Nabisco Cup opens, starting anew with strong determination

　The 2009 J.League Yamazaki Nabisco Cup starts today. The first match of the qualifying league will be against Kashiwa Reysol. This season's Nabisco Cup will feature a qualifying league with a round-robin format among 7 teams in each of the 2 groups (Group B = Yamagata / Chiba / Kashiwa / Tokyo / Shimizu / Kyoto / Kobe), with the top 2 teams advancing to the Final Round.

　The match is being held three days after the first victory in the league, and although Japan national team players Nagatomo and Konno are absent, Coach Jofuku stated, "In a flat competition, the players who have prepared will be used," with Fujiyama taking the left back position, and the midfield consisting of Kajiwara and Kanazawa. Additionally, Asari, Hiroe, and Mukuara have also made it into the squad for the first time this season and will be on the bench.

　Kashiwa has drawn all three league matches against us. This time, they should come aiming for their first home victory with a fresh mindset. Under the guidance of coach Shinichiro TAKAHASHI this season, they are challenging themselves to add a passing game to their previously established 'football that utilizes speed from a solid defense.' This match, they changed their lineup, placing FW Kitajima at the forefront, with FW Popo just behind him, and FW Ota and Otsu on both sides. Above all, we must be very cautious of their speedy and powerful counterattacks.

　A crucial first match in a tournament where we want to gain momentum. It will be important to see how well the team's overall strength is tested, as well as how much each individual's characteristics can be utilized. Coach Jofuku expressed, "Our biggest goal this season is to win a title. We have a strong desire to stand on the stage of the Final Round," showing his determination towards winning a title and vowing to aim for victory with a strong mindset as they stand at the starting line of a new tournament. At the Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Stadium, under overcast skies with occasional light rain, the match started precisely at 19:00 with Kashiwa's kickoff.

Although we fell behind by 2 goals, we made a comeback with Cabore's goal!

　From the moment the kick-off started, Kashiwa seized the rhythm. With speedy attacks, they continuously pressed from the sides, starting with right midfielder Ota. However, Tokyo's defense responded calmly. They quickly transitioned to a fast attack, and in the 12th minute, Ishikawa made a fierce dribble. Gaining speed, he took a shot from the middle, but the shot hit the crossbar... In the 19th minute, Cabore in the center trapped a floating pass from the right and immediately turned to shoot! The ball flew to the lower right corner of the goal, but was thwarted by a great save from Kashiwa's goalkeeper... This time, Hirayama picked up the rebound at close range in the right area and took a shot, but it hit the far post and bounced out... They were unable to capitalize on the chance.

　In the 22nd minute, Tokyo's right side was breached by Kashiwa DF Ishikawa, who delivered a cross from a high position. This was perfectly matched by MF Yamane, resulting in a goal being conceded... Although we wanted to calmly counterattack, mistakes occurred during the offensive, and the situation remained unchanged as we suffered another sharp counter from Kashiwa. In the 31st minute, a pass from our DF was intercepted by Kashiwa in our defensive area, and Tokunaga could not help but commit a foul to stop the play. This awarded Kashiwa a free kick just outside the left area. In the 32nd minute, Kashiwa FW Popo aimed directly at this free kick, and the ball dramatically found the bottom left corner, leading to the loss of our second goal...

　However, just after that, in the 33rd minute, Cabore fiercely pressed after a back pass from the Kashiwa MF that the GK mishandled, stole the ball, and scored! They closed the gap to one goal amidst a flurry of counterattacks. Then, in the 41st minute, Kashiwa MF Ota's play to FW Kitajima was well defended by Sahara and Moniwa, leading to a counterattack. Hanyu to Cabore broke through on the right side, but no one was there to support. In the 44th minute, Tokunaga, who changed positions to left back, made a move and entered the left area. He connected the ball back, and Ishikawa delivered a cross, but it didn't reach Hirayama in the right area... Still, the rhythm characteristic of Tokyo finally began to emerge, raising hopes for a counterattack as they headed into the second half.

Despite creating many chances, conceding 3 goals led to a tough defeat...

　However, just after the start of the second half, in the 46th minute, Kashiwa FW Otsu received a pass from the right while facing away from the goal in the central area and attempted to slip past the marking Fujiyama. Fujiyama was judged to have fouled him, resulting in a penalty kick being awarded. FW Otsu himself converted this penalty kick, leading to the loss of the third goal...

　In the 52nd minute, Suzuki was brought on to replace Hanyu. Immediately after, Suzuki broke down the left side to create a chance, launching a wave attack in front of the goal. He persistently picked up a loose ball from the resilient Kashiwa defense, bringing it into the right area where Kajiyama took a shot. However, it was blocked by the defense again, and from the rebound, Sahara took a long-range shot, but it flew to Hirayama at the front line, who could not finish the play.

　In the 59th minute, Akamine was brought on for Hirayama, and in the 63rd minute, Otake was substituted for Ishikawa. Against Kashiwa, who had begun to lose their momentum, they aggressively reclaimed the ball and gathered it in the front line to create chances. In the 64th minute, Cabore delivered a right cross from a set-piece rebound. Sahara and Kajiyama, who were still attacking, connected the play, and from that rebound, Suzuki took a shot, but it went high over the goal. In the 68th minute, Suzuki received a free kick from Gonda and boldly took a long-range shot. However, the Kashiwa goalkeeper punched it away for a left throw-in. But they were unable to mount an attack from there.

　In the 74th minute, Kajiyama stole the ball from Kashiwa in midfield and dribbled. Otake passed to Tokunaga, who made a move but was blocked by Kashiwa. Otake then seized the loose ball and delivered a strong cross from just outside the left area. However, it did not reach Akamine at the far post and barely went out of bounds. In the 81st minute, they attacked starting from Kajiyama, and Suzuki in the right area calmly evaded the opposing DF and took a shot. However, the Kashiwa DF that came in for cover blocked it. From the rebound, Otake aimed for the goal from just outside the right area, but it went wide. In the end, despite taking 10 shots in the second half, none were converted. The three goals conceded had a significant impact, resulting in a tough defeat...

　【Player Comments】《Kanazawa》"From the start, we were pushed back by Kashiwa's momentum. It would have been better if we could have held on and managed that situation... The communication between the defense and midfield became unclear, and we lost control there. I was thinking about maintaining balance and increasing my chances to touch the ball, but we were always chasing a two-goal deficit, which made it tough. Everyone understood that this was an important first match in the Nabisco Cup, and we were all motivated. It's very disappointing that we couldn't turn that into a result." 《Hirayama》"We kept losing the ball poorly, leading to repeated short counters against us. We were at a numerical disadvantage during counterattacks, which was tough. Especially in the first half, I regret that we could have played a bit more simply."

　[Summary of Coach Shirofuku's Press Conference] "It was very cold due to the rain, and given the weekday night game situation, it is very disappointing that we couldn't give a win to the supporters who came all the way to the away game. Regarding the game content, the pitch was slippery, requiring both decision-making and technique, but I think there were many moments where not only technique but also decision-making was lacking. Also, there were several moments where we showed weakness in one-on-one situations. Because of poor decisions and how we lost the ball, the physical load increased, and maybe we couldn't fight properly, but I was left dissatisfied that we didn't fight in those immediate one-on-one situations. Since we knew the opponent's counterattacks were sharp when we lost the ball badly, we wanted to at least finish our attacks with shots or by breaking behind the opponent's defense. However, in the slippery pitch conditions, we couldn't create plays that ended with breaking behind the opponent or shooting. Therefore, I feel we suffered the opponent's strong counterattacks many times. It's very frustrating, but first, we want to correct this and prepare so that in the next match we can show fighting against the immediate opponent."

　[Summary of Coach Takahashi's Press Conference] "Throughout both halves, the players truly expressed their desire to win on the pitch. There were some dangerous moments, but we had some luck, and I fought with the mindset of wanting to win so much that I could attract luck. The players fought hard, and the supporters fought hard as well. I think that sums it up for today. We used many players who had not played in matches until now, but they performed at a level comparable to those who had been playing in practice. They must have had the desire to play in the match, and they were envisioning what kind of play they would execute when given the chance. Including those who have started in the past, I expect a healthy competition in a good way."