Secure a spot in the Final Round on our own

　The Nabisco Cup qualifying league Sec. 7 will be held. Tokyo will face Shimizu S-Pulse at their home ground, Komazawa Olympic Park Stadium. This final match, which is crucial for advancing to the knockout stage, sees Tokyo currently in 2nd place in Group B with 10 points. If they draw or lose this match, their advancement will depend on the results of Kashiwa (8 points) and Yamagata (7 points). If they achieve victory, they will surpass Shimizu's 12 points and secure 1st place, making their primary goal to advance through the qualifiers on their own.

　Tokyo did not have a match in Sec. 6 (6/7), so they will face this round after a 9-day interval. Therefore, they will take their time to prepare thoroughly. In this round, Hirayama will be suspended due to accumulated warnings, but Kondo will start for the first time since the 5/20 qualifying match against Chiba. The right side back will be Mukuhara, who came on as a substitute in the previous match, while Tokunaga will take the left side in the formation.

　Shimizu, having already secured a spot in the top two and confirmed their advancement in the qualifiers, comes into today’s match without Japan national team FW Okazaki and with FW Jönsson suspended. FW Hara will lead the front line, with FW Edamura positioned slightly deeper, while MF Ito and Honda form a double pivot in the lineup. FW Hara has been maintaining good form lately. Care must be taken against his movements that exploit the space behind the defense with his breakthrough ability and speed. Additionally, MF Fujimoto and MF Hyodo, along with other players with high kicking accuracy, pose a significant threat with their long-range shots and set pieces, which we must be very cautious about.

　On the other hand, Shimizu's organized defense is strong, and they have troubled us since last season. The key point is how Tokyo can grow from that and create movements to break through Shimizu's block. We also hope for good dribbling from players like Kondo and Tanabe. It's the first Nabisco event at Komazawa since 2003, and with clear skies and rising temperatures, many spectators gathered in the stands, creating a lively home atmosphere. The match started at 14:04 with Shimizu's kickoff.

Cabore scores the opening goal! Stay focused and show stable gameplay.

　Right after the start, Shimizu's left MF Fujimoto made a one-two with forward Hara and dribbled towards the center. He sent a through pass, exploiting the gap behind Tokyo's defense, but Tanabe quickly returned to cut the ball. In the first minute, forward Hara forcefully dribbled through the center. However, Bruno QUADROS closely marked him and defended persistently. After gaining rhythm from concentrated defense, in the 6th minute, Kajiwara's vertical pass was dropped by Cabore in the center, and Kondo, positioned to the right, skillfully controlled the ball and sent a lob pass back to the center. Cabore's header went over the goalkeeper's outstretched hand and into the top left corner! They took the lead early in the match.

　Taking the lead allowed them to seize the momentum, and thereafter, with Ishikawa and Tanabe as the starting points, Kajiwara and Yonemoto also actively participated in both offense and defense, launching a well-paced attack that threatened the Shimizu goal. In the 14th minute, they connected from a free kick in the opponent's territory, and Kondo, receiving a return pass from Ishikawa, advanced into the right area. A decisive cross was met by Bruno QUADROS at the near post, but he was closed down by the defense and it resulted in a corner kick. On Ishikawa's right corner kick, Hiramatsu showed an impressive leap, but his header went wide of the goal. In the 17th minute, Tanabe lost the ball in the opponent's territory but tenaciously regained it, passing to Tanabe who had broken into the right area. Tanabe delivered a strong, shot-like final pass to the far post. Cabore made a dive here but couldn't connect, resulting in an offside...

　In the 24th minute, Ishikawa connected a switch from left to right, and Mukuara advanced along the sideline to a deep position, delivering a cross. Although Cabore in the center and Kondo at the far post couldn't connect, Ishikawa intercepted the defender's clearance and shot from the right area. However, it was saved by the goalkeeper... While losing chances, Shimizu managed to seize the momentum and there were moments of counterattacks, but in the 28th minute, Shimizu's left back Kodama advanced, and Tanabe defended resolutely. Immediately after that, forward Hara circled from the right to the center and got into a shooting position with speed, but Ishikawa blocked it with a sliding tackle. They attempted a counterattack, but the pass from Tanabe to Ishikawa, who was trying to advance, did not get through.

　In the 30th minute, a free kick was awarded to Shimizu at a position almost centrally in Tokyo's territory, around 27-28 meters. MF Fujimoto aimed directly, but the ball grazed Kajiyama and was caught by Gonda. In the 37th minute, following a right corner kick for Shimizu, a left corner kick was awarded, and MF Hyodo's kick was initially deflected but returned to MF Hyodo. From there, a cross sent to the front of the goal hit the bar... It was a tense moment, but the defense remained focused and ended the first half with stable play.

Scoring 3 points, the final stages became hectic, but we advanced to the next round in 1st place!

　In the early stages of the second half, the match continued with back-and-forth action, but in the 57th minute, Suzuki was brought on to replace Kondo. Tanabe was moved up front to aim for an additional goal. In the 61st minute, Ishikawa in the center passed to Tanabe on the right side. Tanabe boldly dribbled forward, drawing in the defenders and sending a backward pass into the area. Ishikawa received it, calmly evaded the sliding defender, and scored with his left foot!! Thanks to the good connection between Ishikawa and Tanabe, they secured the second goal!!

　In the 66th minute, Akamine was brought on to replace Cabore. Then, in the 71st minute, Akamine, who had just come on, was brought down in the area while trying to chase the ball up front. Tokyo earned a penalty kick, and as a result of this play, Shimizu DF Aoyama received two yellow cards and was sent off. The penalty kick taken by Akamine was initially blocked by the GK, but it was ruled that the GK moved early, leading to a retake. However, on the second attempt, he scored cleanly, taking a three-goal lead.

　It seemed like they had pulled away, but Shimizu, despite being down to 10 men, launched a determined counterattack. In the 75th minute, Ohtake came on for Tanabe. Akamine moved to the front line, Ohtake took the central position, Ishikawa was on the left midfield, and Suzuki was on the right, trying to close out the match. In the 82nd minute, Ohtake sent a strong floating pass to the front line, and Kajiyama broke through behind the defense. They created a chance with the combination of Ohtake and Kajiyama, but the timing was just slightly off. Just after that, in the 83rd minute, Tokyo was caught off guard during an attack and suffered a counter. Shimizu's midfielder Edamura surged up the right side, delivered a cross, and the substitute forward Omae was able to get to it near the goal and scored with a header...

　This caused Tokyo to panic, and in the 86th minute, Shimizu FW Omae created a chance at the left corner of the area, leading to a delayed response and a foul by Hiramatsu inside the area. A penalty kick was awarded to Shimizu. However, FW Hara's penalty kick was saved well by Gonda! The final stages became frantic, but they managed to keep the score to just one goal conceded, calmly passing the ball without rushing as time ran out. As a result, they secured their advancement to the knockout stage as the first place in Group B. The first match of the quarterfinals will be on July 15 (Wednesday) against Nagoya at Ajinomoto Stadium. The second away match will be held on July 29 (Wednesday) at Mizuho Athletics Stadium.

　【Player Comments】<Tanabe> "Today was an important match, but I think it was good that I played without trying to change anything from when I have played before and without getting too tense. However, when I was substituted, the coach told me, 'Score a goal!' That’s exactly right because I have to score goals in my position. I need to be more aggressive in aiming for goals. I also got caught a few times on through passes today, so that’s something I need to improve personally and also in terms of team coordination. I haven’t had any special discussions with Nao-san, but since Nao-san is very skilled, it’s very easy to play with him. For today’s assist, I passed because Nao-san was free. We haven’t specifically talked about fluid position changes either, but since both Nao-san and I like to move, I think we are working well together. (How was the atmosphere at Komazawa?) It was completely different from when I played in the High School Championship. The atmosphere in the stands was different, and what is expected of me is different. Unlike in high school, I can’t carry the ball alone, so I naturally think about using those around me well." <Gonda> "At the penalty kick, I watched the kicker’s movement and tried to wait until the last moment. I predicted he would probably kick to this side, and I think I was able to stop it well in the mind game. Even so, the opponent was down to 10 men, and we must not concede a goal in the final moments. I have regrets and reflections about that, but since we limited the goals conceded to a minimum... Komazawa is a place I have grown up in, attending the school since elementary school, and it’s a place I love. I was happy to have the support of many fans, and I’m glad we could achieve results in this way. Thank you very much."

　[Summary of Coach Shirofuku's Press Conference] "Depending on the results at other venues, we knew that we could advance from the group stage even with a draw. However, if we worried about that, we wouldn't get a good result, so we approached the match thinking that we absolutely had to win to advance to the Final Round. It was great to celebrate advancing to the quarterfinals together with many supporters and fans. The match showed both challenges and achievements. In the humid conditions, we moved the ball and looked for chances, but we lost possession too much in the first half. In the second half, up to the third goal, our strategy worked fairly well, but how we managed the game after that could have easily resulted in a 3-2 scoreline. There are still issues to address in that regard, but we want to firmly grasp today's challenges and connect them to the next match. Although the national team members and injured players were absent, the players who participated each showed their abilities, and I think we have reached a situation where there is competition for every position. That is the biggest factor in the team's growth. I hope we can establish a good habit where the players who overcome this competition participate in both the league matches and the Nabisco Cup."

　[Summary of the press conference by Shimizu and Coach HASEGAWA] "Despite being an away game, many supporters gave passionate cheers until the very end, and I feel sorry that we couldn't meet their expectations. The content of the game itself was not bad from the first half. We had the ball for much of the time and only conceded from a single headed chance. However, in the first half, with FW Hara playing as a lone forward, we had possession but struggled to create clear scoring opportunities. From the start of the second half, we brought in FW Nagasawa to form a two-forward attack, creating several big chances. If we had scored then, the match could have gone either way. However, we conceded the second goal first and then gave away a penalty kick. Although the penalty decision was the referee's call, there were aspects that could have been considered a foul the other way. After that, DF Aoyama protested and received a second yellow card, which he himself must reflect on. He has been sent off in the last two matches. He received the Fair Play Award last year, and we must play accordingly, but he has received some unnecessary cards, so the team needs to reflect on this. Now that we are in second place, we will face Urawa in the quarterfinals, and the best eight matches will be tough no matter who we play. We are prepared for that and will do our best to win and have a rematch with Tokyo."