GAME RESULTGame Result

Sec. 4 2013/4/10 (Wed)
Spectators 7,296 
Weather: Sunny, Average Temperature: 11.8°C, Humidity: 40% 
Referee: Yosuke KUBOTA Assistant Referee: Haruhiro OTSUKA / Yukimasa ANAI Fourth Official: Hiromichi OKA

YNC Qualifying Group B Sec. 4

Nagai

HOME

Cerezo Osaka

2-1

Match Finished

First Half0-0

Second Half2-1

AWAY

FC Tokyo

Cerezo Osaka FC Tokyo
55' Yoichiro Kakitani
69' Simplicio
Scorer 61' Chun Son LEE
60' Takumi Minamino → Shoma Edamura
68' Takahiro OHGIHARA → Junpei Kusukami
88' Eji No → Ryuji Hayato
Player Substitution 58' Hiroki KAWANO → Keigo HIGASHI
69' Hirotaka MITA → Naohiro ISHIKAWA
81' Kazuma WATANABE → Nemanja VUCICEVIC
7 Shoot 14
3 CK 5
10 FK 17
77' Edino
89' Ryuji Hato
90'+2 Ryuji Hato
Warning 64' Kazuma WATANABE
90'+2 Ryuji Hanyu
Exit
Cerezo OsakaStarting Lineup
GK 21 Jin Hyeon KIM
DF 3 Teruyuki Motoniwa
DF 4 Yasukazu Fujimoto
DF 7 Arai Tetsu
DF 14 Yusuke Maruhashi
MF 2 Takahiro OHGIHARA
MF 6 Yamaguchi Hotaru
MF 13 Takumi Minamino
MF 30 Simplicio
FW 8 Yōichirō Kakitani
FW 9 Edino
Cerezo OsakaSubstitute
GK 27 Kwon Yoon
DF 23 Tatsuya YAMASHITA
MF 10 Kusunoki Junpei
MF 16 Shoma Edamura
MF 25 Koki Seiji
MF 29 Daiki KOGURE
FW 11 Hiroto Ryuji
FC Tokyo Starting Lineup
GK 1 Hitoshi Shiota
DF 5 Kenichi KAGA
DF 3 Masato MORISHIGE
DF 4 Hideto TAKAHASHI
DF 6 Kosuke OTA
MF 7 Takashi Yonemoto
MF 8 Ariajasuru HASEGAWA
MF 17 Hiroki KAWANO
MF 11 Li Zhongcheng
MF 36 Hirotaka MITA
FW 9 Kazuma WATANABE
FC TokyoSubstitute
GK 20 Shuichi Gonda
DF 16 Yuichi MARUYAMA
MF 18 Naohiro Ishikawa
MF 27 Sotan TANABE
MF 32 Nemanja VUCICEVIC
MF 38 Keigo HIGASHI
FW 13 Aida Hiroshi

[Player/Coach Comments]

A crucial match to seek revenge in the league and maintain the top spot.


In the 4th round of the Nabisco Cup qualifying league, we will face Cerezo Osaka away. In the previous league match against Omiya, we were defeated 0-1 due to a chance from a set piece. As we have two consecutive away matches from here, we will approach this match with fresh players. Kaga and Ota will be the fullbacks, Hasegawa and Yonemoto will be the double pivot, Kono and Mita will be the left and right midfielders, and Watanabe and Lee will form a partnership in the front line.

C Osaka, on the other hand, is currently in 4th place with 4 points in the Nabisco qualifying group. Despite facing back-to-back games, they have not made significant changes to their lineup and have yet to secure a victory in their 3 official matches, currently on a 2-game losing streak. However, they have not suffered any major setbacks, with all their losses being by a single point. Similar to their previous league match against Tokyo, this will likely be a close battle where a single point could make all the difference. While in a similar situation as Tokyo, they too will be looking to seize the opportunity to rise up at home.

Ishikawa, who returned from injury and joined the team from this round, says, "The current team has skill and versatility, which is reliable. However, if that does not lead to results, we need to add fear to that reliability and continue to challenge. We may need a fighting attitude that can be entrusted to those who watch, until the end it seems to be a fight that cannot be relaxed, but we want to express the attitude of "going to take the ball" and "attacking" on the pitch and lead to victory.

The match started at 19:05 at Osaka Nagai Stadium with C Osaka's kickoff.

Although they dominated the ball, they were unable to create any decisive chances and went into halftime with a scoreless draw.


Tokyo dominates the ball from the start. In the 4th minute, Li takes the team's first shot, but it goes wide. In the 10th minute, Li → Kaga sprints down the right side on a counter attack. From there, they aim for the opposite side and send a pass, but Mita tries to run in and is touched just before, escaping to a corner kick. However, the opponent creates a block and it becomes difficult to make vertical passes and switch the play.

On the contrary, there are more scenes where we concede a counterattack from a mistake. Furthermore, the opponent uses a lot of long balls targeting the shallow defensive line, and although they are able to attack until the goal, they are able to defend well with Shioda at the center. In the 37th minute, Lee, who had broken through the left area, dropped a long pass from Hasegawa, and Mita advanced with a dribble. From here, when a cross was made, Watanabe, who had run into the front center, shot a direct middle shot without much momentum, and it went straight to the goalkeeper.

In the 41st minute, Yonemoto steals the ball in the midfield and expands it to the left side. Mita dribbles around the middle and aims for a middle shot with his right foot, but it goes wide. In the 43rd minute, Kono breaks through the back of the defense with a long pass from Yonemoto's pass from the midfield, but he loses his balance and cannot make a shot. Tokyo dominated the ball throughout the game, but failed to create scoring opportunities. The first half ended scoreless for both teams.

After catching up once, they allowed another goal and suffered their first defeat in the qualifying league.


From the experience of playing against each other in the league, we were instructed to pay attention to how we enter the second half in stoppage time, but we ended up conceding the first goal. In the 55th minute, we tried to cut off the opponent's attack and connect from the DF line, but we were intercepted and an early cross was sent in from the left side. FW Edinho and DF Morishige competed for the ball in front of the goal, but it ended up being picked up by FW Kakitani and scored. Tokyo, who wants to make a comeback, substitutes Higashi for Kono in the 58th minute.

Then in the 61st minute, a play was developed from the center by Yonemoto to Kaga on the right side. From there, an early cross was put in and Li in the center headed it in for a goal. They quickly caught up to tie the game. In the 63rd minute, Mita made a perfect cross from the left side but Watanabe couldn't hit it with his head. It seemed like the momentum had completely shifted to Tokyo, but in the 69th minute, C Osaka quickly connected and MF Simplício scored a goal with a middle shot from a loose ball, giving them the lead once again.

Substituting Ishikawa for Mita immediately. Tokyo, who wants to regain the momentum, becomes completely defensive against the attacking C Osaka. In the 75th minute, Osaka's FW Kakitani flew behind Tokyo's DF and faced off against Shioda in a one-on-one situation. Shioda boldly stepped forward and dodged the shot, but Takahashi, who had covered, cleared it. The DF team managed to hold on and not allow any additional points. In the final minutes, the opponent had a player sent off and continued to push, but they were unable to score. The game ended as it was, resulting in Tokyo's first loss in the qualifying league.

[Player Comments]
《Li》"The goal was just a matter of connecting with the good ball from Kaga-san. There was a scene in the first half where I was stopped by the GK, so I was able to aim calmly. However, it was the same in the Marinos game, I also had a chance to score the second goal. I think not being able to score two goals there is affecting the outcome. It is necessary to continue scoring goals and I have no choice but to believe in myself and keep going."

Today, I played as a top midfielder, but I tried to improve my positioning based on the reflection from the Omiya game and participate in passing as much as possible. I want to tighten up those movements even more. As for the flow of the game, it takes a long time to take the lead, and we are conceding goals at a time when we should not be conceding. If we concede a second goal there, it will be tough. It's not that C Osaka was good... but rather, it became a wasted game where we ended up giving away points. However, we have the strength as a team and I believe we can catch a wave with some kind of trigger."


"Mita" "When I was playing as a defensive midfielder, I tried to make plays that the wingers would expect. I also thought about making runs behind the defense, but maybe I didn't create enough plays in the center. (There was also a moment when I went up and took a shot) C Osaka was setting up a block, so they didn't follow my movements when I went inside. That's why I aimed carefully when I took the shot... but I could only shoot with my right foot."

Just the way we built the blocks was good, but we didn't have any good opportunities to pass. We need to talk more about how to move forward on the front line and make demands. In the league match, C Osaka gradually increased their pace in the second half. In that sense, we had a similar game. We need to be able to decide and not let the opponent do what they want when we dominate in the first half. For example, we needed to make blocks and defend against counters... I think."

[Coach's Press Conference Summary]
Coach Ranko POPOVIC: "What happened here and the result were not what we wanted, and I can't accept it right now. Looking back at the first half, we had the initiative and were controlling the game, but we lacked accuracy in finishing. Whether it was the final pass or the shot."

It is important to prepare well for the next game. It is important to analyze and reflect on the parts that led to this result and improve for the next game. To achieve one opportunity, it is important to get results. I think that by getting results, we will be able to fight with more confidence, so I want to focus on that aspect."

"Levir CULPI, manager of C Osaka: "Tokyo is always a tough opponent, led by a very good coach and with a high level team. Today was another close game. It was good that we were able to secure the victory, but to be honest, we could have finished the game with more ease. We had many chances to score more goals. However, I still believe that today's win was well-deserved."

(We have been playing in the Nabisco Cup with a full team so far, but what about now?) This is our enthusiasm for this tournament. The importance is the same for any tournament. Furthermore, we are aiming to improve the team's completeness by playing with the same members and we are approaching this tournament with that intention."