Entering consecutive games, facing the Nabisco Cup with a fresh team

In April, in addition to the league matches, the Nabisco Cup will be held during the week. In the third round of the qualifying league, Nagoya Grampus will face off against their opponents with only three days of rest since the previous league match. From here on, they will enter a tough schedule of four consecutive matches, so for this round, the team will rotate players and use fresh players in the front line. Hirayama will make his first start since the league match against Tosu on March 5, 2011, and will play as the top striker. On both sides, Kono and Nemanja Vucicevic, who will make his first start of the season, will be positioned. Tanabe will play as the attacking midfielder, with goalkeeper Shiota and a double pivot of Takahashi and Yonemoto.

Nagoya, on the other hand, is currently in 2nd place in the qualifying group with 1 win, 1 draw, and 4 points, just like Tokyo. They have also shown consistent strength this season with 2 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss in the league. They will face this match with a similar lineup to the league matches, with experienced players such as FW Tamada, FW Yano, MF Danilson, MF Ogawa, and DF Masukawa in a 4-3-3 formation. With a strong defense centered around DF Tawara and the ability to win through set pieces, Tokyo will need to maintain focus for the full 90 minutes and have a common understanding among all players in both offense and defense. Above all, they must come together as one to aim for 3 points at home.

The strong rain that had been falling since the day before had completely stopped at Ajinomoto Stadium. The game started at 7:04 PM with a kickoff by Nagoya.

Took the lead and attacked, but the net remained unshaken

Tokyo showed an aggressive attitude towards the goal from the beginning and took the lead. In the 5th minute, they quickly moved forward from the restart, with Takahashi passing to Tokunaga who went up on the right. Tokunaga's cross went through the goal area, but Tanabe on the left side took a shot on the bouncing ball. However, he couldn't hit it cleanly. The ball fell to Hirayama in the center of the area, who took a direct shot, but it went to the left.

At 16 minutes, Hirayama received a cross pass from Kono near the area, brought it into the area with a one-trap, and took a shot. At 24 minutes, he launched a quick attack and a long through pass was sent to Hirayama from Vucicevic, trying to break through the opponent's DF. Hirayama, who received the ball in the right area, cut inside the opponent's DF, but... couldn't finish from there.

Nagoya's FW Tanaka takes a middle shot at 27 minutes, but Tokyo DF blocks it and Shioda holds it. This is the only shot Nagoya took in the first half. Tokyo stayed focused and did not allow Nagoya to create any real chances, while continuing to launch quick attacks. However, at 39 minutes, Kono collapsed from the post and Kawano followed up by sliding to the right from the center to avoid the DF and take a shot, but the GK caught it. Despite finding their rhythm, they were unable to score and the first half ended.

Despite both teams attacking each other, they were unable to capitalize on their chances and the game ended in a scoreless draw.

Nagoya made a substitution with MF Taguchi in the second half, aiming to break through with a double pivot and increasing the speed of their attacks. In the 53rd minute, Nagoya's FW Tamada took a volley shot. In the 55th minute, a cross from right back Tanaka Hayato led to a decisive header from central FW Tanaka Teru, but it went wide. In the following 57th minute, they left central FW Tanaka Teru unmarked and he took a shot, but Shioda made a save and averted the danger.

Tokyo, who wanted to change the flow, brought in Hasegawa on the right side and Azuma as a top midfielder in the 60th minute. Tanabe tried to regain the rhythm by moving to the left side. In the 72nd minute, Morishige, who had been pushing up the line from the midfield, aimed for the back of the opponent's defense and passed the ball. In response, Hirayama timed his run perfectly into the left area and took a shot, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper... In the 81st minute, Ota sent a diagonal pass from the left side to the front of the goal. Azuma ran out to meet the ball that had escaped from the chaos, but it was offside.

After that, Lee came in for Hirayama. With even more momentum, in the 82nd minute, Tokunaga overlapped and sent a cross. It went past Lee in the center, but Ota's shot from the far side hit the bar... In the 86th minute, Yonemoto stole the ball in the midfield and dribbled forward. He sent a final pass to Lee, who had broken through on the left side. Lee's shot shook the net, but was slightly offside...

And in the second half stoppage time, Nagoya DF Hayato TANAKA, who was trying to clear Tokyo's right cross, committed a handball foul and Tokyo was awarded a penalty kick. However, Tokyo's PK, which was skillfully timed, was blocked by the top right bar... The rebound was persistently connected and rushed into the goal, but the final shot by Tokyo's Lins missed the target, and the time was up. Tokyo created chances one after another in their typical style, but they were unable to capitalize on them. The match ended in a scoreless draw at home.

[Player Comments]
《Hirayama》"There was enjoyment. Since the team was in a good state, I didn't want to break that, and I fought with the consciousness of how much I could do in the official game what I was doing in practice. In the first half, my body was moving and I think we were able to do what we wanted to do as a team. We were conscious of starting to move and everyone was watching their own movements in the midst of quick transitions between offense and defense. I think we were able to make plays where we connected and both the ball and people were moving. However, the last shot was weak. I want to train and improve on that last part as a task."

《Tanabe》"Personally, in the first half, I didn't feel like my feet were on the ground. I was trying to be fluid on the front line, but I think I held back. However, I was feeling dizzy on the attack, so I tried my best to run and defend. I think I was able to move more in the second half and get involved with the ball."

[Coach's Press Conference Summary]
《Coach Ranko POPOVIC》"I am satisfied with the game content, but I think it was a game where we lost 2 points rather than gained 1 point. In the first half, we were able to control the game by firmly connecting the ball and taking the lead. We came up with ideas and created several chances while connecting, but we couldn't finish them. In the second half, the opponent had some time, but after making substitutions, we were able to regain our rhythm and create many scoring opportunities. However, we need to fix the issue of not being able to finish them."

Nagoya has been a team that has been constantly competing for the top spot in recent years. It is a sign of our growth that we were able to take control of the game against such a team and earn points. However, in order to continue growing, it is important to win games like today's. We were close to victory, but the result is only 1 point. In order to win games like this, we want to continue to approach them as a united team in the future."

"Nagoya Stojkovic Coach" "I think we showed a high-quality soccer even though we couldn't score. We showed two different faces in the first and second half. In the first half, there were some confusion and we gave Tokyo space, which led to their attacks. On the other hand, in the second half, I think we were able to play the soccer we wanted to some extent. I think we could have won if we had a little more finishing ability. However, I think a draw is a decent result."