Win on the side and take revenge for two defeats!

　In the 5th round of the Nabisco Cup qualifying league, Shimizu S-Pulse will face off against each other. It will be a home game in Matsumoto. In the previous round against Verdy, they won 3-0 and the team's atmosphere is good. However, if Shimizu, who is currently in first place in the group, wins this round, they will secure first place, making it a crucial match. For Tokyo, it is important to take 3 points and catch up with Shimizu in order to advance to the final round. And since they have lost twice to their opponents this season, it is a match where they definitely want to take revenge.

　Shimizu, on the other hand, seems to be struggling with their team composition due to the absence of Olympic representative GK Kaito YAMAMOTO, DF Aoyama, MF Honda, and FW Okazaki, as well as a series of injuries to DF Ichikawa, Kodama, and others. However, in the previous match, MF Hyodo returned and they were able to defeat Iwata by utilizing fresh players such as MF Yamamoto and FW Omae in the midfield. Their attacking style, which involves tight defense and building up from the fullbacks, remains strong.

　Tokyo, with Kanazawa and Tokunaga as the starting left and right fullbacks from the previous match. Akamine has also returned to the bench. Coach Shirofuku also reflects, "Shimizu's way of fighting is thorough and refined. In our two matches, we fell into Shimizu's defensive style. They quickly created a block and we couldn't break through it." Therefore, the key to victory will be whether we can counter with quick passing and take control on the sides. We want to win the battle on the sides before Shimizu can create a defensive block and attack behind their defense. In defense, it will be important to press together as a team like we did against Verdy and create a rhythm from tough defending.

　Hanyu is determined to "be careful about the balance of side attacks. Both sides tend to go up too far and we don't want to get caught on the counter. Also, I couldn't play in the past Shimizu game, so there is also a regrettable aspect of not being able to contribute to the team. We will show our own style of soccer and win." The game started at 2:04 pm with Tokyo's kickoff at the cold and rainy Matsumoto Hirano Wide Area Park General Ball Game Field.

Leading with Bruno QUADROS's goal, we head into halftime with a 1-point lead.

　Tokyo started the game with quick attacks from the side. In the 4th minute, Asari → Hayashi's left cross was met by Kanazawa, who took a decisive shot, but was blocked by Shimizu's defense. In the 8th minute, Asari cut off Shimizu's throw-in and passed it to Hirayama, who then passed it directly to Hayashi on the left side. Hayashi brought the ball to a deep position near the line and crossed it. Bruno QUADROS jumped in and volleyed the ball into the net! Following their victory against Verdy, Hayashi and Bruno QUADROS once again combined to take the lead.

　In the following 10 minutes, Emerson on the right side dribbled inside and passed. Hirayama reacted to the ball and took a decisive shot from the left area, but couldn't score. After that, Shimizu also had a chance to shoot from a free kick, but Shioda prevented them from scoring. In the 20th minute, Emerson, Cabore, and Bruno QUADROS launched a quick attack, Hirayama kept the ball in front of the area and dropped it to Hanyu, but the timing was off and he couldn't take a shot.

　Shimizu tried to put the ball into the front line from the DF line, but Sato and Fujiyama calmly cut it off. In particular, Fujiyama repeatedly made sharp interceptions and did not let the opponent's FW do their job. After 30 minutes, they started attacking from Emerson. In the 34th minute, Emerson on the right side passed to Hirayama who ran up behind the DF line. However, the trap was slightly too long and was stopped by the Shimizu GK. In the 35th minute, Emerson dribbled in from the right and passed to Cabore for a one-two, but his shot went over the goal.

　In the 39th minute, Tokunaga connected from the right FK and Cabore's volley from the left cross shook the net, but it was offside. Towards the end of the first half, Shimizu was able to defend against crosses from both sides and was able to hold off attacks in front of the goal. Both teams made mistakes on the slippery pitch, but Shimizu was not able to dominate the ball and went into the second half with a one-point lead.

Caught up at the end and ended with a painful draw

　In the second half, Tokyo created chances through Emerson and Hirayama at the start, but then Shimizu took control. With the introduction of MF Fujimoto, Shimizu's movement and ball retention improved, while Tokyo's energy dropped and they were unable to press and win second balls. Still, in the 58th minute, Hirayama took a shot from the left throw-in but it went over the goal. In the 59th minute, Kanazawa → Emerson → Cabore took a shot but it hit the opponent's defender and resulted in a corner kick. Despite being pushed back, Tokyo tried to regain their rhythm.

　Substituted Iwakawa for Emerson in the 65th minute. Then in the 69th minute, Cabore dropped the left throw-in and Iwakawa swung his foot sharply. He shot with determination, but it narrowly missed the frame. In the 70th minute, Tokunaga ran up the right side from a counter and crossed. It was cleared once, but Iwakawa picked up the loose ball, quickly moved to the right area, and took a shot. Cabore also jumped in from the far side, but he couldn't touch the ball. In the 75th minute, Shizuoka MF Fujimoto led an attack and created consecutive chances, but they were able to defend with Shioda's save at the center.

　Tokyo also tried to change the flow by sending in Akamine and Motoba. In the 81st minute, there was a scramble between Tokunaga and the opponent for the ball that spilled out from Ishikawa's corner kick, and Sato on the outside took a decisive shot with his right foot, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper. In the 85th minute, Fujiyama passed to Ishikawa who was running up on the right for a counter attack. Akamine slid to meet Ishikawa's cross, but the shot hit the bar and went out. They couldn't score an additional goal and the situation remained difficult, but they defended with their bodies and it seemed like they would hold on until the end, but then an accident happened.

　In the 86th minute, Sasaki received his second warning of the day and was sent off. At the same time, this play gave Shimizu a free kick, and MF Fujimoto's direct shot bounced in for a goal... Despite immediately starting a counterattack, it was already too late. In the final moments, they were caught up to and ended up with a painful draw.

　【Player Comments】《Bruno QUADROS》"I think we played a good game, but unfortunately we conceded a goal at the end and ended up with a draw. It's something that happens often in football, but I didn't want it to happen. Unfortunately, it ended up being a draw. (What about the goal?) It was a counterattack situation, and I was a bit late to get in, but the cross from Hayu player came right to me and I was able to score. He sent me a good ball. My strength is to go forward quickly after winning the ball. I think I did well in that aspect. Of course, I also have to do what the coach tells me. I want to go to the next game and get another chance."《Fujiyama》"It was a game we had to win. In hindsight, there was also HIDE's red card, which shouldn't have happened. The coach was also tough on him, but I think he understands it the most. Everyone is doing it to get results. However, we were able to get one point and we didn't lose. If we win the next Verdy game, we still have a chance. However, as a team that wants to go higher in the Nabisco Cup, it was a game we shouldn't have played. We should all think about it again. I want to win properly and advance to the final tournament, and I think the supporters have a different attachment. I don't know if it will go well like last time. The second goal was also important today, but it's necessary for the team to improve even more overall. In the next Verdy game, I want to go for all three points with everyone. HIDE won't be able to play, but we've been rotating this year, so I'm not worried about who will play. I've been playing with MONI since last year, so there's no problem. Verdy is strong, so I want to stop them properly again."

　[Summary of Manager Jofuku's Press Conference] "I think today was a game that we had to win. We were pushed back at the end of the second half and there were some dangerous situations, but considering how we played the game, it was a game where we had to take all three points. In the first half, we were able to attack and defend as planned and we scored one goal, but I think we could have scored another one. That is a point of reflection from the previous game, but it's also about not being able to make that final push. Also, in the second half, we held onto the ball a little too much in the midfield and couldn't move it simply. There were players in the midfield who were trying to do things individually and that made it difficult for us. It's a reminder that when we're in a tough situation like that for a long time and we're down to 10 men, things like that can happen when you have good kickers. We had to make sure we didn't play soccer in that area before that. (It seemed like you were preparing Otake for the third substitution, why did you use Shigenobu?) With little time left, I was thinking about whether the opponent would come at us with height or at our feet, so I kept one substitution for the end. With players like FW Marcos Aurelio and FW Omae, who are good with their feet, I wanted to bring in Fujiyama to deal with that."

　[Summary of Shimizu Hasegawa's press conference] "I am very satisfied that we were able to get 1 point today. Despite having injured players and players starting for the first time, the players who came on did their job well and we were able to catch up in the end with the team's unity. It's a good sign for a team that hasn't been doing well in the league to catch up away from home against a team that has been doing well in the league, and I think we can fight this qualifying round in a very advantageous way. However, there is still one game left in the Nabisco Cup, so I want to finish it off with a solid performance." (The second half was better, but what did you change?) "In the first half, I told the players not to push forward too much. We did concede one goal, but we were able to switch gears and keep a clean sheet after that. In the second half, we brought on MF Fujimoto and FW Marcos Aurelio to activate the front line, and our original style came out. Also, MF Iwashita responded to Hirayama as a side back and was able to feed the ball to the front line, which was a big factor. In many ways, I think the second half was a game with a lot of rewards."