Cup competition resumes, regain momentum with fresh members

　The Nabisco Cup resumes, with Sec. 5 hosting Yokohama FC at home. It has been since April 11 that we last had a cup match, and currently, Tokyo is in 2nd place (7 points) in Group C of the qualifiers, while Yokohama FC is in 3rd place (6 points). With only 2 sections left in the qualifying league, this is a crucial match for both teams as they cannot afford to lose if they want to advance to the knockout stage. Additionally, after a disappointing loss against Kawasaki in the previous league match, how they will regroup during this series of matches is also one of the highlights. This will be an important match to turn things around.

　However, Baba is absent due to injury. Also, Nori Suzuki, who returned in the last match, will not be included in the squad for conditioning adjustments. In the midst of consecutive matches, to encourage a team that has been struggling, fresh members have been utilized today. The goalkeeper is Doi, starting for the first time since March 31 (Sec. 4 match against Kashiwa). On the left side, Noriyuki Suzuki is positioned as left back. The double pivot consists of Inoha and Kaji, with Kawaguchi on the left side of midfield. Forward Hirayama is also starting for the first time since March 31. Additionally, Morimura has made his first appearance on the bench this season, and Evaldo will also be on standby as a substitute.

　Yokohama FC, on the other hand, has not won a match in the league since Sec. 2 and is in a difficult situation. Today, like Tokyo, they have made changes to their lineup in hopes of turning things around. It is important to first surpass Yokohama FC in terms of spirit. On top of that, we aim to regain Tokyo's fast-paced football in both offense and defense, striving for victory. From solid defense, we will quickly counter after regaining possession and initiate from a wide play to break through this tough situation!

　The daytime weather, which felt like the heat of midsummer, has finally eased, but there is no wind at the Japan National Stadium. The match started at 19:04 with Yokohama FC's kickoff.

Completely take control and create opportunities, but...

　In the 4th minute, Tokyo had a big chance. Konno, who won the ball, spread it to the left. Noriyuki Suzuki overlapped, aiming for the space between the opposing defenders, and sent a perfect through pass in front of the goal. Kawaguchi caught up to it and created a scoring opportunity, but his shot was blocked by the opposing goalkeeper who bravely rushed out. In the 6th minute, Ishikawa broke free in the right area and controlled a cross with his chest. However, his feet slipped, and he couldn't take the shot. In the 13th minute, Ishikawa cut back past the opposing defender and crossed. Kawaguchi headed it back from the far post, and Lucas connected from behind. Kajiyama, who had made a run, got into shooting position, but once again his feet slipped, and he couldn't shoot.

　In defense, we maintained our concentration and gave Yokohama FC no chances at all. From the attacking rhythm, we should have been able to gain momentum by finishing our opportunities. In the 20th minute, Kawaguchi on the left connected to Inoha in the center, who passed to Ishikawa on the right. Tokunaga, who advanced from the outside, attempted a breakthrough and earned a free kick just outside the right side of the area. However, we couldn't convert Ishikawa's kick into a shot. In the 30th minute, Konno met Ishikawa's right corner kick with perfect timing and headed it down, but it went just slightly to the left. We couldn't take advantage of the set plays either.

　In the 31st minute, a dynamic counterattack was launched from their own half. Kajiyama sent a long feed to the left front line, where Noriyuki Suzuki caught up and delivered a cross directly. In response, Inoha, who had surged forward to the goal, jumped in with his head but failed to make solid contact, allowing the opposing GK and DF to clear the ball... In the following 32nd minute, Kawaguchi broke free from a feed to the front line and aimed for a shot after trapping the ball, but the opposing GK made a save. Lucas rushed in on the ball that spilled into the left area and took a perfect shot, but it missed the target.

　In the 34th minute, before we could capitalize on our chances, the ball was taken from Konno by Yokohama FC FW Miura, who advanced with a dribble. Then, just outside the area, Fujiyama was brought down, resulting in a free kick. Yokohama FC MF Uchida aimed for a ground shot that slipped under the wall of Tokyo DF and went into the goal. We fell behind after conceding from just one chance. Following this opening goal, Yokohama FC decided to pull back and strengthen their defense. In the latter stages, they created chances from set pieces, but were unable to score against the Yokohama DF, who had numbers in defense. We went into halftime trailing 0-1.

Unable to change the bad flow, held off by Yokohama FC

　Tokyo maintained possession of the ball and took the lead in the second half. In the 49th minute, Ishikawa received a pass from Tokunaga, who advanced up the right side, and immediately turned to shoot, but it went just left... In the 52nd minute, from a play by Kajiyama, Tokunaga to Ishikawa won a corner kick. From Ishikawa's corner, Hirayama attempted a header but it went left. However, Tokyo struggled against Yokohama FC's compact defense and gradually lost their rhythm. In the 55th minute, from a free kick by Yokohama FC, MF Jeong made a return pass, and free MF Uchida ran into the area to take a powerful shot. It veered left and did not result in a crisis, but Yokohama FC was quicker off the mark.

　In the 59th minute, Kurizawa was brought in to replace Ishikawa, who injured his leg. Then, in the 65th minute, Wanchope was brought in to replace Kawaguchi. Konno moved up to the defensive midfielder position, and Inoha switched to defense. Wanchope and Hirayama were positioned up front, with Lucas, Kurizawa, and Kajiyama adding numbers to the attack, aiming for a goal. In the 68th minute, from Wanchope's drop pass, Lucas passed to Hirayama on the right front line. Hirayama quickly took a shot from the right area, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper...

　In the 78th minute, Akamine was brought on for Hirayama to implement a power play, but they were caught off guard by Yokohama FC's counterattack. After the 80th minute, they earned consecutive corner kicks but could not convert them into goals. In the 88th minute, Tokunaga's right cross was met by Lucas, and Wanchope reacted to the rebound to shoot, but it went wide to the right... In the end, they showcased a style of football typical of Tokyo at home, but failed to score during their good rhythm. They were frustratingly defeated as Yokohama FC held on to their one-goal lead.

　[Player Comments] {Inoha} "I played actively, hoping to change the flow even a little... If we can't score when it matters, this is the result we get. I should have been able to score if I had touched the ball a bit more in the counter-attack chance in the first half. But I think that's our current ability. We need to reconsider our positions; otherwise, there will be no progress. To make up for what we lack and to regain our confidence, I want us to discuss it together." {Kajiyama} "I was conscious of touching the ball a lot and creating rhythm. Inoha did the defending, so I was able to play in front of him... The opponent was sitting back, so I tried to attack more from the sides, but I might have kicked too early. I regret that there could have been more moments to connect the play. If we had scored in the first half, it would have been our game. It's frustrating."

　[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "After the disappointing match last time, I wanted to use fresh players today and play an aggressive game at home. In the first half, there were several good moments and decisive scenes, but we couldn't score. However, we had chances including corners and free kicks, so I thought we could create more opportunities if we continued like this. But after conceding a free kick, we started to panic. At halftime, I said, 'We only conceded that one goal. Our chances will definitely come,' and I believed we could fight like that in the second half. However, due to an accident with Ishikawa's foot, I brought in Kurizawa and instructed him to move the ball a bit more. I was observing the situation with Kawaguchi on the right, but he also showed signs of fatigue, so I brought in Wanchope. I mentioned that 'not only long balls but also the full-backs should push up as much as possible,' but the ball wasn't moving well, and we ended up just sending in long balls. I thought if we could carry the ball to the side and cross it, Wanchope, who is tall, and Hirayama could connect with Lucas, but we couldn't score as Yokohama FC solidified their defense. Despite it being a weekday, so many fans came to support us, and both the players and staff are doing their best to respond. However, when we concede the first goal, we lose confidence, and it's very disappointing that we can't show our usual aggressive play. The players are definitely not fighting without effort, and if just a few gears align, there were scenes where we could have scored. Not being able to convert those chances has led to a loss of confidence, which is the current situation."

　【Yokohama FC Coach Takagi's Press Conference Summary】 "In the situation of back-to-back games with two days in between, we had to approach the match with members we are not used to playing with. Naturally, I thought it would be a very difficult game, but the entire team managed to come together well. While effectively suppressing FC Tokyo's attacking aspects, we capitalized on the few chances we had. There were several moments when we countered and reached the opponent's goal area, but if I had to be greedy, I would have liked one more there. However, even with various changes due to the opponent's substitutions, the players responded well and played a thrilling game. We adopted a 4-1-4-1 formation because Tokyo's frontline often becomes four players in the flow of the game, and Ishikawa on the right side tends to move inside after going forward. Since there were no players to mark Ishikawa, we positioned MF Jeong as an anchor to fill the space that opened up between the full-backs and center-backs. FW Miura was positioned not so much as a top player but to make the opposing defensive midfielder take care of him. While we have not been blessed with many victories, we have made our fans and those involved with our club feel very disappointed and sad. However, I felt that we are starting to grasp a good flow in this game, and the players performed very well as we head into the next league match."