Facing the final round with a chance to advance to the Nabisco Cup final!

　The second leg of the Nabisco Cup semifinal will be held at Ajinomoto Stadium, where Shimizu S-Pulse will face off against COSTA. In the first leg, they were able to maintain a lead with goals from Yonemoto and Cabore, but in the second half, they were unable to stop Shimizu's momentum despite being at a numerical disadvantage. The match ended in a 2-2 draw. However, with two away goals, a draw of 1-1 in the second leg will secure their spot in the final. They can be considered to have an advantage going into the home match.

　However, it is clear that Shimizu must take risks and attack. Tokyo will also aim for victory, but there is also the fact that they can advance to the final if the game ends in a 0-0 draw. In this situation, coach Jofuku talked about the difficulty of finding a balance between the "confronting reality" and "playing well" in the second game. Therefore, the key point will be how well they can establish a common understanding. In the first game, Shimizu left room for improvement in their performance after a player was sent off, but it will be necessary to express that common understanding on the pitch.

　At the same time, in the first match, we gained confidence that we can break through Shimizu's solid defense if we can play our own soccer. In the second match, we want to connect passes calmly, attack from the sides, and take the lead. We will have a high awareness of scoring and aim for victory with a one-game winning attitude. Shimizu's DF Iwashita will be absent due to a red card in the first match. On the other hand, DF Aoyama and FW Nagai will start. Tokyo will face the match with the same lineup as the first match.

　The match started at exactly 6:00 PM with Shimizu's kickoff at the sunny Ajinomoto Stadium.

Tokyo-style soccer, with a powerful header from Hirayama, takes the lead!

　Both teams showed their fighting spirit from the start and engaged in a fierce back-and-forth battle. In the 6th minute, after a cut in their own half, a counter attack was launched and Ishikawa dribbled up the field. Bruno QUADROS, who had moved up the center, took a shot but it lacked power and was caught by the goalkeeper. In the 13th minute, Shimizu's left midfielder, Erimura, dribbled into the center area and took a shot, but it went wide of the goal.

　In the 16th minute, amidst a heated back-and-forth battle, Hanyu, who had moved up to the left side, cut inside from the outside and switched to his right foot to send a sharp left cross into the goal area. Hiraoka then shook off the opposing DF and leapt towards the near post to head the ball into the goal, scoring the long-awaited opening goal by taking full advantage of the opportunity created from the side.

　Tokyo took this opportunity to grasp the rhythm and play Tokyo-style soccer by connecting passes. In the 19th minute, Cabore cut in from the left side → Hirayama in the center expanded to the right. Ishikawa took it out to the center, aimed with his left foot, but hit the front of the GK. In the 21st minute, Mokuhara dribbled up the right side and crossed. Cabore dropped it in the center, and Hirayama shot from behind, but it was blocked... In the 25th minute, they countered after clearing the opponent's CK, and from Ishikawa's breakthrough, Hayashi sent a through pass to the right area. Here, Hirayama becomes free, but they couldn't create a clear chance.

　After that, Tokunaga and Mukuhara also aggressively attacked, and Ishikawa and Hirayama switched on and created chances, but in the 37th minute, Tokunaga dribbled fiercely to the deep left side and sent a cross parallel to the line, which Hirayama hit with his foot, but couldn't catch the frame. In the 40th minute, Yonemoto's middle hit the DF and became a CK. In the end, they couldn't score an additional point. They led by one point and turned to the second half.

With a persistent defense, we were able to prevent any potential threats and secure victory, advancing to the Final Round!

　Shimizu tried to change the flow by substituting MF Fujimoto for FW Nagai in the 42nd minute of the first half. However, Tokyo was able to find their rhythm at the start of the second half. In the 46th minute, Cabore on the left side passed the ball to Ishikawa who had moved up to the center. Hanyu made a run, but the ball was stopped by a DF just before it reached him and was caught by the GK. In the 50th minute, a right cross was contested by Cabore and Shimizu's DF in front of the goal. The ball fell to the left side where Ishikawa was waiting and took a shot with his right foot, but it was saved by the GK. Cabore was unable to capitalize on the loose ball and missed the chance.

　In the 53rd minute, Ishikawa broke through the right front line after receiving a pass from behind, but was unable to finish the shot. In this play, Shimizu's DF Aoyama collided with Ishikawa and was injured, forcing him off the pitch. In the 56th minute, he was replaced by DF Hiraoka. Despite being down by one goal, Shimizu aggressively pushed forward. However, Tokyo maintained their focus and defended tenaciously, looking for a counterattack. In the 59th minute, Shimizu sent a cross from the left, but FW Yong-sun was unable to get a touch on it in front of the goal. Right SB Ichikawa → MF Hyodo tried to send the ball forward from just outside the right area, but it was blocked by a Tokyo DF's body.

　In the 62nd minute, Shizuoka's right cross was dropped by FW YONSEN in the left area, and MF ITO took a shot in the center, but YAMAMOTO blocked it with his body. In the 65th minute, Cabore broke through the area, feinted against the opposing DF, cut inside, and took a decisive shot, but it was saved. In the 70th minute, Shizuoka brought in tall FW NAGASAWA, and went on the offensive. However, in the 72nd minute, Tokyo replaced HANYU with SUZUKI, and in the 80th minute, replaced HIRAYAMA with SAHARA. Bruno QUADROS took the center of the DF, with SAHARA on the right and SHIGE on the left, forming a defensive 5-back formation, but they never dropped their line, fiercely competed, and blocked potential danger with their bodies at crucial moments.

　In the 86th minute, Hirayama was substituted for Ishikawa as the right MF. In the 89th minute, as planned, Hirayama cleared Shimizu's cross and passed it to Cabore, who was trying to break through the front line at the right time. The opponent's GK also came out, leaving the goal open, but Cabore's shot narrowly missed the target... Although they couldn't score an additional point, they effectively used player substitutions and shut down Shimizu's counterattack. They protected Hirayama's goal and secured their spot in the final round! On November 3rd, they will face Kawasaki Frontale on the national pitch for the first time since 2004.

　【Player Comments】《Hirayama》"I'm happy to have reached the final for the first time as a professional. Today, we talked about not settling for a draw, but winning and advancing to the final. I'm happy to have scored, but the defense also kept a clean sheet, and I think we won the final together. The goal was something we practiced. I was aiming for the near side. I received a good ball from Hayami, so I thought if I could make my first move quickly, I could score before the opponent. In my soccer career, I won't have the chance to play in the final many times. I definitely want to win."《Hayami》"From practice, I've been thinking about the speed, position, timing, and pattern of the cross, especially focusing on the speed. We also made a promise to always have one person marking the near side. We communicated during practice, and it paid off. I was particularly wary of Shimizu's FW Yonsen's height. Even after scoring a goal, we didn't just sit back and defend, but we were able to be aggressive and move forward, so I think it was a good overall performance. In the end, we were a bit chaotic, but we were conscious of both counterattacks and possession, so I think it was a good performance overall. In the final, we want to repay our debt from the league match. First of all, I'm happy to be able to play on the final pitch, and I want to fight with confidence."

　[Summary of Manager Jofuku's Press Conference] "We were able to advance to the final round by preparing without regrets towards the long-awaited goal of fans, supporters, and club staff. It was a great joy to be able to celebrate with the fans. Today, we could have various situations in the last 10-15 minutes of the game. We expected extreme developments that we don't usually see in the league. However, if we start with that in mind, we won't be able to bring out our biggest common factor. First, we need to maximize our common understanding as a team. We focused on entering the game by giving 100% of our usual fight and strength. It was okay to stay 0-0, and even if we were scored first, I believed that we could definitely score one goal if we played our soccer. We fought aggressively without backing down. The result of 1-0 is a great joy for today, but if we look at it calmly, I think we could have scored the second and third goals. However, it's cruel to say that today, and we can now take time to work on those issues because we were able to advance to the final. I was moved by the players' efforts. It was a game that reminded me once again that every player is necessary for this team. The final round is a stage that the players themselves have won. It is also the result of the fans eagerly waiting for the final to be held in Tokyo. So without hesitation, we want to give our all and have a game without regrets. It also gives us confidence that we were able to fight firmly against strong opponents Shimizu in two consecutive games in the Nabisco Cup. The league will start soon, but we want to continue building and focus on winning one game at a time, and prepare to compete for the top in the fall."

　[Summary of Shimizu Hasegawa's press conference] "I am sorry that we could not give a good result despite the support of 3,000 supporters who came to the game. However, the players worked very hard. I would like to sincerely congratulate FC Tokyo and I hope they will achieve a good result in the final round. In today's second game, it was a good situation for FC Tokyo to draw 1-1 or 0-0. In the second half, we felt that it would be difficult for us if the score remained the same. So we started attacking from the first half and started with FW Nagai. However, there were many mistakes in the first half and we couldn't create the attacking style we wanted. Throughout these two games, it was painful to be scored against first. We couldn't create our own rhythm and style. In the second half, the ball started to move and we were able to create our style, but unfortunately we couldn't score. However, the Nabisco Cup is over. The league will resume soon and we are in a position to reach the ACL. We want to switch our mindset and do our best for the league and Emperor's Cup."