Nabisco Cup Quarterfinal Round - First Match, Victory at Home!

　The Nabisco Cup Quarterfinals are being held. Tokyo will play today's first match as a home game against Nagoya Grampus. In addition to Tokyo, the quarterfinals will feature Urawa, Yokohama FM, and Shimizu, who advanced from the qualifying league, as well as Kashima, Kawasaki, Nagoya, and G Osaka, who participated in the ACL. The matches will be held in a home-and-away format until the Semifinal Round.

　The team is currently on a six-match winning streak in official matches since their promotion to J1. With a short interval of just two days since the last league match, they will face the same opponent again, but this is also a match where they want to extend their winning record without losing momentum. However, the players all say, "More than how many consecutive wins we can achieve, it is important to give our all in the match in front of us and accumulate points one game at a time," and they are moving forward on the path to becoming cup winners with strong determination. Tokyo will approach the match with the same starting lineup as in the league, with Otake returning to the bench for the first time since the Nabisco match against Shimizu on June 13.

　Nagoya, after their defeat in the previous league match, saw coach STOJKOVIC discuss changes to the lineup, with GK Nishimura and left back Sato starting today. Additionally, MF Nakamura and MF Yoshimura formed a double pivot, while FW Davi and Sugimoto made up a fresh two-top formation.

　Since the advancement is determined over two matches, we want to score as many goals as possible to secure victory and gain an advantage. However, if the number of wins and the goal difference are the same after the two matches, the number of away goals will determine advancement. Considering that, we would like to avoid conceding goals at home if possible. Whether the team can unify its intentions and maintain a stable game flow is one of the highlights. First and foremost, this is a match where we want to secure a solid victory at home. The rainy season has ended, and summer has truly arrived. Even at night, the humidity lingers at Ajinomoto, and the match started at exactly 19:30 with Nagoya's kickoff.

Hirayama, Yonemoto, Nao, and Nagatomo attack the Nagoya goal!

　The opening goal came just 3 minutes into the match. After calmly withstanding Nagoya's early onslaught, Gonda sent a goal kick forward. Hirayama contested it, and at first, the Nagoya defender managed to clear it for a throw-in. Ishikawa quickly took the right throw-in, and Cabore caught up with it high up the right sideline, sending a backward pass to the center of the area. Hirayama, waiting free here, easily connected and struck the ball into the goal with his right foot! The opening goal came from quick decision-making and teamwork.

　With this momentum, Ishikawa, positioned centrally, sends a pass to the left front line in the 10th minute. Cabore takes it with a one-touch and charges towards the goal. His shot from close range is saved by the Nagoya goalkeeper, but Hanyu persistently connects the rebound and skillfully turns it back to Yonemoto. Yonemoto strikes a well-controlled shot with his right foot from distance, scoring his first professional goal! Just after, in the 11th minute, from Tokunaga's side change, Hanyu at the far side passes to Cabore again on the right front line. After briefly holding the ball, Cabore returns it centrally to the back, where Kajiyama rises and heads it into the right area. Ishikawa, perfectly timed, strikes with his right foot without hesitation, brilliantly sending it into the far side, marking his sixth consecutive goal! In the blink of an eye, they took a 3-goal lead.

　After that, the game settled down a bit, but they responded calmly even when Nagoya brought the ball into their area. They did not allow any clear chances. In the 26th minute, Bruno QUADROS's feed found Ishikawa, who had drifted to the left side, and he broke forward, carrying the ball with a trap. He charged into the left area but was met by Nagoya defender Tanaka, preventing him from taking a shot. Still, he maintained possession and passed it back to Nagatomo. Nagatomo's precise shot from the left area arced into the top right corner as the Nagoya goalkeeper watched, securing the fourth goal.

　In the 32nd minute, the DF line and midfield exchanged passes, and as soon as they saw a chance, Tokunaga moved forward. Hirayama broke through behind the DF and won a right corner kick. From Ishikawa's right corner kick, it went to Yonemoto in the center. Yonemoto couldn't take a shot but persistently connected the play, leading to a powerful shot from Hanyu to Hirayama in the left area, which grazed the DF and hit the post! Bruno QUADROS couldn't capitalize on the rebound, and although they couldn't score the fifth goal, they managed to score four goals from seven shots, ending the first half.

Although they were caught off guard by Nagoya, they achieved a great victory

　In the second half, Tokyo substituted Akamine for Cabore, while Nagoya brought in FW Tamada for FW Davi. This changed the momentum, and Nagoya seized the rhythm. Tokyo tried to create chances by passing the ball around, but they were hit by Nagoya's counterattacks and were frequently pressured near their goal from restarts. In the 47th minute, Tokyo conceded a free kick just outside the left area to Nagoya. Nagoya's midfielder Ogawa sent the ball forward, but Gonda caught it directly. In the 51st minute, from another free kick on Nagoya's left side, DF Masukawa took a shot from the right area, but Gonda made the save!

　However, in the 53rd minute, Nagoya MF Nakamura sent a pass to the right front line, and right back Tanaka surged forward to a high position. At this point, Ishikawa, who had returned to defense, was turned around, and when a cross was sent in, MF Ogawa, who was lurking in the left area, headed the ball. Tokunaga was competing, but he was outjumped and conceded a goal that they wanted to avoid...

　After that, fatigue began to show in the muggy heat, and the lines stretched out. Still, in the 68th minute, Suzuki was brought in to replace Yonemoto, and in the 73rd minute, Tanabe was substituted for Ishikawa, with Hayu moving to the defensive midfield position. This substitution helped regain composure. In the 75th minute, while connecting passes, the substitute Tanabe advanced with a dribble, drawing out Tokunaga's offensive run. From there, a cross sent to the front of the goal was met by Akamine, but just before it, a clearance by the opposing defender resulted in an own goal, securing the fifth point.

　Nagoya attempts to strike back nonetheless. In the 78th minute, they launched a quick attack, with FW Tsuda running into the left area and taking a sharp shot that slipped through Konno's legs, but Gonda made a great save! In the 85th minute, Nagoya's right back Tanaka advanced and sent a shot-like ball forward. Here, Nagoya FW Tsuda also jumped in with his head, but Gonda securely caught it, preventing any counterattack. Although there were issues in the management of the second half, the match ended with a score of 5 to 1. They established an overwhelming advantage ahead of the away quarter-final second leg and achieved their first official seven consecutive wins.

　【Player Comments】<Yonemoto> "(About my first goal) When the ball came to me, I was only thinking about putting it on target, so I was surprised when it went in. But I'm glad it did. I'm also glad I scored before my fellow rookie Tanabe (laughs). We had a good shape going into halftime, but the second half was not so good. The defensive line dropped back, and we midfielders also fell back. We ended up kicking more and our pressing became weak. We were pushed back and conceded one goal, but in the end, we scored the fifth goal, so I think it was a match that connects to the second game as a team. I think we had a good start, but I want to improve on the issues that appeared in the second half." <Tanabe> "I was preparing from midway through the first half, but the plan changed and I came on midway through the second half. We conceded just before I came on, so it was a bit difficult to enter the game, but I'm glad it didn't get more dangerous after I came on. (You were the starting point for the fifth goal?) If I pass too early, the opponent comes, so I thought I'd dribble once and catch them off guard. That moment was good, but I lost the ball twice more and we faced dangerous counterattacks. Maybe I dribbled too much. I want to seriously reflect on that. Also, it takes me a while to get used to the game, which is another issue. However, I played for the first time at Ajinomoto Stadium in the previous league match against Nagoya. It's home, the pitch is good, and it's fun. My local friends are nearby and come to support me. I want to work hard to perform better."

　[Summary of Coach Shirofuku's Press Conference] "Despite it being a weekday night game and difficult for fans and supporters to come to the stadium, many still showed up. For those fans, we couldn't afford to have a poor match. We lost in the quarterfinals of the Nabisco Cup last year, so there was a strong desire to advance this time. Also, the motivation to absolutely not stop our recent progress was high. We started the match well and scored 4 goals in the first half. We wanted to keep a clean sheet but relaxed a bit in the second half, which is something to reflect on. However, overall, scoring 5 goals against a strong team like Nagoya boosts our confidence. Today, we saw creativity and retries in front of the goal. Instead of forcing shots and hitting the opponent, players showed ingenuity by dodging and maneuvering, which made me happy. Watching the video again, of course, there were scenes where it would have been better to shoot. But it is important to try and err and gradually make just the right decisions, and I want to commend the attempts and creativity. In fact, in the first half, there was a scene where a player passed the shot to another who scored, which was the right decision. We want to continue working as a team to make steady, just decisions without wavering."

　[Summary of Nagoya coach STOJKOVIC's press conference] "It was like a nightmare. I congratulate FC Tokyo on their victory. It was a lesson for us. We tried many things, but nothing went well. (You changed the lineup from the league match?) GK Narasaki was left out due to ear pain. FW Tamada was also given a rest, so FW Sugimoto was brought in. However, since this was the result, changing players did not make a big difference. The key in today's match was the big difference in speed. Our movements were like slow motion, while FC Tokyo was like a bullet train. That was the difference. This is not a tactical issue. We did not have an answer to deal with Cabore, Ishikawa, and Hirayama. Especially the first goal, the throw-in reached Cabore, who was free to take it, but normally a DF should have been marking and covering. I want to face the players and have a serious discussion about today's game. From next time, FW Kennedy will join, and we also look forward to the return of injured DF Arata YOSHIDA and DF Bayalitza. We will never give up and want to show a new Grampus again."