The cup competition of this season has started, facing the Levain Cup Quarterfinal Round

Facing Avispa Fukuoka at home in the YBC Levain Cup Quarterfinal Round Match 1.
This season, Tokyo participated in the ACL, so they will join the cup competition starting from this Semifinal Round. With renewed determination, the tournament aiming for the top has begun.

Mori Shige and Maruyama have been selected for the Japan national team, and Nathan BURNS has been selected for the Australia national team, so this is the "first match" they will face without them. However, Coach Shinoda stated, "We will fight with the members we have now. Among them, we will use the players in good condition," and further clarified, "This is not a place to try something new or experiment; we want to leverage our continuity to win."
Yoshimoto and Takahashi are used as center-backs. Tanabe and Nozawa form a double pivot, and the rest are the same starting players as in the league match. Additionally, Hashimoto, who has returned from injury, will also be on the bench.

Fukuoka, on the other hand, has secured a spot in the knockout stage as the second place in Group B. In the second stage, they have 1 win, 2 draws, and 7 losses, currently on a 4-game losing streak. Their annual ranking is also 18th, and Fukuoka continues to face difficulties in the league, but their determination to succeed in this tournament is likely strong. Above all, Tokyo has suffered 2 losses against Fukuoka in the league. Coach Shinoda expressed his resolve, stating, "The reality is that Fukuoka is 'superior'. We have no intention of simply receiving their challenge; we will face them as challengers and want to make up for the '2 losses'."

Today in Fukuoka, DF Komano, who is on loan from Tokyo, and MF Mikado are unable to play, and FW Wellington is also absent. The lineup shows a 4-3-3 formation, but in central defense are Hamada, with Kim Hyun-joon on the right and MF Tamura on the left. The right side features DF Nakamura and DF Kamekawa on the left, forming a 5-back defense. The double pivot consists of MF Danielson and MF Tomiyasu as they prepare to start the match.

Due to the influence of the typhoon, the weather had been rainy for the past few days, but on the last day of August, it turned into a midsummer climate. The match started at 19:30 with a kickoff from Fukuoka.

Controlled the ball and advanced with an advantage, but there was an accident with Muriqui...

From the very beginning, Tokyo dominated possession of the ball and continued to press forward.
7 minutes: Muriqui ran to meet a pass sent to the front line, but was fouled by an opponent, resulting in a free kick from just outside the left area. Higashi aimed directly at the goal, but was blocked by the Fukuoka defense wall, and when he tried to aim for the rebound, he was blocked by the opponent.

13 minutes: Muriqui dribbled up from the left and passed to Higashi on the side. Higashi sent a cross from the left flank, and Muriqui in the area took a header shot.

23 minutes: Tanabe dribbled forward and passed the ball sideways to Kono, who broke into the center. Kono's trap went awry, and he was initially contained by Fukuoka, but Muroya rushed in on the loose ball and took a direct shot, which went over the goal.
24 minutes: Tanabe won a free kick just outside the left area. Kono sent a soft ball to the far right area, and Maeda tried to head it back, but it was defended by Fukuoka.

Although they pushed the game forward, they were thwarted by Fukuoka's solid defense with five at the back, and the time continued without breaking through. Gradually, Fukuoka created opportunities for counterattacks, but they responded without panic. After that, a stalemate situation continued.

34 minutes: Muroya → Higashi, who is in the right forward line, is fouled and wins a free kick just outside the right area. From here, Higashi sends a sharp kick towards the goal, with Muriqui at the near post, Takahashi in the center, and Maeda at the far post all making powerful runs. However, the ball just barely goes over Muriqui's head and crosses the line. Muriqui injures his foot upon landing from this play and temporarily leaves the pitch. However, he is unable to return and is forced to be substituted.
38 minutes: Nakajima, who scored his first goal of the season in the previous league match, is brought on.

40 minutes: Kono dribbled forward and passed to Higashi, then advanced into the right area. He dropped the return pass with his heel, and Higashi, who ran into the right area, took a decisive shot, but... it was saved by the opposing goalkeeper with one hand. Furthermore, Higashi reacted to the loose ball. He got into a shooting position from close range, but couldn't take the shot due to the defense of Fukuoka's midfielder Danielson.
Blocked by Fukuoka's strong defense, the first half ended scoreless.

Nakajima scored in consecutive matches to take the lead, but was equalized just before the end...

In the second half, Tokyo maintained possession of the ball, but Fukuoka applied pressure from the front, leading to mistakes and a failure to find rhythm. They struggled to move the ball effectively forward, resulting in continued inability to mount an attack.

55 minutes: Higashi on the right side attempts to break through the front line with a one-two with Kono in the area, earning the first corner kick of the day. However, Kono's right corner kick is cleared.
57 minutes: Higashi from the midfield dribbles forward slightly from the left to the center towards Nakajima. He passes to Maeda in the center, who advances into the left area, but is blocked by the opposing defender when receiving Maeda's return pass, and could not take a shot.

62 minutes: Akimoto's goal kick was received by Higashi, slightly to the right in front of the area, who paused for a moment before spreading the ball to the right. Maeda ran in to meet it and took a shot from the right side of the area. This was saved by the Fukuoka goalkeeper, but Nakajima reacted to the loose ball in front of the goal. He got ahead of the opposing defender and pushed the ball into the goal with his body. Nakajima scored his second consecutive goal following the Nagoya match, taking the lead at 1-0.
65 minutes: Tokyo substituted Mizunuma for Kono to increase the speed of their attack and gain momentum.

73 minutes: A quick attack was initiated, with Maeda on the right passing to Nakajima, who cut in from the left towards the center to aim for the goal, but it hit the opposing defender and resulted in a left corner kick. Immediately after that, Hashimoto came on. From Higashi's short corner kick, Mizunuma connected with the loose ball from the cross and took a direct shot.
74 minutes: Fukuoka brought in FW Sakata. Both teams used substitutions to aim for goals, and the pace of the game intensified.

While both sides attacked each other, helped by Fukuoka's mistakes, they did not reach a critical pinch, but Tokyo also failed to secure an additional goal.
85 minutes: Hashimoto's switch was received by Mizunuma on the left, who took a step forward into the center and aimed for a controlled shot, but it was caught by the goalkeeper.

90 minutes: Takahashi clears an early cross from the left by Fukuoka. Fukuoka MF Tomiyasu seizes the loose ball and moves to the right flank. From here, the substitute MF Mishima receives a negative pass at the right edge of the area. MF Mishima feints and brings the ball inside, scoring a powerful shot with his left foot in front of Tokunaga... a heartbreaking goal conceded... This makes it 1-1, equalizing the score.
Fukuoka scored a valuable away goal to equalize, and the first match ended in a draw.

[Player Comments]
《Nakajima》
"(Regarding the goal) We must always anticipate that the goalkeeper will parry the ball. It happened to spill right in front of me, but it's important to be in that position. Throughout the match, I was conscious of actively taking on defenders and getting shots off, as well as playing while utilizing those around me. Returning from the Olympics, it's good that I can express that awareness in my play, but I feel I need to raise the quality and make plays that lead more directly to goals. At this point, we have away goals, and the opponent is in a favorable situation, but regardless of that, I want us to go and win the ball ourselves and score goals to secure victory."

Takahashi
"In the last 15 minutes, we had the ball a lot. However, by maintaining possession, it became a bit ambiguous whether we should go to win it back from the Fukuoka ball holder or fall back and solidify our block. This led to early crosses and continued attacks from the sides. We didn't allow any decisive chances, but in the end, my clearance led to a goal against us, so I need to reflect on that. However, it's important not to carry the fact that we conceded a goal today and ended in a draw into the next three days of preparation."

【Summary of Coach Yoshiyuki SHINODA's Press Conference】
"It is unfortunate that we conceded a goal at the end and ended up with a draw. However, after the match, I told the players, 'It's not over yet, and there is absolutely no need to hang your heads.' Regarding the game, we had longer ball possession but couldn't bring it to a finish. It's a challenging theme, but I think it would have been better if we could have made movements to get behind the opponent or received the ball between their lines and faced forward. It would have been good if we could have applied more pressure on the opponent's goal during the first half. Even so, we managed to score, but in the last 10 to 15 minutes, we lost the ball often due to our own mistakes. We need to manage the game more calmly. We must reflect on and correct our build-up play when leading and how we close out matches. Next is an away game, but I want to show a more aggressive attitude. Although it was a short time, we want to firmly face our challenges and prepare."

[Summary of the Press Conference by Masami IHARA, Coach of Fukuoka]
"First of all, I would like to thank the many fans and supporters from Fukuoka who came out and cheered for us.
In a knockout format over two matches, we were able to equalize by scoring a goal at the end. I believe that the away goal carries significant meaning. Tokyo is the team from which we earned 6 points in the league this season. They changed their coach from there, but I thought they would fight more fiercely and rigorously. Today was positioned as 90 minutes out of 180, but we entered the match firmly to not be overwhelmed by the opponent's momentum and feelings, and we demonstrated that throughout the 90 minutes. In the first half, the plan was to be a bit defensive with the system and enter the match a little cautiously. Ultimately, we conceded the first goal, but including the last equalizer, I believe we sufficiently executed our game plan. With the second match in three days, I want to return home and prepare thoroughly. Advancing to the final tournament is a first experience for Fukuoka, but I want to recover our condition and prepare for the match aiming for the top four.