Nabisco Qualifying League Final Match, Aim for Goals and Victory Only!

　The Nabisco Cup is being held for the first time in two weeks. Tokyo, currently in 3rd place in Group C with 7 points, will face Yokohama FC away in the final round of the qualifying league. In order to secure a spot in the top 2, they must win at all costs as a draw will not be enough. Even with a win, their placement will depend on the result of the Iwata vs. Oita game, and they may end up in 2nd place. This means they will have to compete with the 2nd place team from another group to advance to the final tournament. With this in mind, they will need to score as many goals as possible.

　However, due to only 2 days between the last league match, Wanchope and Lucas trained separately. Fujiyama is also suspended for this match. In addition, Hirayama left practice to undergo an examination for discomfort in his left ear. However, head coach Hara is determined, saying "We have no choice but to win, so our goal is clear. We aim to score many goals with a fresh lineup." Akamine will lead the front line, Kurisawa will play as attacking midfielder, Kanazawa will be left fullback, and Konno and Shigeno will form the center back duo. Akamine will make his first start of the season, while Shigeno will start for the second time in two matches.

　Yokohama FC, currently in first place with 9 points, is expected to focus on defense as a draw would still bring them to 10 points. As coach Hara plans to continue the momentum and break through Yokohama FC's defense, the key will be how well they can break through the defensive line. While their style of pressing and transitioning to attack remains the same, they aim to use a fresh lineup to gain momentum and not only advance to the final round, but also secure a victory that will carry over to future league matches.

　During the day, Mitsuzawa Football Stadium felt like the heat of midsummer, but in the evening a cool breeze blew in. The game started at 7:04 PM with a kickoff from Tokyo.

Despite conceding a goal from a penalty kick, Akamine quickly equalizes with a goal!

　Although they dominated the ball from the beginning, the tempo of their attack was slow. Kurisawa and Fukunishi made through passes to the front line, but there were also mistakes and they couldn't create chances. In the 6th minute, Rychely was fouled near the left side of the area and they got a free kick. Kurisawa took the kick, but it missed widely. On the other hand, Yokohama FC created chances from counter attacks and the game went back and forth. In the 10th minute, they quickly connected from a restart and sent a through pass to the front line. Yokohama FC's FW Julian got past Konno and made a deep cross. MF Adriano was waiting free in the center, but the ball was just a little too long. The shot from right SB Wada, who ran in for the rebound, also missed widely and they escaped danger.

　17 minutes, Tokyo intercepted in their own zone, Rychely advanced to the right front line. The ball bounced off the opponent's DF and in front of Ishikawa. Ishikawa cut into the area and made a perfect negative pass. Kurizawa ran in and took a shot, but it was blocked by the opponent's DF. In the 20th minute, Tokyo created a decisive scene. Rychely on the left → Kurizawa in front of the area turned around and connected with Akamine in front of the goal. Ishikawa ran in and made a sharp ground cross after competing with the DF and the ball bounced to the right. Akamine slid in to hit it, but the ball floated up.

　In the 23rd minute, a direct pass from the left by Kurizawa to the center, where Ishikawa floated a pass to the front line. Akamine reacted to this and faced the GK in a 1-on-1 situation. He attempted a shot, but the GK made a great save, denying the chance. Despite gradually finding their rhythm and attacking aggressively, they were caught off guard in the 27th minute when Yokohama FC launched a counterattack. MF Nezu sprinted down the right side and sent a through pass to FW Hiramoto, who ran into the area from the left. At this point, Tsuchiho brought down Hiramoto, resulting in a penalty kick. In the 28th minute, MF Adriano converted the penalty kick, giving Yokohama FC the lead.

　But without looking down, they counterattacked. In the 30th minute after conceding, Inaba advanced from a vertical pass from Kurisawa and skillfully controlled Grander's cross in front of the goal. Akamine then slid in to score! This equalizer revived the team that was starting to feel uneasy. However, they were unable to score another goal in the first half. In the 37th minute, Yokohama FC's midfielder Nejima dribbled into the area after a one-two with the front line. He attracted the Tokyo defenders and passed to left MF Takizawa. Takizawa took a powerful shot, but it was saved by Doi and went out for a left corner kick. From that corner kick, Yabuta took a sharp shot from the left area, but Doi saved it again. The game was tied 1-1 and would continue into the second half.

With 2 goals from Akamine, Yokohama FC advances to the qualifying league!

　In the second half, they took the lead and went on the offensive. However, they were unable to break through the strong defense of Yokohama FC. In the 52nd minute, Rychely was replaced by Lucas as the attacking midfielder, and Kurisawa moved to left midfielder. Just after that, in the 53rd minute, Fukunishi, who had been charging into the area with speed, was brought down by Yokohama FC's defensive midfielder Yamaguchi, but the whistle did not blow... In the 62nd minute, Lucas made a run for Fukunishi's long pass. The opponent's goalkeeper caught it first, but dropped it, and Lucas was unable to finish it. However, gradually the ball started to settle at Lucas' feet, and they continued to create powerful attacks through Fukunishi's runs and Kurisawa's passing skills.

　In the 64th minute, Kajiyama was substituted for Ishikawa as right MF. Under the instruction of coach Hara to "go for a goal while connecting passes", they continued to pass the ball and look for chances. In the 68th minute, they connected in front of the goal and passed to Kurizawa who was running on the left side from Kanazawa. Kurizawa advanced deep into the left area and crossed the ball. The ball went over Akamine's head and reached Inonami on the far side, but the shot was not powerful enough. They continued to attack but couldn't break through the goal. In the 75th minute, Lucas persisted and dropped Kurizawa's floating pass, and Akamine broke through on the left side from a one-touch. The ball beautifully pierced the net, and they finally took the lead!

　In the midst of the stands roaring, they continued to attack without letting up. In the 84th minute, Fukunishi took a shot after an early cross from Kanazawa, dodging the opponent's GK. In the 89th minute, Lucas cut back the opponent's DF on the right side and sent a final pass to the front of the goal. Fukunishi couldn't reach it and they couldn't score a third goal. On the contrary, towards the end of the game, they received a counterattack from Yokohama FC and there were some dangerous moments, but they defended without losing focus. In stoppage time, Yokohama FC's FW Hiramoto took a sharp shot, but Tsuchi controlled it and the game ended.

　With 2 goals from Akamine, they pulled away from Yokohama FC and secured 10 points in the qualifying round. In addition, due to the defeat of Oita, who finished 2nd in Group C, they rose to 1st place. They have qualified for the Nabisco Cup final tournament for the first time in 3 years.

　【Player Comments】《Akamine》"I've been patient for a long time, so when I played in the game, I was thinking of enjoying it and giving it my all. Even when I couldn't play, I made sure to maintain my condition and avoid injuries, and I prepared myself to be able to play at any time. The first goal was in a form that I am good at. Before the game, I asked Ishikawa and Rychely to give me a low and fast ball, and to put it between the GK and DF. I had chances to score before that, but I believed that if I kept doing it, I would eventually score. For the second goal, when Lucas came in, I was thinking of receiving the ball behind and taking a shot. He dropped it nicely for me, and my trap was successful. There was a sense of urgency for the team to win, but for me, it was a feeling of wanting to respond to the chances I received. I wanted to explode somewhere, and as a result, I scored two goals today, but the real battle starts now."《Kurisawa》"With Lucas coming in, we were able to create space, so it was easier for Fukunishi and myself to move up. Yokohama FC was defending deep, so it was difficult to break through, but when one pass goes through, the opponent's DF also gathers. That's the kind of breakthrough we wanted, and we were able to take it in the way we intended."

　【Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference】"We were in a situation where we had to win today's game. We knew that a draw would not be enough. On the other hand, Yokohama FC had the possibility of advancing to second place even with a draw. We wanted to be more aggressive, but we had to change the lineup and things didn't go smoothly at first. The ball didn't settle at Akamine's feet and Kurisawa hadn't played in a while, so it took some time for their strengths to be displayed. The combination of Inonami and Fukunishi is not something we have done a lot, and with Mobata coming in, the tempo was slow at first and we couldn't create smooth attacks. We were most careful of FW Hiramoto and MF Adriano. Especially when the ball went to Hiramoto, their attacks would start. The goal we conceded also came from that situation and resulted in a penalty kick. However, that goal actually gave us a boost. We didn't hang our heads and instead felt like "we have to go for it." Inonami, who had been balancing the right side, moved forward and Akamine scored. Akamine's goal was in his favorite style. It was crucial to score right after conceding. At halftime, I instructed the team to play one tempo faster. And we took a gamble by bringing in Lucas and Kajiyama. We also received information that Oita was losing, so the situation became to just score one goal and win. I instructed the team to stay calm and connect passes. Rychely was playing his third consecutive game as a starter and his body was feeling heavy. By bringing in Lucas and moving Kajiyama to the right MF and Kurisawa to the left, we were able to settle the ball. Akamine has had limited playing time or has not been in the lineup often, but he has been training diligently. I am very happy that he scored two goals and got us the result today. Júbilo Iwata also fought hard and we are happy to have advanced to the final round in first place. Even with some changes in the lineup, we never gave up until the end. The things we have been trying to do since the beginning of the season are slowly starting to show. We are sincerely happy to have advanced to the knockout stage, but we have a game against Nagoya coming up soon. We want to switch our mindset and approach it with determination."

　[Yokohama FC Manager Takagi's Press Conference] "Very disappointing. Within the 90 minutes, we had chances to move up to the next step as well. The players worked hard. We were able to take advantage of Tokyo's strengths and create opportunities to score. Even when we were behind, we continued to aim for goals and give our best effort. FW Hiramoto didn't have much time to train with us, but he felt better in the game than in practice. His condition will continue to improve and he is definitely a valuable asset. MF Adriano was just coming back from an injury and it felt like he was thrown into the game. He got tired towards the end and lost some of his sharpness, but he still did the minimum work for us. Our Nabisco Cup is over and now we focus on the league. We have to switch gears for the weekend's match."