We want to finish the first half of the season in a good shape, aiming to restart the league.

　The final match of the Nabisco Cup qualifying round, Day 6, will be an away game against Avispa Fukuoka. In the previous match against Urawa, we displayed a passionate game on both offense and defense, took control throughout the game, and outperformed our opponents in terms of content. However, we were unable to score and ended in a scoreless draw. However, Kanazawa and Ozawa, who made their first start of the season, were able to fully demonstrate their strengths and provide a bright outlook for the future. In the previous match (Day 4), we were defeated by Fukuoka's counterattacks, so this will be a match where we want to seek revenge.

　Tokyo, Lucas is suspended due to accumulated warnings. In his place, Kajiyama returns to the starting lineup and is paired with Ozawa in the second row. Coach Garo expects Kajiyama and Lucas to have different styles but the same role. He hopes they will be aggressive in attack and enter the area. Kajiyama himself said, "The most important thing is how we start the game. From the beginning, I want to find simple passes behind the defense and connect passes easily, and play with a clear rhythm."

　Fukuoka, on the other hand, only managed to secure 1 point in their match against Yokohama FM on the 5th day, despite taking the lead. However, with the support of their home crowd, they are expected to come out with more momentum and aggressively aim for 3 points today. There will be no major tactical changes, but for Tokyo, stopping Fukuoka's sharp counterattacks will be the key to victory. In that sense, the play of Imano and Inonami will be one of the highlights. They will need to prevent any dangerous situations with their strong defense and act as the starting point for attacks, utilizing the speed of Toda and Kawaguchi in the front line.

　In addition to winning the final game before the break, we want to continue our soccer style of "increasing ball possession and attacking from the sides" that we have been playing so far, and dominate the game both in terms of performance and content. This will be a crucial match to lead us into the league games starting in July! The game started at 3:00pm in Tokyo, at the hot and sunny Hakata no Mori Stadium, with the sun shining down on the pitch.

Although we create opportunities, we are unable to take shots.

　After the start of the match, both teams were sluggish due to the heat and their passes were not connecting. In the 2nd minute, Fukuoka's FW Kawashima dropped the ball in the front line, and FW Yabuta connected it and took a shot from inside the area. Shioda saved it and it resulted in a corner kick. On the other hand, Tokyo launched a quick attack from this corner kick. Kajiyama connected it and Kanazawa, who had moved up from the left, took a shot. Toda was also in the box, but the ball went wide to the left. After 10 minutes, Tokyo started to pass the ball around and created chances. In the 11th minute, a left free kick and in the 12th minute, a right corner kick resulted in a set play where Ozawa kicked the ball into the box, but the opposing DF cleared it.

　In the 14th minute, Kanazawa → Kawaguchi broke through the left side and Inano attacked to the end line, crossing it. Kawaguchi and Toda jumped in, but the opponent's DF cleared it and it became a left CK. Kicker Ozawa's ball was punched by the GK, but Kawaguchi, who had moved to the far side, shot it outside the side net. After that, they continued to develop from the center to the side, easily creating attacking opportunities with direct and 1-2 touch passes. In the 19th minute, Tokyo connected with precise passes on the right side, and in the end, Kawaguchi crossed it. It was sent to the far side, but no one was there to finish it. In the 23rd minute, Tokunaga → Kajiyama connected and took the right CK from the pass between Inano and Kawaguchi, who had moved up on the right. However, they were unable to finish it off.

　At 28 minutes, Tokunaga → Nakao Ozawa directly hits the ball to the center, and it goes to Konno on the right side of the area. He sends a floating pass, but it is blocked by the opposing defender and does not reach Kawaguchi. Fukuoka also takes advantage of Tokyo's mistakes and launches several counterattacks, but they are unable to finish. At 34 minutes, Tokyo has a chance to score. Kanazawa on the left → Ozawa → Konno connects, and a strong cross from the right side of the area is sent to the goal. Toda heads it back from the far side, and Kawaguchi follows up with a header, but the opposing goalkeeper makes a save just before it goes in.

　At the 40th minute, Fukuoka struggles under the pressure of Kanazawa, but Inaba, Konno, and Inonami persistently regain possession of the ball and connect it to their attack. In the end, Toda picks up the loose pass from Kawaguchi and wins a left corner kick. Towards the end, Inaba and Inonami begin to balance well in the bottom of the midfield, dominating the opponent in both offense and defense. Kajiyama easily handles the ball, creating a rhythm for the attack and creating numerous chances from the side. In the end, the first half ends scoreless and the teams head into the second half.

1 point is far away...Fukuoka couldn't break the goal until the end.

　1 minute into the second half, Kawaguchi, who received a left cross in the right area, bravely shoots despite being challenged by the opposing DF. The opposing GK blocks it. In the following 2 minutes, Toda runs up the left side, evades the opposing DF and crosses. Kajiyama picks up the loose ball and takes a middle shot, but it goes to the offside position of Kawaguchi in the front line. In the 49th minute, Kawaguchi, who moved to the right, wins a right corner kick. Kajiyama's kick is cleared by the opposing DF. In the 51st minute, from a right throw-in, Kajiyama → Kanazawa crosses to the left and earns a corner kick. The resulting corner kick is connected twice and crosses are sent into the goal area, but are blocked by Fukuoka's tall DF.　

　In the 54th minute, Fukuoka cut off Inonami's pass and countered, but FW Miyazaki's header was caught by Shioda. It was a moment of tension. In the 59th minute, Akamine was substituted for Ozawa. Toda on the right, Kawaguchi on the left, and a three-top formation. In the 67th minute, they launched a wave attack. Inonami crossed from the right side, but Jean was cleared by the opposing DF. Kawaguchi picked up the loose ball on the left side, dribbled past the DF, and crossed to the far post, but once again it was cleared by the opposing DF.

　Tokyo continues to attack. In the 72nd minute, Kajiyama → Tokunaga cuts inside and crosses. The ball hits the opponent's hand in the area, but no foul is given. In the 73rd minute, Toda and Kawaguchi compete for Tokunaga's cross in front of the goal, but Kanazawa runs in and shoots over the goal. In the 76th minute, Imakawa heads Kajiyama's left corner kick, but the ball misses the target.

　Tokyo goes on the offensive. In the 77th minute, Abe replaces Kawaguchi and Suzuki replaces Toda. Akamine moves to CF, Abe on the right, and Suzuki on the left, forming a 3-top to go for a goal. In the 81st minute, Tokunaga sends a cross from the right corner of the area, and Akamine runs in from the left to volley, but it goes outside the frame. In the 83rd minute, Abe on the right cuts inside with a dribble, and from Akamine's wedge, Kajiyama makes the final pass. Suzuki, who is free, takes a shot, but the GK saves it and the rebound heads towards the goal, but the opposing DF covers it and clears it just in time.

　In the 84th minute, Kajiyama received Abe's vertical pass on the right, dribbled past the opposing DF, and cut inside for a shot! The opposing DF blocked it, and Akamine headed the ball into the goal, but it hit the bar... They just couldn't break through. With less than 5 minutes remaining, both teams continued to exchange attacks and defenses, but the game ended in a scoreless draw. Tokyo tried to gain momentum with player substitutions and went all out for "1 goal", but they couldn't convert any of their chances. They head into the break with room for improvement in their finishing, as they were unable to score and ended the game in a draw.

　【Player Comments】《Shigenobu》"It was extremely hot and both physically and mentally exhausting. But in the past, even when I kept the opponent from scoring, I made a lot of mistakes. It was like 'that's just me' (bitter laugh). But today, even in this situation, I was able to hold on and not make any mistakes. I think I've grown as a player. Fans and people around me say I should aim for the next national team, but I can't even think about the future yet. But players like Kazu and Shunsuke have overcome tough situations like this. It's my turn to overcome the next one!"《Imano》"The balance wasn't bad, but I may have been too careful with my own ball. I think I needed a strong desire to go for the shot, to say 'I'll take it myself, I'll score even if it's just me'. Passing is for the purpose of shooting. I want to practice with the goal of shooting as my top priority. I thought my left knee was in trouble during the game, but I gradually got used to it. I'm fine now."

　[Summary of Manager Garo's Press Conference] "I think we played a good game. Overall, we were able to control the game by connecting passes and controlling the flow, but we couldn't convert the big chances we had in the first half. In the second half, the flow improved even more and we created even more chances, but we lacked the finishing technique. Regarding the referee's judgement, there was a play where hands were used inside the area. Using hands is a foul whether it's inside or outside the area, and if it's inside the area, it's a penalty kick. There were some situations that I couldn't understand. (What was the intention behind putting Suzuki and Abe in the top three?) We also put Akamine in before that, of course to attack. Some of the opposing DFs had already received yellow cards, so we wanted to aggressively challenge them one-on-one."

　【Fukuoka Matsuda Coach's Press Conference Summary】"It was a good thing that we didn't concede any goals today. However, the overall performance was lacking. It was definitely hot, but that's not an excuse. There were many instances where we didn't go for the win and instead played defensively. This not only applies to the players who didn't go for it, but also to those around them who didn't encourage them to do so. Instead of conserving energy and playing half-heartedly, we should have made the decision to go all out and fight against the heat. In the second half, we substituted Yabuta, who was struggling with his condition, with Grausio as well as bringing in Tanaka to add more power up front. We had to win, so we switched to a one-man midfield and went on the attack. We will now enter a break period, but we won't be making any major changes. First, we need to refresh ourselves, then we will reflect on our performance so far and identify what we have done well and what we need to improve on. As a team that is not new to the league, it's not just about the performance. We need to have a winning mentality and play with the mindset of a winner."