Steal 3 points away and advance to the next round!

　The final round of the Nabisco Cup qualifiers is an away match against Cerezo Osaka. In the previous match against Kyoto, we secured a victory with Kim Young-gun's first goal, rising to 2nd place in the group. Kyoto, leading the group with 11 points, has already completed all six qualifying matches, but Sendai, currently in 3rd place with one match remaining, is only one point behind. If this match ends in a draw, our chances of advancing on our own will be lost. Furthermore, if we lose, we will not be able to advance due to goal difference. Therefore, following the previous match, our top priority is to earn 3 points, approaching this match with a must-win mindset.On the other hand, Cerezo Osaka remains winless in the Nabisco qualifiers and is in 7th place. They have already lost the possibility of advancing to the final tournament. Additionally, FW Adriano and MF Martinez are sidelined due to injuries. MF Kagawa, who has secured a transfer to Dortmund, is currently absent due to activities with the Japan national team. Nevertheless, their frontline FW Komatsu, the two shadow forwards including FW Ienaga, and MF Inui all possess high individual abilities. Their flexible positional changes and attacking play are powerful and skillfully exploit opponents' weaknesses. Therefore, Tokyo aims to first establish rhythm through focused defense, control the midfield, and connect to the attack.Tokyo will be without Matsushita due to suspension from accumulated warnings. Mukuhara will take the right side-back position, with the rest of the lineup unchanged from the Kyoto match. Ishikawa said, “The distance between players has become closer, and the balance of using inside and outside is improving, so I am confident we can create chances through more coordinated movements. We all want to move in the same direction with a strong determination to ‘definitely win.’ We want to work together as one.” We aim to create chances through shared awareness and communication among players and score goals during the flow of the game.However, Coach Shirofuku warns that “Cerezo Osaka surely has a strong desire to strike back as a team.” Mukuhara also adds, “We will play our usual football and aim for victory, but Cerezo Osaka has nothing to lose. That is the most frightening aspect.” It will undoubtedly be a difficult game, but without playing defensively, we will seize 3 points with a strong will to win and an aggressive attitude, securing advancement to the final tournament on our own! The match kicked off at exactly 7 PM at Osaka Nagai Stadium with Tokyo starting the game.

A difficult situation allowing the first goal... trailing by one point at halftime.

　In the first half, we were pushed back by C Osaka's aggressive attacks. Starting from C Osaka MF Inui, they launched attacks targeting behind our DF line, causing our defensive line to drop. Also, their goal kicks were sent deep into our territory, preventing us from maintaining a compact formation. Even when we regained possession, we faced intense pressing from the opponent before advancing to the front line, making it impossible to launch coordinated attacks. However, defensively, we concentrated around the back line and did not allow any decisive chances.On the other hand, we approached C Osaka's goal from restarts. At 4 minutes, Nakamura's direct free kick hit the bar and bounced down, but no goal was scored... Suzuki rushed to the rebound but collided with the opposing GK and DF, failing to push it in. At 17 minutes, from Ishikawa's right corner kick, Kim Young-gun's volley shook the net, but it was ruled offside due to Suzuki's involvement. At 25 minutes, from a right free kick, Morishige perfectly headed the ball in front of the goal, but the opposing GK made a great save, preventing a goal.After 30 minutes, the momentum shifted to C Osaka. They took the ball in midfield and spread it to both sides. From there, they repeatedly created dangerous situations by crossing early between Gonda and the DF line. Then, near the end of the first half at 44 minutes, as we tried to build an attack from the DF line, we were pressed by C Osaka DF Sakemoto at a low position and lost the ball. From there, FW Komatsu dribbled inside and scored a shot, conceding the first goal... We went into halftime one goal behind.

Akamine and Kajiyama's first goals of the season lead to a comeback victory! Securing advancement to the Semifinal Round

　Trailing by one goal and facing a tough situation, they made changes at the start of the second half, substituting Hirayama for Suzuki, and at the 58th minute, Otake for Hanyu, trying to regain their rhythm. At the 60th minute, Otake advanced with a dribble, and after a series of passes up front, Mukuhara’s pass to Kajiyama resulted in a shot blocked by the DF, earning a left corner kick. Otake took the kick, and Hirayama shot at the rebound from the opposing GK. The shot was blocked by the DF, but Akamine reacted to the second rebound, striking the net with his left foot to equalize! Regaining momentum, at the 62nd minute, Ishikawa on the left side dribbled up after a side change from Kajiyama and cut inside to take a precise shot from the edge of the area, but the opposing GK made a great save, denying the goal. At the 67th minute, Shigematsu came on for Akamine. They continued to bring on attacking players one after another, aiming to take the lead. However, C Osaka also launched speedy counterattacks, and the tense battle continued. Time passed with the game evenly matched. Still, without giving up, around the 85th minute, Morishige was pushed forward, Tokunaga took the right side back position, and Kim Young-gun and Mukuhara served as center backs in a full-force formation aiming for “one more goal.” Then, as the 4 minutes of stoppage time neared its end, Kajiyama intercepted the opponent’s ball on the left side, fiercely dribbled inside, and just before the area, targeted the gap between the opposing DFs, shooting toward the far side of the goal. His powerful grounder hit the lower left corner of the goal, scoring a dramatic go-ahead goal! Akamine and Kajiyama both marked their first goals of the season, securing 3 points. As a result, they secured first place in Group A and advanced to the Final Round. The quarterfinal will be against Shimizu S-Pulse, with the first leg held on September 1 as a home game. 【Player Comments】《Kajiyama》“At halftime, I was told ‘We have to win,’ and I absolutely wanted to win. There was a feeling among everyone that we could win, and I think we got the goal in a good way at the end. (About the goal scene) The opposing DF’s legs had stopped, so I brought the ball to a good position and thought I might be able to shoot. But since there were many players in front of the goal, I aimed for the opposite side. I thought it would be better to kick to the far post rather than near post and miss the frame, hoping the GK would parry it and someone would follow up on the rebound. Everyone didn’t give up, so I think that led to the result. (About defense) In the final stages, Morige played as a defensive midfielder and pushed forward. Morige can carry the ball to the front of the goal and tried to win the ball high up. So I tried to keep balance behind. There were moments when the back line was equal in number to the opponent, so I thought I had to get back properly on defense. At the back, I consciously receive the ball one position ahead and then move into the goal area. I’m happy that this led to the result.” 《Akamine》“There were many chances from corners and free kicks from the first half. Although we fell behind and faced a tough situation, the coach told us at halftime, ‘Let’s not rush.’ The players also talked among themselves, and a mood was born to overturn the score in the remaining 45 minutes. Everyone believed there was a chance to come back, and the message to definitely score was conveyed as attacking players came on one after another. I think the strong will not to give up led to the victory. (About the goal scene) It came from a rebound off a corner kick. Since it was close to the goal, I shot without hesitation. (Looking back so far) As a team, the number of chances has increased compared to the start of the season, and everyone’s awareness of shooting has improved. Everyone understands the style of soccer we aim for, and I think it’s gradually taking shape. (Feeling relieved mentally after scoring the first goal before the break?) I think it was good in the end, but my desire to score every match hasn’t changed, and even when I can’t score, I switch my mindset and keep going. There are some differences in roles and feelings between starting and coming on as a substitute, but I think about showing my strengths within that. Continuing that is important, and I want to keep working hard to play in the league and score again.” 【Coach Jofuku’s Press Conference Summary】“Although C Osaka had no chance, I think they showed wonderful fighting spirit and high-quality soccer. I’m really happy we could win against such a C Osaka in that way at the end. Both players and supporters showed an attitude of never giving up until the very end. Today, with this squad and these supporters, I felt again that we absolutely want to win something this year. Regarding the content, we need to reflect more on ball circulation. After speeding up, we slowed down again and had to redo some things. Also, as you could see, many shots inside the area didn’t hit the target. That remains a continuous challenge for us. However, in such a situation, the back line didn’t take too many risks and concede additional goals, and we didn’t just rely on long balls. We kept attacking and defending until the end without losing ourselves, and maybe God saw that. (What was the key to victory?) I told the players that since we took risks to score, there were some dangerous moments. If we had conceded an additional goal then, the game would have been over. But no one slacked off on the last 50 cm of body contact, and everyone managed to slide back to the distance where they could make a sliding tackle on the last rebound. That perseverance led to the comeback. (What did you gain from the Nabisco Cup and what will you work on during the break?) Including the league, I think it was really good that the whole team showed an attitude of not giving up in the last few matches. However, to make a comeback in the second half of the league and to stand again on the National stage in the Nabisco, we can’t say the attacking third is solved yet. With our current skills, we should be able to create more shooting opportunities, and there are still moments that make us hold our heads about shooting itself. We want to train hard with the players and level up for the restart.” 【C Osaka Levir CULPI Coach’s Press Conference Summary】“The match was evenly matched, and I think it was a game we could have won. It’s really painful to suffer such a frustrating loss, but we have lost in stoppage time in the last two matches. Considering this is not the first time, when facing experienced teams, the youth, naivety, and immaturity of our team show, especially mentally. (Theme for the break?) Although the results were the worst possible, it was a gain to be able to evaluate the performance while using many players including young ones. Especially today, MF Maruhashi showed a very good performance. When the league restarts, FW Adriano, FW Martinez, and MF Kiyotake will join today’s members, so I think the quality will improve with those three returning based on today’s play. The possibility of winning will increase.”