In pursuit of advancing to the Best 8 in the Emperor's Cup

Emperor's Cup 4th Round held. Shimizu S-Pulse will compete at Ajinomoto.
In the league matches, we drew with Urawa and Kashima, and have been undefeated in the last 10 official matches. While building up as a team, we are gradually gaining strength in competition as well.
However, this Emperor's Cup is a single-elimination tournament, so it is required to advance to the next round with certainty.
Coach Massimo also said, "Our approach remains unchanged, but only one team will survive in this single-elimination match."
He talked about the importance of minimizing mistakes and focusing on fighting in order for us to become one of them.

But the team is in a difficult situation. Currently, MoriShige and Muto are absent from the national team. Nakajima is also unable to play due to registration issues.
Furthermore, Ota has developed a fever since yesterday and is forced to miss the game. As a result, Canini will make his first start as a center back.
In addition, Mokuhara was selected as the left SB, and Mita was selected as the midfielder. Hiraoka made his first appearance on the bench, and GK Shioda and Wai were also substitutes, truly approaching the match as a total team effort.

Taku SHIMIZU, who is facing them, advanced to the 4th Round of the Emperor's Cup by defeating Biwako Seikei Sports University and Sapporo (J2).
However, Shizuoka also has FW Novakovic, DF Yakovitch, as well as DF Miura and MF Kaneko, who have been selected for various national and age group representative teams, absent from the league match.
FW Senuma, who returned from Tochigi, was unable to play and is in a difficult situation.

However, there is momentum in the counterattack that takes advantage of the speed and coordination of FW Omae and Toshiyuki TAKAGI while strengthening the defense with a 3-5-2 formation.
On the other hand, Tokyo also aims to maintain aggressiveness and focus, aiming for a spot in the quarterfinals.

The match started with Shimizu's kickoff at 19:04 under the autumn-like weather.

Struggling against Shimizu's counterattacks despite having possession of the ball

From the beginning, they fiercely fought against each other, and the game continued with a back and forth exchange. In the 12th minute, Tokyo received a pass from Mita, and Edu, who received the ball in the right area while being marked by a defender, carried it to the center and turned around to take a shot.
However, Taku SHIMIZU's save prevented a corner kick. From here, we got two corner kicks, but they were blocked and we suffered a counterattack.
14 minutes, a feed from Shimizu in their own half was met by FW Toshiyuki TAKAGI in the area, creating a decisive opportunity, but it was saved by Gonda's excellent save to avert the danger.

Tokyo, who holds the ball as time passes, also sets up a thick block and the battles for the ball are intense. They were unable to break through that defensive net and instead fell victim to a counterattack.
In the 27th minute, both teams launched quick counterattacks and created scenes where they carried the ball to the goal area. Shimizu's midfielder, Ryohei, who was registered as a defender, dribbled up and entered Tokyo's goal area.
This was held back tenaciously, but a mistake occurred during the connection phase and they were attacked again. Nevertheless, they were able to counterattack, and Watanabe jumped out to the front line, but Shimizu DF Bueno escaped with a throw-in.

Tokyo snatched the ball in their own territory in the 37th minute and launched a speedy counterattack. Watanabe advanced through the center, with Edu on the right and Kawano on the left pushing forward.
Watanabe attracts Shimizu DF and passes to Kawano on the left. Just as Kawano was about to rush into the area, he was fouled by Shimizu DF...
However, it did not result in a penalty kick and only resulted in a free kick from just in front of the left area.

There were moments when Shimizu created opportunities from their quick passing play on the side, but defensively they covered each other, maintained focus, and successfully defended without conceding a goal, ending the first half with a scoreless draw.

Kawano marks the equalizer! However, immediately after, they allow the go-ahead goal and the all-out attack does not bear fruit.

In the second half, as they tried to break through, in the 47th minute, Mita passed to Tokunaga, who advanced to the right area. Takahashi then took a shot from outside the box, but it went over the crossbar.
In the 54th minute, Watanabe, who was trying to break through behind the defense after receiving a lob pass from Mita, controlled the ball with a trap and attempted a shot on goal, but it was blocked.
After that, Kawano created opportunities with his sharp movements, but lacked accuracy in the front line and was unable to finish.

In the 66th minute, Hayabusa replaced Mita. While trying to maintain balance and aim for a goal, in the 69th minute, Mokuhara and Hayabusa created an opportunity on the left side, and Takahashi, who had advanced to the front line, tried to connect with Hayabusa using a heel pass, but was intercepted by Shimizu and suffered a counterattack. The ball was switched to the other side and passed to the forward Omae.
Yoshimoto was facing this, but was cut back and a sharp shot was taken... It was beautifully placed to the bottom left, passing under Yoshimoto's legs... We conceded the first goal.

73 minutes, substitute Yoshimoto with Kajiyama. Takahashi aimed for a counterattack with a formation where he moved to center back.
Kajiyama, who will be making his first appearance in Tokyo in two seasons, will use this opportunity to start the ball rolling. In the 75th minute, Watanabe on the right side passed the ball to Kajiyama in the center, who then sent a vertical pass to Kawano in the front of the right area.
Kawano evades a one-two with Edu in the area, slips through the opponent's defense and cuts inside, and drives a shot into the bottom right corner! The equalizing goal, filled with Kawano's determination, has increased the comeback mood.

However, the joy was short-lived as in the 76th minute, the ball was stolen in the opponent's territory and played out to the right side of Tokyo. Shimizu S-Pulse's defender, Ikije, passed the ball to forward Toshiyuki Takagi who entered the penalty area.
Canini was facing off, but he was sent a last pass in front of the goal. He tried to control it, but the ball slipped and was pushed in by Shimizu DF Ikije... allowing them to take the lead.

However, in the 85th minute, Matsuda replaced Mukuhara. Tokunaga, Canini, and Takahashi formed a back three, with Matsuda on the right wide position and Hanyu on the left.
Used a double pivot of Yonemoto and Kajiyama to launch powerful attacks. In additional time, Edu received a vertical pass from Kajiyama and then Kajiyama in the midfield sent a long pass to the forward line again.
This was sent perfectly to Watanabe's feet, but he was held back by the opposing DF at the moment of the trap...
Afterwards, Canini was brought up to the front line to launch a power play, and in the final corner kick situation, Gonda also moved up, aiming for a chance.
And Watanabe dropped Yamamoto's corner kick, and Gonda rushed in... but the opponent defended well and the time was up.

They did not give up until the end and launched a full-scale attack, but it was in vain. They suffered their first loss in the official match after the break and at the same time, they ended this season's Emperor's Cup in the Round of 16.

【Player Comments】

"Canini"
"It was my first game after joining Tokyo, and it was also a long time since my last game, so I focused on entering the game carefully."
And I think I was able to establish good coordination with the team. However, the results did not come, which is very disappointing.
However, it was reassuring to have the supporters cheering us on until the very end. I want to do my best to respond to that with my performance and results."

《Kajiyama》
"Right after equalizing, the team had a feeling of 'let's go!' but it was a shame that we conceded a goal immediately after."
When participating, I was thinking about moving the ball firmly and creating the game. I was also instructed by the coach to "fight aggressively and create the game."
I had imagined playing as an anchor and I don't think my coordination with the team was bad. I had also played in practice and in intra-squad matches, so there were parts where I was able to demonstrate that in actual games.
So it's very frustrating that we couldn't produce results. We only have the league matches left, but we want to move forward step by step together."

[Summary of Coach Massimo FICCADENTI's Press Conference]
"It's unfortunate to compete in two tournaments, the Nabisco Cup and the Emperor's Cup, with so many players missing."
Because the Emperor's Cup is considered a very important tournament. If we win, we can also advance to the ACL, so it's that important of a tournament.

However, just like the Nabisco Cup, the absence of important players had a significant impact. The game itself was well-balanced.
Shimizu has been solid in defense with a 5-2-3 formation, effectively closing the spaces at the back. It was a game that could have changed with one goal, but it didn't turn out that way.

What was disappointing was that we immediately conceded a goal after equalizing. Considering the time zone, we also didn't have much energy left.
Afterwards, Edu's header created a chance twice. Kanda made a brilliant save once, but we conceded two goals.

Out of the three scoring opportunities, two were missed. Also, we were unable to get our forwards into the penalty area when it was our chance.
The first goal was a preventable one, and we also conceded a goal from a defensive mistake for the second goal. As someone involved in sports, it is necessary to accept the results.

However, it is very regrettable that it turned out like this.

[Summary of Coach Katsumi OENOKI's Press Conference]
"Amidst the selection of national team players and many injured players, I struggled until the end on how to utilize the players, and ultimately decided to adopt a 3-back formation."
Depending on the situation, it may become a 5-back, but we try to have as many players in the midfield as possible to put pressure on the opponent's fullbacks.

Due to the absence of FW Novakovic, it is difficult to rely on just one FW, so we have opted for a two-striker formation to utilize mobility.
In the first half, there were moments when we were pushed back, but it was crucial that we were able to hold off conceding any goals. I think the players fought really well.
In the first half, we made several counterattacks, but the key was how the two forwards could utilize the space on Tokyo's side.
Using that, wide DF Ikije and Yoshida created a chance. I told the players that side change is also effective, but the accuracy of the last play and cross was poor, and we couldn't score.

In the second half, the FW Daizen's scoring ability was crucial, and even though we were caught up, we managed to score another goal and take the lead.
In the match against Tosu, we were caught up at the end from a 2-1 lead, and that scene crossed my mind again today, but the players fought well and stayed focused until the end.
I think it is important for the team to have won by defending. I think DF BUENO, who made his first start, was able to show his strength against people.
However, because he tends to rely too much on others, I put MF Ryohei in DF and made it into a 3-back formation. We were able to repay the debt to the opponent who defeated us 0-4 in the league match, and there is nothing happier than this.

I think I have become able to work hard compared to a month ago. I want to make the team that can work hard in the next game while continuing the good parts so that it doesn't end in today's match."