I want to carry this momentum and achieve revenge in the Nabisco.

　In Sec. 8 of the league, we will face Shimizu S-Pulse away. In the previous match against Kawasaki, there was a fierce exchange of goals, but we pulled ahead in the second half and achieved a comeback victory. Our ranking has now risen to 3rd place. From here, we have a tough schedule with five consecutive matches during the Golden Week period, but Konno stated, "There is a possibility that our ranking could change significantly during these five matches. I want to focus on each match and accumulate points without being conscious of our current 3rd place." He promised to fight hard for the upcoming match.

　Shimizu, currently with 1 win, 2 draws, and 4 losses, is in 15th place and has not quite found their rhythm. However, in the previous match against Yokohama FM, they managed to secure a draw with solid defense. They have a roster of technically skilled players who connect short passes from a strong defense to control the game, utilizing their attacking prowess effectively. In the first match of this season's Nabisco Cup, they lost to a team that did not allow Tokyo to play their desired style. Coach Jofuku mentioned, "That match was a game we were destined to lose," so this match will hinge on how long they can maintain control and break down Shimizu's solid defense.

　In Tokyo, seven players were called up for the Japan national team and Olympic team training camp, and although there were concerns about each player's condition, all players joined in good spirits. There seems to be no issues. The starting lineup saw Ohtake replace Kurisawa from the match against Kawasaki. Morimura also made the bench. Nagatomo stated, "In the last match, my defense and attack were half-hearted. Now, the transition is going smoothly, so I want to seize the rhythm from tough defense and aggressively attack." Similarly, Konno mentioned, "When attacking, I want to support the sides and create numerical advantages by breaking through." They aim to exploit the space behind the opponent's full-backs to create chances.

　The players expressed their determination, saying, "We cannot lose to the same opponent twice," and Coach Jofuku firmly stated, "After several matches since the first round of the Nabisco Cup, we have gradually built up both our performance and points. To continue growing positively, we will absolutely not lose in the same way again." They aim for victory with their own style of football. The match started at 13:04 with a kickoff in Tokyo at Nihondaira Stadium, where it was raining.

Conceded a goal in stoppage time, ending the first half one goal behind

　One minute into the match, Cabore received a pass near the left sideline of the Shimizu area, advanced with a dribble, and took a bold shot from just outside the left area, but it went straight to the goalkeeper. Although they seized an early chance, the rhythm shifted to Shimizu's favor. Shimizu quickly transitioned from defense to attack, with FERNANDEZ and MF Fujimoto creating opportunities, pushing Tokyo into a speedy attack. In the 11th minute, they lost the ball to Shimizu in midfield and suffered a counterattack. Unable to stop it on the right side, a pass was sent to the free MF Fujimoto on the left, who took a well-aimed looping shot. Shiota barely saved it with one hand at the top corner of the goal.

　In the 12th minute, Shimizu launched another quick attack, and after being spread wide, right back Ichikawa advanced, but Asari blocked it and escaped danger. In the 17th minute, Shimizu had a left corner kick that Akamine cleared, but Shimizu's midfielder Ito sent in another cross, forcing Shiota to concede a right corner kick. In the 21st minute, Tokyo's Akamine contested for the ball, and Otake aimed for a volley from the cleared ball by Shimizu's defender, but could not hit the target. After that, Shimizu continued to dominate possession, giving away consecutive chances from set pieces, but no decisive moments were created, thanks to Shiota's efforts.

　Just when it seemed like the first half would end, during stoppage time, Shimizu was awarded their 9th corner kick. MF Fujimoto's kick was powerfully headed in by DF Aoyama, resulting in a goal. Despite managing to keep the score at 0 until that point against Shimizu's momentum, they were caught off guard for just a moment. The match ended that way, and they went into the second half trailing by one goal.

Despite a fierce attack in the second half, we were unable to score, resulting in a frustrating defeat.

　In the second half, Tokyo gradually connected passes and launched an attack. In the 51st minute, they stole the opponent's ball, and Konno in midfield sent a lob pass to Cabore in the front line, but Shimizu's defender cut it off. In the 54th minute, Ohtake made a well-timed through pass to the right front line. Tokunaga advanced and delivered a cross, but it was caught by Shimizu's GK. In the 56th minute, Ohtake's kick from the right FK was dropped by Asari at the far post, but was cut off by the opponent's defender, resulting in a left CK. In the 58th minute, Nagatomo was fouled near the sideline on the left side of Shimizu's territory, resulting in a FK. However, Ohtake's kick was cleared by Shimizu.

　In the 62nd minute, Morimura was brought on to replace Asari. Kajiyama moved to Asari's position. In the 68th minute, Ohtake kept the ball on the right side. He dropped it with a heel pass to Tokunaga, who overlapped, delivering a superb ground cross between the DF and GK. However, Shimizu's DF managed to escape to a corner kick. From the left corner kick, Ohtake's ball was met by Sahara's header in front of the goal, but it was cleared by the opposing DF. In the 71st minute, Fujiyama intercepted the ball in his own half and advanced, passing to Cabore on the left side. Cabore aimed for a bold shot from distance, but the GK punched it away. The ball went up in the area, but Akamine, who was contesting, was called for a foul after knocking down an opponent.

　In the 74th minute, Cabore dropped a feed from Fujiyama, and Otake was in shooting position. It was blocked by the Shimizu defense, but Tokunaga sent a right early cross from the rebound. Akamine at the far post attempted to redirect it, but it went out of bounds. Tokyo, further strengthening their attacking posture, brought in Hirayama for Otake in the 77th minute. Tokunaga and Nagatomo created chances from both flanks with their overlaps. However, in the 78th minute, Cabore made a run to the near post to meet Tokunaga's low cross but couldn't finish. This time, Akamine on the left received a return from Morimura and took a shot, but it missed the target.

　In the 82nd minute, we stole the ball in the opponent's half and launched a counterattack. In the end, Cabore took a shot from just outside the area, but it lacked power and was caught by the GK. In the 83rd minute, from a right corner kick, Morimura's kick was dropped by Tokunaga at the far post, and Akamine was about to shoot, but Shimizu cleared it tenaciously, resulting in a left corner kick. After that, Tokyo maintained possession of the ball, but Shimizu's counterattacks were sharp, leading to a back-and-forth development. In stoppage time, a feed to Hirayama was cleared by the Shimizu defense, but Cabore, who followed up on the loose ball, took a direct shot. However, it went well wide of the goal, and that was the end of it. We earned 8 corner kicks in the second half, but all were repelled by Shimizu's solid defense, and although we limited ourselves to just one goal conceded from a corner kick in the first half, we lost without scoring...

　【Player Comments】<Tokunaga> "We couldn't evade Shimizu's pressure, and we made many mistakes ourselves. We tried to attack starting from the sides, but Shimizu pulled back to some extent and formed a defensive block that we couldn't break. However, in the second half, there were moments when I was able to overlap. At those times, there were fewer players inside, and the accuracy of crosses was poor, so we couldn't connect it to a goal. Since we can get that far, I want to improve coordination with the center and increase accuracy going forward." <Akamine> "There were many set-piece chances in both offense and defense, but Shimizu scored and we couldn't. Maybe it's a difference in concentration for a moment. In the first half, our defense was a bit unclear in response to the opponent's approach. We made some adjustments to our defense there. (Was the position change with player Otake also for that reason?) Yes. In the second half, that adjustment worked well, but I think we should have made that change on the pitch during the first half."

　[Summary of Coach Shirofuku's Press Conference] "We anticipated that S-Pulse would come with strong determination, and we entered the match thinking we had to withstand that, but the first half was dominated by S-Pulse's pace. Still, it would have been good to finish 0-0, but we conceded a goal at the end. In terms of content, I think 0-1 is a fair result, but since we endured that far, we should have managed to keep it at 0-0. In the second half, even with 0-1 down, we said we must not change our pace or lose balance, and if we did that, chances would surely come. I think we were able to attack quite patiently. However, looking back, I think we had too few shots. This is partly about awareness of shooting, but also whether we were able to completely break down their defense before getting to that point. We were able to break down on the sides, but lacked breakdowns from better angles. We should have played the way we did in the second half from the start, and since the season continues, I hope we can start the next match with that kind of approach. (Specifically, what was not good in the first half?) We were dominated in ball possession. The opponent circulated the ball simply, and especially from their defensive line to the forwards, they easily played long wedges. They created starting points there, and I think there were several cases where MF FERNANDEZ faced forward and then accelerated. First, we must prevent them from playing long wedges to the forwards, and even when we finally took the ball, it was easily taken back, so we couldn’t turn it into our time or regain control. There were mistakes in technique and decision-making, and with S-Pulse’s highly concentrated defense giving us no space, my impression is that we couldn’t execute well within that."

　[Summary of the press conference by Shimizu and Coach HASEGAWA] "I believe today's victory is very significant. The players ran well until the end, and many supporters cheered us on in this rain, which became a tremendous source of strength. In that sense, I think the players and supporters united to earn 3 points from Tokyo. The first half was high tempo, and I think we were able to execute our intended strategy to some extent. We managed to attack well in front of the opponent's goal during the flow of the game, and scoring from a set piece was very important. We had several corner kicks in the first half, and scoring the opening goal from the last chance was a very big moment in today's game. In the second half, although our physical output dropped somewhat and there were moments when we were pressed by the opponent, I think we responded properly until the end. Except for a shot from a second ball situation, the opponent only had three shots in the second half, so I believe we effectively closed down and prevented them from shooting. In that sense, including the players on the bench, the result of staying focused and fighting for 90 minutes led to today's home victory. We have a back-to-back match with only two days in between, but I think this will help the team gain some confidence. We want to prepare well for the game against Reysol and bring back a good result."