Secure a spot in the final tournament on our own

　The 7th round of the Nabisco Cup qualifying league will be held. Tokyo, currently in 2nd place in Group B with 10 points, will face Shimizu S-Pulse at their home ground, Komazawa Olympic Park Stadium. In the final round, which will determine the teams advancing to the knockout stage, if Tokyo draws or loses, their qualification will depend on the results of Kashiwa (8 points) and Yamagata (7 points). However, if Tokyo wins, they will surpass Shimizu's 12 points and secure 1st place, making their goal of advancing to the next stage on their own strength the top priority in this match.

　Tokyo will face this section with a 9-day interval as there was no match in the 6th section (6/7). Therefore, we will take our time to thoroughly prepare. Although Hirayama will be suspended due to accumulated warnings, Kondo will start for the first time since the 3rd section against Chiba on 5/20. Mokuhara, who came on in the previous section, will play on the right side, while Tokunaga will take on the left.

　Shimizu, on the other hand, comes into today's match having already secured a spot in the top two and qualified for the next round. They will be without Japan national team FW Okazaki, as well as FW Yong-sun who is suspended. FW Hara will lead the attack, with FW Edamura dropping back slightly and MF Ito and Honda forming a double pivot in midfield. Hara has been in good form lately, using his speed and finishing ability to make runs behind the defense. Careful attention will also need to be paid to MF Fujimoto, MF Hyodo, and other players with accurate passing and dangerous shots from distance or set pieces.

　On the other hand, Shimizu's organized defense has been strong and has caused trouble for Tokyo last season. The key for Tokyo is how they can grow from there and attack Shimizu's block. We can also expect dribbles from Kondo and Tanabe. Komazawa, which will host the Nabisco for the first time since 2003, is clear and the temperature is rising. Many spectators gather in the stands, creating a lively home atmosphere, and the match started with Shimizu's kickoff at 2:04 pm.

Cabore's goal gives us the lead! Stay focused and show a stable game.

　Shortly after the start, Shimizu's left MF Fujimoto dribbled to the center from a one-two with FW Hara on the front line. He broke through the Tokyo DF's defense and sent a through pass, but Tanabe quickly returned and cut off the ball. In the first minute, FW Hara forcefully dribbled through the center. However, Bruno QUADROS firmly closed in and defended persistently. In the 6th minute, they gained rhythm from their focused defense and Kajiyama dropped a vertical pass to Cabore in the center. Kondo on the right skillfully controlled the ball and sent a lob pass back to the center. Cabore's header went over the stretched hand of the GK and into the top left corner! They scored the opening goal in the early stages.

　After taking the lead, they continued to control the flow of the game, with Ishikawa and Tanabe as the starting points, and Kajiyama and Yonemoto also contributing well on both offense and defense, launching a fast-paced attack that threatened the Shimizu goal. In the 14th minute, they connected from a free kick in the opponent's half, and Kondo received a return pass from Ishikawa and entered the right area. He made a decisive cross, which was met by Bruno QUADROS near the goal, but was blocked by the defense and resulted in a corner kick. In the 17th minute, Tanabe lost the ball once in the opponent's half, but tenaciously won it back and passed it to Ishikawa on the right. Ishikawa then passed it to Tanabe who had broken through on the right side. Tanabe made a strong final pass towards the far post. Cabore jumped in, but was unable to make the connection and was called offside...

　At 24 minutes, Ishikawa connected a side change from left to right, and Murahara, who had gone up the outside, brought the ball to a deep position on the line and crossed it. Cabore in the center and Kondo near the far post were unable to convert, but Ishikawa won the clearance from the defender and took a shot from the right area. However, it was saved by the goalkeeper... As Shimizu gained momentum while losing chances, there were scenes where they were attacked, but at 28 minutes, Shimizu's left SB Kodama's attacking run was defended tenaciously by Tanabe. Immediately after that, FW Hara turned inside from the right and entered a shooting position with speed, but Ishikawa blocked it with a slide tackle. From there, they tried to counterattack, but the pass from Tanabe to Ishikawa, who was trying to attack, did not go through.

　In the 30th minute, Shizuoka gave a FK to Tokyo's central position at around 27-28m. MF Fujimoto aimed directly, but the ball grazed Kajiyama and was caught by Gonda. In the 37th minute, after Shizuoka's right CK, they gave a left CK and MF Hyodo's kick was initially blocked, but it went back to MF Hyodo. From there, a cross was sent to the front of the goal and hit the bar... There were some tense moments, but they remained focused on defense and ended the first half with a stable game.

Scored 3 points and advanced to the finals in first place despite a hectic ending!

　In the early stages of the second half, the game continued with a back and forth development, but in the 57th minute, Suzuki was substituted for Kondo. Tanabe was moved up to the front line to aim for an additional goal. In the 61st minute, Ishikawa passed to Tanabe who was on the right side. Tanabe boldly dribbled forward, drawing the DF and sending a negative pass into the area. Ishikawa received the ball, calmly evaded the sliding DF, and scored with his left foot!! Thanks to the good combination of Ishikawa and Tanabe, the team scored their second goal!!

　Substituting Akamine for Cabore in the 66th minute. Then in the 71st minute, just after coming on as a substitute, Akamine is brought down in the area while chasing the ball on the front line. Tokyo gets a penalty kick and as a result, Shimizu's defender Aoyama receives two yellow cards and is sent off. Akamine himself takes the penalty kick, which is initially saved by the GK, but is retaken due to the GK moving too early. However, on the second attempt, he firmly puts it in and takes a 3-0 lead.

　It seemed like they had pulled away, but Shimizu, even with 10 players, launched a fierce counterattack. In the 75th minute, Ohata replaced Tanabe. Akamine was in the front line, Ohata was in the center, Ishikawa was in the left MF, and Suzuki was in the right, trying to close the game. In the 82nd minute, Ohata sent a strong floating pass to the front line, and Kajiyama jumped behind the DF. Ohata and Kajiyama created a chance, but their timing was just off. In the 83rd minute, Tokyo took advantage of Shimizu's attack and countered. Shimizu MF Edamura ran up the right side and crossed, and substitute FW Omae was marked near the goal and scored with a header...

　Tokyo was in a hurry, and in the 86th minute, Shimizu FW Omae created a starting point at the left corner of the area, and Hiramatsu fouled in the area due to a delayed response. This gave Shimizu a PK. However, FW Hara's PK was saved by Gonda! The end of the game was hectic, but we managed to keep the score at one point and in the end, we didn't rush to attack and calmly passed the ball until the time was up. As a result, we secured our spot in the final tournament as the top team in Group B. The first game of the quarterfinals will be held on July 15 (Wed) at Ajinomoto Stadium against Nagoya. The second away game will be held on July 29 (Wed) at Mizuho Athletics Stadium.

　【Player Comments】《Tanabe》"Today was an important game, but I didn't try to change anything from when I played before and was able to play without pressure. However, when I was substituted, the coach told me to 'score a goal!' and that's the position I have to score in. I need to be more aggressive in aiming for goals. I also need to improve my through passes, as I got caught a few times today. It's not like I'm talking to Nao-san about anything in particular, but he's really good, so it's easy to play with him. For today's assist, I passed to Nao-san because he was free. We haven't talked about changing positions, but both Nao-san and I are the type to move around, so I think we're doing well together. (What's the atmosphere like at Komazawa?) It's completely different from when I played in the high school championship. The atmosphere in the stands is different, and what's expected of me is different. I can't just take the ball and go by myself like I did in high school, so I naturally think about how to use my teammates well..."《Gonda》"In the PK situation, I tried to wait until the last minute to see the kicker's movement. I predicted that he would kick it this way, so I was able to stop it in the midst of the back and forth. However, we shouldn't have conceded a goal in the end when the opponent was down to 10 men. I have regrets and reflections about that, but we were able to hold them off with the least amount of goals conceded... Komazawa is a place I've been going to since elementary school and where I grew up, so I have a special feeling for it. I was happy to hear the cheers from the supporters and I'm glad I was able to get a result in this way. Thank you very much."

　[Summary of Manager Castle's Press Conference] "Depending on the results of the other venues, we knew that we could advance to the qualifying round even with a draw. However, if we were to worry about that, we would not have a good result, so we approached the game with the mindset that we absolutely had to win in order to advance to the final tournament. It was great to be able to celebrate the quarterfinals with many supporters and fans. The game showed both challenges and achievements. We were moving the ball and looking for chances in the hot and humid weather, but we lost the ball too much in the first half. In the second half, our plan worked well up to the third goal, but the way we played after that could have easily resulted in a 3-2 game. There are still challenges to be addressed, but we want to build on today's challenges and move forward. However, with the absence of national team players and injured players, the players who played in the game showed their own strengths, and I think there is competition in every position. That is the biggest factor in the team's growth. I hope that the players who overcome this competition will continue to have a good habit of playing in both the league and the Nabisco Cup."

　[Summary of Shimizu Hasegawa's press conference] "Despite being away, many supporters gave us passionate support until the end, and I feel sorry that we couldn't live up to their expectations. The content itself was not a bad game from the first half. We had a lot of possession and only conceded one goal from a header. However, in the first half, FW Hara was playing as a lone striker, so even though we had the ball, we couldn't create many chances. In the second half, we brought in FW Nagasawa and played with two strikers, and we created several big chances. If we had scored, I don't think we would have known how the game would have turned out. However, we conceded the second goal and then gave away a penalty. The decision for that penalty was up to the referee, but I think there were also aspects that could have been called a foul in the opposite direction. After that, DF Aoyama protested and received his second yellow card, and he himself needs to reflect on that. He has been sent off in the last two games. He received the Fair Play Award last year and I believe he should play in a way that lives up to that, but he received an unnecessary card and the team needs to reflect on that. We finished in second place and will face Urawa in the quarterfinals, but no matter who we play, it will be a tough game in the top 8. We are prepared for that and will do our best to win and have a rematch with Tokyo."