Fight tenaciously aiming for the semifinal!

After about a month since the final round of the league, we will face Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the Emperor's Cup quarterfinals.
Aiming for the title, we will break through the walls step by step by concentrating on each game and aiming only to win the upcoming battles. However, Coach Massimo and the players honestly admit that there were difficulties during the interval of more than a month. In addition, Coach Massimo will retire after this season. Ota has agreed to transfer to the Netherlands next season. During the training in the break period, Maeda had separate menu time, but he worked on adjusting his condition to be in perfect shape for the game. Also, in the practice match against Urawa last week, Kajiyama made a comeback to actual competition for the first time since summer.
 

Hiroshima, who faced the J.League Championship as the top team with the most points in the year, won the title of Japan's best. They also finished third in the Club World Cup. With the dynamic performance of young players such as FW Asano and MF Chajima, Hiroshima has maintained a consistent style that doesn't change regardless of who is on the field, and has further matured. This season, their record against Hiroshima, including the Levain Cup, is 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss. "We have always had closely contested matches, good games, and tactically high-level matches," and they also feel the sense of accomplishment, but they have also experienced firsthand that it is not an easy game.
 

The members are Enomoto as GK, Tokunaga on the right in the DF line, Morishige and Maruyama as CB, Ota on the left. Takahashi at the bottom of the midfield, Hashimoto as inside half, Yonemoto, and Kono as attacking midfielder. Maeda and Higashi serve as the front line. And Kajiyama returns to the bench after a long time.

On the other hand, Hiroshima is using Minagawa in the front line. In the shadow, MF Douglas and Chajima, with MF Morisakiwa and Aoyama serving as double volantes in a 3-4-2-1 formation. On the bench, there are skilled players such as Sato, Asano, and Mikic.

It is a match aiming for victory by surpassing Hiroshima, who won the league championship and finished third in the championship, with tenacity. The match started at 15:00 with Hiroshima's kickoff at Nagasaki Prefectural Athletic Stadium, where the chill of the evening could be felt.

Seizing the few opportunities, they go into halftime with a 1-0 lead!

In the opening 40 seconds of the match, Tokyo connected passes intricately and moved towards the opponent's goal. In the end, Kono took a shot but it was blocked by Hiroshima's defender. Tokyo continued to attack aggressively with multiple players, but the opponent's solid defense kept repelling their attempts for a while.

At 9 minutes, Hiroshima MF Shimizu crosses from the right side of their own field to the center. Kashiwa MF jumps in from the opposite side, but nothing comes of it.
The subsequent development was a back-and-forth battle, but in the 37th minute, Yonemoto in the midfield passed a long ball to Tokunaga on the right side from the opponent's left side. Tokunaga trapped the ball perfectly and crossed it towards the center with a ground pass. Hashimoto touched it in the center, and finally Higashi jumped in and scored! They took the lead.

Tokyo managed to seize the few opportunities and turned the first half around with a goal in the east, while both teams endured a period of patience.

Caught up in the late stages of the game, and after extra time... eliminated

In the second half, early on, the opponent's MF DOUGLAS broke through from the left side and passed to the central FW Minagawa. It didn't connect, but the situation turned into being pushed back. In the 56th minute, the opponent quickly connected the ball and MF Kashiwa, who broke through on the right side, looked inside well and crossed to the open space. At the perfect timing, MF Aoyama took a shot, but Enomoto made a solid catch by diving sideways. He made a super save and didn't allow a goal.
 

At the 60th minute, Tokyo gained momentum and Kono chased aggressively in the front line. Then, they applied coordinated pressure in the midfield, but Hiroshima also demonstrated their skillfulness. They evaded the pressure one after another and approached the goal with MF Douglas as the starting point. However, Tokyo also solidly defended the center and persevered. Afterwards, the opponent substituted FW Asakawa for FW Minagawa. In the immediate 62nd minute, Maeda made a one-touch shot after Ota's left cross from the left side, but it went over the bar and did not result in a goal. In the 65th minute, the opponent's DF Shiotani, who had gone up the right side, reversed and took a shot in the center. This shot went beyond Enomoto's outstretched hand, but hit the lower left post corner.

66 minutes, Tokyo, who was trying to stop Hiroshima's counterattack, received their second warning and was sent off... 70 minutes have passed, Tokyo had been defending well against Hiroshima's attacks, but with Tokyo's player sent off, they are now down to 10 players. The formation has Maeda as the forward, Kono and Hashimoto on both sides, and Takahashi and Yonemoto as the double pivot. However, there were increasing moments where they were being pushed back by Hiroshima's momentum.
 

In the 74th minute, Tokyo substituted Hanyu for Kono. Hiroshima also substituted MF Mikic for MF Shimizu on the right side. As a result, MF Kashiwa moved to the left. In the 78th minute, Hiroshima substituted FW Sato for MF Chajima, making their final attacking move. After 80 minutes, Tokyo was dominated by the opponent and played defensively. However, they remained calm and resilient in front of the goal, not allowing any goals.

However, in the 85th minute, the opponent sent a high heading from the left side into the area with a cross. FW Asano scored a goal with this cross... Finally, we conceded a goal and the game was tied. Tokyo, who had to play with 10 players, was forced to defend against Hiroshima's continuous attacks. Until then, we had defended well, but finally in the 85th minute, Hiroshima's FW Asano scored a goal with a header and the game was tied. We became completely defensive, but still didn't allow any additional goals, and the game went into extra time with a score of 1-1.

Entering into extra time, in the 103rd minute of the first half, Hiroshima crossed from the right and scored a soft header by FW Asano into the bottom right corner... allowing them to take the lead. In the 114th minute of the second half of extra time, Mori Shige received a second warning and was sent off for a foul against Hiroshima FW Asano... Tokyo was forced to play with 9 players. Just before the end of the first half of extra time, they allowed a second goal by Hiroshima FW Asano. Without giving up, they tried to counterattack and pushed forward, but Mori Shige was also sent off after receiving a counterattack from Hiroshima. Nevertheless, they showed determination and fought with passion, chasing after a goal until the final whistle... but it was not successful. In the last match of the 2015 season, Tokyo was eliminated from the Emperor's Cup in the quarterfinals.

[Player Comments]

"Ota" "Regarding today's match, we allowed Hiroshima to showcase their strengths... They were able to create many one-on-one situations on the sides. We couldn't maintain control until the end against an opponent with a unique style of play. However, we were able to take advantage of the few chances we had and score first. I want to view it positively that we were able to hold on until the last 5 minutes of the game. This feeling of frustration that I experienced in the league matches as well, we must use it as motivation for the future. I truly apologize to the fans and supporters, but we must use this frustration to become stronger, both individually and as a team. I am deeply frustrated that I couldn't contribute anything to the team until the very end and couldn't achieve results. I have nothing but words of gratitude for all of you. I spent truly fulfilling 4 years of my career in Tokyo. Without the support of Tokyo's fans and supporters, I wouldn't be where I am today. I truly believe they are the best supporters in the world. (Amidst the continuous calls of Hiroshi Kousuke after the match, I went to greet, but...) This is the first time I have experienced being called out like this even after the match. I can only express my gratitude, but there are so many emotions that cannot be conveyed through just a greeting. I will be leaving the team next season and moving to a distant place in the Netherlands, but I also think that delivering good news and performing well there is a way to repay the kindness. Because I was able to play in Tokyo, I am here now, and I will fight with pride. I would be happy if you could support me even a little bit. As a fan of Tokyo, I truly believe that the best teammates will always come through. I sincerely support them in winning the title next season. Thank you very much."

"East" "I think the first half was a good game. The opponent came here in a tough schedule, and we have been preparing for today. We were able to take the lead in a good way, but the flow changed when I was sent off. It was a regrettable red card, and I truly apologize. However, my teammates worked hard until the end. I want to express my gratitude for that, but I wanted to win together with Coach Massimo and Ota and the others. It's very disappointing and it's my fault that we couldn't do that. I was not good today, but I want to become stronger and win. I want to become even stronger and aim higher as an individual and as a team. I have reaffirmed that feeling. I truly apologize to all the fans and supporters who came all the way from Tokyo to Nagasaki, but I am grateful for your support throughout this season, and I want to show you further growth in the coming season."

[Summary of Massimo Ficcadenti's press conference] "I think the first half was very balanced, and by taking the lead, we created space and made it easier to play. Hiroshima is a very strong team and has achieved the best results this season, but today we were able to compete with them on the same level. Even after we were reduced to 9 players towards the end of the match, the players fought until the end. I am sincerely grateful to the players. Today was our last match, but I think the players have gained the awareness that they can compete evenly against any opponent. We will leave behind the best players. Now, the result is not important, so I don't think there is a need to talk about it anymore. I would like to praise Hiroshima's performance this season. And finally, to all Tokyo fans and supporters, and everyone I have been involved with, thank you very much."

[Hiroshima Moriyasu's press conference summary] "It was good to be able to advance to the semifinals in any way because it is a tournament where if you lose, it's over. We were conceded the first goal and had to chase, but the players fought without collapsing mentally. We could have been stopped if we had attacked from the center in a hurry in the numerical advantage, but we scored both goals from outside and fought calmly and toughly. It's the 7th game since December, but the players are strong and have achieved victory. We have 2 more matches to play with the current members. I want us to unite and end the season with a smile."