Aiming for the semifinal round, the team will fight together as one.

The second leg of the Nabisco Cup quarterfinals will be played away against Nagoya Grampus. In the first leg on July 15th, we won 5-1. Therefore, even if we lose in the second leg, as long as we keep the deficit within three points, we will advance to the semifinals. We are currently in a favorable position, but Coach Jofuku says, "Nagoya will come into this match with a strong determination. It is also a home game, so if we take it lightly, we will suffer. We want to go out and win the semifinals ourselves!" Let's tighten our focus and fight with a strong determination.

　Nagoya, on the other hand, has reached the halfway point of the league season and has acquired Australian representative FW Kennedy. Not only has he become a source of goals with consecutive strikes in his first two appearances, but he has also unified the team's will and brought out the best in the players around him. Therefore, the key will be how to contain the attacks targeting FW Kennedy. As coach Jofuku says with a wry smile, "No matter how much we are on guard, we can't change Kennedy's height." We want to tightly control the sides and take care of where the early crosses come from.

　Tokyo will face the challenge with a fresh team, making big changes to the members. Shioda, who will make his first official appearance this season, will replace Tokunaga, Yonemoto, Ishikawa, and Hirayama, and will be joined by Mukuhara, Suzuki, Tanabe, and Akamine in the starting lineup. Coach Jofuku explained, "We have been using the same starting lineup for a while now, so we want to provide some stimulation and increase our options, so that we can synchronize our breathing no matter what combination we use. Some players have accumulated injuries and fatigue, so some recovery is necessary for them."

　In this match, if Tokyo can score the first goal, they should be able to advance the game more advantageously. Nagoya has also regained their strong defensive power, so it won't be easy, but they will aim to attack the spaces and gaps on both sides of Nagoya. It will be a match where the team's overall strength and the flow of the game will be crucial. Let's come together and grab a spot in the semifinal! The match started at 7pm in Nagoya's Mizuho Athletic Stadium.

First half ends with a one-point lead allowed

　Both teams showed a strong desire not to concede, resulting in a cautious start. However, Tokyo began to create chances by connecting passes. In the 13th minute, Kajiyama picked up a loose ball in the center and dribbled up, sending a through pass to Akamine who had drifted to the right area. He took a direct shot but missed the target. In the 22nd minute, they quickly switched to a counterattack. Cabore dribbled and sent a final pass to the right area. Akamine made a precise run and took a decisive shot, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper's excellent save...

　32 minutes, Kajiyama's side change, Murahara overlaps and crosses from the right. Akamine in the area heads the shot, but the timing is slightly off and it floats. On defense, they were firmly holding down Nagoya's long ball, but in the 33rd minute, Imakawa and Nagoya FW Maki competed and the ball spilled to Tokyo's right side. FW Kennedy reacted quickly and the ground pass was crossed to the center, where FW Maki jumped in and scored... They gave up the first goal they didn't want to give up.

　However, Tokyo continued to play a calm game without feeling down. In the 36th minute, Akamine received a pass from Tanabe and kept the ball while carrying the defender. He then passed it to Hayashi who made a decisive shot from behind, but it went over the goal. In stoppage time, Cabore, Suzuki, Hayashi, and Tanabe worked together on the right side, with Hayashi trying to break through the defense. However, Tanabe's pass was intercepted and they were countered. They managed to stop the counter, but in the end, Nagoya's right side defender Tanaka made an early cross. However, Kennedy, the left area forward, missed the ball and it went out of bounds. In the end, they ended the first half with a one-point lead.

Game over with Hirayama's goal! Securing a spot in the semifinal round

　In the second half, Nagoya aggressively launched a power play, while Tokyo countered. In the 50th minute, Nagatomo overlapped and crossed from the left. Cabore, who was running freely in the right area, volleyed the ball but couldn't put it in the goal. In the 52nd minute, Kajiyama quickly restarted the game. Cabore caught up to a long ball sent to the right front line, skillfully cut past the opposing defender who was marking him, and attempted a looping shot over the head of the jumping goalkeeper, but the shot missed to the upper left.

　Tokyo made consecutive substitutions, replacing Cabore with Tokunaga and Ishikawa. They tried to counterattack by using player substitutions. However, in the 65th minute, they were unable to clear Nagoya's right corner kick and allowed a header goal by defender Yoshida, conceding their second goal. Nagoya continued to push forward with momentum and Tokyo struggled to regain control. In the 77th minute, they made another substitution, bringing on Hirayama for Tanabe in an attempt to regain their rhythm.

　As time passed, Nagoya became more aggressive and gradually seized opportunities on the counter. In the 82nd minute, Ishikawa sprinted down the right side and sent a final pass, but it was caught by the goalkeeper. Then, in the 85th minute, Akamine picked up a loose ball after a challenge between him and the opposing DF and charged towards the right area. His negative cross was met by Hirayama for a goal. The game ended with this result, and although they tied in terms of wins, they advanced to the semifinal round due to a better goal difference. They will face Shimizu S-Pulse in September.

　【Player Comments】《Shioda》"I felt both tension and excitement on the pitch in an official match for the first time in a while. I am happy to be back, but since we lost, I feel like I could only do the bare minimum. We have been conceding few goals lately, so I was conscious of keeping the number of goals conceded to a minimum today as well, but we were under pressure for a long time and conceded two goals, which is a challenge. However, even in the midst of receiving a power play, I think it was good that we were able to go for the goal and score. (Did you hear the loud cheers from the stands?) I am grateful for all the support I have received and I stepped onto the pitch with a feeling of gratitude. I am very happy to be back on the field, supported by my teammates, family, and friends. From now on, I want to repay that support by producing results. (Have you been supporting Gonda as well?) In the future, I want to compete at a high level and work hard to win titles together."《Hirayama》"We lost, but we were able to achieve our minimum goal of reaching the semifinal. I think that was good. Even when I was on the bench, I had chances, so I wasn't too worried. I was watching, thinking that if we could score one goal, it would be much easier for us. In terms of playing, Nagoya used a lot of long balls, so we focused on stopping our FWs from kicking the ball. The goal was scored by Nao-san, who was in top form, so I was trying to follow his lead. And then, the pass came just as I had hoped, and it was a great goal. (Did the streak of not losing end?) Everyone is not too down, and we will switch gears for the next game. We have two goals: to win against Kawasaki and to win the Nabisco title, so we want to win one game at a time."

　[Summary of Manager Jofuku's Press Conference] "I think it was great that we were able to achieve our minimum goal of reaching the semifinal round, and I also believe that each player did their best. We lost today, but I think it's important to recognize that we were able to play the game with the minimum result in mind. However, we thought that if we could score one goal without showing any weaknesses, the game would be over. I think the players had the attitude to go for that one goal and their movements leading up to the final shot were good. But by continuously missing scoring opportunities, we allowed the opponent to regain their momentum. It wasn't a game where we wanted to give the opponent a chance, but by missing so many scoring opportunities, we ended up in that situation. If we want to aim for the next stage in the league or the Nabisco Cup, we need to stop the opponent's momentum earlier. Along with our achievements, we need to recognize this as our own challenge and continue to improve in the league. I'm glad we were able to celebrate our semifinal advancement with the fans who came from far away today."

　[Nagoya Stojkovic Coach's Press Conference Summary] "I think our team showed a good performance. We were able to win, but it was a tough game. It was a difficult game considering the result of the first game. We were able to play aggressively and win, but it was not enough. Today, the loss in Tokyo (in the first game) was a big factor. (In terms of game play, were you unable to attack?) In the first 10 minutes, if we had put pressure and scored about 3 goals, it would have been good, but the result of the first game was big. However, we went for the third goal, and I thought we could have scored it. As for us, I think we were able to show what we have today, and if we had scored the third goal, everything would have changed and various possibilities would have emerged. I am satisfied with the content of the game, and I think the players worked hard. Tokyo is a good team that aims for counters, and it was a difficult game. This is the result, but we want to focus on the ACL and the league and move forward."