders and full-backs push forward. Today, they are missing DF Alex due to circumstances, and DF Nakamura is on the bench, but they can create scoring opportunities regardless of who is on the field, so it is necessary to defend without becoming complacent.

　Shioda also said, "Since it's a young team, there are times when we lose focus in small moments. I want to keep encouraging from the back so we can fight through the full 90 minutes. That kind of battle will surely lead to the next step." The match started at 15:04 with Tokyo's kickoff under the cloudy sky at Ajinomoto.

Starting to grasp the flow centered around set plays, but...

　From the beginning, Suzuki on the left side aggressively initiated the attack. In the 4th minute, Suzuki's left cross went to Tokunaga on the right. Miyazawa, who made a run into the center, was in a shooting position. However, he was closed down by the opposing defender and couldn't take the shot. After that, Fukuoka had no choice but to stop Suzuki's breakthroughs and the plays utilizing the speed of Toda and Kawaguchi with fouls, resulting in a series of set-piece opportunities. In the 6th minute, Jaan attempted to head the left free kick but was ruled offside. In the 7th minute, Masushima had a header shot from a left corner kick.

　In the 10th minute, Tokunaga passed to Toda, who then connected with Lucas, leading to Kawaguchi being fouled just to the right of the penalty area, earning a free kick. Miyazawa took the shot, aiming for the top left corner of the goal, but it was blocked by the opposing goalkeeper. In the 12th minute, Lucas received a throw-in just outside the left area, turned to face the goal, and took a shot. The aim was good, but it went over the bar. After that, although we couldn't create decisive moments during the flow of the game, we seized opportunities from many set plays.

　In the 21st minute, Suzuki aimed directly at a free kick from a position 24-25m to the right in front of the goal. His powerful ground shot grazed the opposing defense's wall and hit the post... In the 26th minute, Toda was fouled outside the left area, and Suzuki took a strong free kick that was saved by the opposing goalkeeper, just barely missing the goal. Conversely, as time passed, Tokyo struggled to regain possession and faced quick counterattacks from Fukuoka. Tokyo could not pick up the second balls and was countered multiple times. However, Fukuoka also repeatedly missed scoring opportunities.

　In the 24th minute, Tokyo's defense contested a long ball from Fukuoka, but the ball fell behind to FW Grausio, who ran in but shot wide of the goal. In the 28th minute, a through pass was played into the left area, and FW Grausio broke free to take a shot, but Shiota bravely rushed out for a nice save! In the 32nd minute, a last pass was sent to the advancing defensive midfielder Nube, but the shot was mishit. In the 38th minute, Tokyo had a pass cut in front of their goal, allowing Fukuoka FW Yabuta to break away. MF Roberto received the last pass and took a shot, but it went over the bar. The first half ended scoreless, with both teams looking to make their mark in the second half.

Sunk by Fukuoka's counter, unable to advance past the qualifiers with four consecutive losses

　Regarding the first half, coach Garo reflected, "It was a situation where we could have conceded 2 or 3 goals. We particularly lacked concentration in marking." He substituted Kajiwara for Inoha, forming a double pivot with Konno. Lucas and Miyazawa were positioned in the second line to launch an attack, and they began to find their rhythm. In the 46th minute, Miyazawa advanced on the right and sent a floating pass to the front line, where Toda broke into the right area and attempted a volley jump, but he couldn't connect well. In the 56th minute, Lucas received a right throw-in, broke forward, and crossed. Kawaguchi rushed in to volley the ball that slipped between the opposing goalkeeper and defender. It was a decisive moment, but the ball went over the bar.

　In the 58th minute, Abe was brought on for Toda. Immediately in the 59th minute, Inoha advanced and passed to Kawaguchi in the area. Kawaguchi drew in the DF and sent a negative last pass to the center. Lucas ran in on this and created a good opportunity, but the shot was blocked by the opposing goalkeeper's save. While missing chances, they allowed Fukuoka to regain control with their quick start. In the 66th minute, Tokyo's DF lost a challenge against Fukuoka's long ball, and FW Koga broke free in front of the goal. A decisive shot was taken, but it was stopped by Shiota's fine play.

　In the 67th minute, Sasaki was brought in to replace Miyazawa, forming a three-top and initiating a power play, but they lost rhythm without being able to finish, and the situation of receiving Fukuoka's counterattack did not change. In the 71st minute, Fukuoka FW Kawashima ran into the left area and received a pass. Although Jean initially stole the ball, FW Kawashima persisted, regained possession, and took a shot. The Tokyo defense desperately cleared the ball to avoid a corner kick. After the 75th minute, they were continuously attacked from corner kicks, but Shiota and Masushima fought hard and managed to survive the crisis.

　However, in the 84th minute, Jaan cleared a feed to Fukuoka's front line with a header. This ball reached Fukuoka midfielder Kudo, who quickly sent a vertical pass in front of the goal. Substitute midfielder Miyazaki reacted to this ball. Tokyo's Suzuki chased after him but couldn't catch up, and Miyazaki calmly scored as he broke free in front of the goal, finally breaking the deadlock. In the 89th minute, Fukuoka defender Yamagata received a second warning and was sent off. It became a 11 to 10 situation, but there wasn't enough time to take advantage of the numerical superiority, and the match ended as is. Ultimately, they couldn't correct the issues during the match, suffered a disappointing defeat, and faced their fourth consecutive loss in the Nabisco Cup. The chance to advance to the knockout stage was extinguished.

　【Player Comments】<Shioda> "Everyone's motivation was high, and I tried to do what I needed to do properly. I wasn't overconfident, but it's disappointing that I couldn't produce results. I lost the second ball and was slow to react. The way I lost the ball was poor, and I couldn't show the qualities typical of Tokyo. But the problem was that I couldn't correct it there. The opponent switched quickly, and we couldn't finish. At that time, I should have communicated more vocally. (There were many fine plays, though?) It was meaningless because they scored at the end. Each player should think about today's issues." <Toda> "I stood on the pitch for the first time this season and felt the atmosphere of the match after a long time, but it didn't lead to a victory. There is the issue of needing to create more chances in front of the goal, but as a forward, I have to score even with few chances. Today, I was instructed to create opportunities up front without losing the ball. I tried to adjust my relationship with Lucas and Kawaguchi during the match by talking, but it ended without success. I want to correct this in practice and have matches in the next two games that will lead to future success."

　[Summary of Coach Garo's Press Conference] "As you can see, it was a bad game, and we couldn't play our style. In the first half, we lacked concentration, especially in marking, which allowed Fukuoka to create many scoring opportunities. In the second half, we changed the lineup, and I think we found our rhythm and created chances. However, from the middle of the second half, both teams had moments of stretching out, leading to opportunities for both sides. There were particularly times when our momentum dropped, and we conceded a goal then. In the second half, we went for the win with a four-forward setup, which led to us being countered frequently. I want to forget today's match and focus on the next one."

　[Summary of Fukuoka Manager Riki MATSUDA's Press Conference] "I am grateful to the players who delivered results when the team was required to win. I think they worked hard. There were moments that felt unpleasant, similar to the past pattern of not being able to score when we should, but the defenders endured and protected well, and finally midfielder Miyazaki scored decisively. I believe we played a match worthy of earning 3 points. We also properly addressed the defensive set-piece issues that had been a challenge. Goalkeeper Kamiyama made crucial saves at the end, and the entire team was able to defend successfully. Despite being able to play our style of football in most matches so far, we had continued to fail to win due to lack of finishing ability. In that sense, it was not a match to celebrate unreservedly. However, if we stopped playing this way or gave up because results were not coming, we would lose all possibilities. We have no choice but to persist patiently. I am truly thankful that we got results this time. We will maintain today's performance as a base and work on solving issues and challenges during the break. The cause of our finishing problems is both the opponent's fine saves and our own technical shortcomings. But when our spirit is high, like today, sometimes the ball goes in from any position. Today, forwards Koga and Grausio had many scoring chances, but sometimes the ball just doesn't go in. Especially mentally, they were not quite in that state. Midfielder Miyazaki was also a player who had been said to lack finishing ability, but ultimately, the mental aspect is the most important. I think it comes down to whether we have players with that kind of spirit."