Fight with confidence and determination that we can do it even without the presence of the representative

The 4th Round of the Emperor's Cup will be held at NACK5 Stadium Omiya, featuring a match between Omiya Ardija. In the previous league match, they suffered a defeat as C Osaka FW Kakitani took advantage of a momentary gap and scored a goal in the final moments through a counterattack, causing them to lose the chance to secure a spot within the top 3 for ACL qualification. With only the Emperor's Cup title remaining and considering the possibility of qualifying for ACL next season, the players are approaching this 4th Round with a determination to win.
 
Japan national team members Mori Shige, Takahashi, and Gonda, who were selected for the European expedition, are absent, as well as Chang Hyun Soo, who was additionally called up for the South Korean national team. Therefore, in the 3rd round of the Emperor's Cup, goalkeeper Shiota and center backs Kaga and Maruyama were placed. There were also concerns about the impact of last week's injury on Yonemoto, who started in the defensive midfield alongside Hasegawa. On the wings were Mita and Higashi, with Lucas playing as the attacking midfielder.
 
Omiya, who faced G Osaka (J2) in the 3rd round of the Emperor's Cup and won in a penalty shootout. However, after 8 consecutive losses in the league, they have only won once and have not been able to grasp the opportunity to rise again with 7 consecutive losses. In this match, DF Suzuki, who was also a member of Tokyo, started as a FW in place of suspended FW Zlatan. In addition, DF Neil was absent due to being called up to the Australian national team, and DF Kikuchi was absent due to injury, resulting in 4 changes to the starting lineup from the league match.
 
Omiya, who has sharpness in their counterattacks from their solid defense. This season, they had a big win of 5-2 in their away game here at NACK5, but they were temporarily turned around by Omiya's side attacks. They were also defeated by a single cross at their home stadium, Ajinomoto. This match is also unlikely to be an easy battle, but coach Ranko POPOVIC says, "We want to show that we can achieve results with attractive and attacking football."
 
GK Shioda shows his enthusiasm, saying "Winning in any way is the most important thing. The members may change, but I have 100% trust in my teammates and will fight with focus for victory." As the Tokyo fans and supporters filled the away stand and sang "You'll never walk alone", the atmosphere was like a home game for Tokyo. At 7:03 pm, the kickoff for Omiya was welcomed.

Take the initiative and take the lead with a superb goal by Mita in the first half stoppage time!

Tokyo, which aggressively attacks from the start, had Watanabe with a shot in the 2nd minute and Lucas with a shot in the 3rd minute. In the 10th minute, the ball was passed from Lucas to Tokunaga, who advanced deep on the right side. Despite competing with the opponent, Tokunaga showed strength and passed to Watanabe in the right area. From here, he took a decisive shot with his right foot, but it narrowly missed to the left of the goal.
 
12 minutes into the game, it seemed like Tokyo had gained control of the flow. However, Omiya MF Watanabe intercepted a lateral pass in the opponent's territory and sent a long ball from the right side to the back of the DF line. FW Suzuki broke free and faced off against Shioda in a 1-on-1 situation. A decisive moment was created, but Shioda bravely came out and made a save with his entire body!
 
At 18 minutes, a long ball was sent to the back of the DF line, and MF Watanabe crossed from a deep position on the right side. FW Novakovic, who was waiting in the center, headed the shot, but it went over the crossbar. Tokyo is able to create opportunities to dominate the ball in the midfield and bring it to the finish, but there are also moments where they are chilled by the sharpness of Omiya's counterattacks.
 

In the first half stoppage time, which seemed to end scoreless, Mita aggressively pressed and induced a mistake from the opponent's DF. From a deep throw-in on the right side, Lucas in the right corner kept the ball and passed it to Mita who was supporting from the outside. Then, with one touch, he brought it inside and scored a controlled left-footed shot into the far side of the net! They took a valuable lead and ended the first half with a 1-0 lead.

Tokyo's soccer, which is coordinated in attack and defense, secures additional points with Watanabe and Ota and wins

At halftime, coach Ranko POPOVIC said, "It is important to have a strong mentality and concentration, and not to show any weaknesses. The way we start the second half is crucial." In the second half, the team followed his words by displaying strength in defense, pressing from the front, and maintaining the same coordinated passing as in the first half in the attack. As a result, they successfully dominated the game from the beginning of the second half. Then, Tokyo scored a long-awaited additional goal.
 
54 minutes, Lucas, Mita, and Watanabe connect on the right side to break through and send a decisive ground pass to the center, but it doesn't connect. The ball temporarily goes to Omiya, but Yonemoto, who regained possession on the left side, brings it in and makes a delicate last pass to Watanabe, who moves towards the opponent's center back. He takes a delicate touch and swings his left foot to score! The score is now 2-0.
 
A big chance comes in the 67th minute. A pinpoint pass from midfielder Hasegawa to Lucas, who breaks into the area with a right-footed outside pass, facing the opponent's GK one-on-one. However, GK Kitano's quick jump out causes a collision and Lucas falls, but there is no foul. In the 70th minute, Lucas, Ota, and Watanabe quickly pass from the left side, completely breaking through, and finally Watanabe enters the area, but cannot bring it to a finish.
 
Then, in the 82nd minute of the second half, Watanabe was fouled and earned a free kick from just outside the area in the center. Six Tokyo players stood in front of the wall, with Ota and Higashi on the ball. After Higashi's feint, Ota's well-aimed left foot kick curved into the top right corner of the goal. This was Ota's 4th goal of the season from a free kick, making it 3-0 and sealing the game.
 
In the second half stoppage time, Hiramatsu, who made his first official appearance since March 31, 2010, came on as a substitute and received a big cheer from the stands. The team stayed united and concentrated until the end, winning without conceding a goal and advancing to the quarterfinals on 12/22.

[Player Comments]

"Shioda"
"The knockout tournament format may have brought out the best in us, but today everyone was able to give their all. We were able to maintain our focus for the full 90 minutes, and each player's strong determination and refusal to lose contributed to our team's organization. This kind of victory gives the team confidence and I believe it will carry over into the league matches. We will continue to work hard to achieve this."
 
≪Mita≫
"(There was a similar situation before the goal scene, and at that time I chose to pass, so this time I was thinking of shooting if there was a similar situation. The shot itself didn't go in at all during the pre-game practice today... But when I took the shot, only one went in. That was the image I had. (Even though the national team players were absent, they wanted to prove their strength by winning?) Exactly, I think it's good that we were able to prove the depth and strength of Tokyo's players."
 

[Coach Popovich's Press Conference Summary]
"A very profound game for me. I think our players showed very good play and attitude. I enjoyed this kind of soccer myself, and above all, I think there is meaning in the play that did not make us feel the absence of four representative players in this game, and the result we achieved."
 
I think I have proven that these past two years have not been in vain. I am glad that I have been able to achieve what I have been saying since I took office. I am also grateful to the fans and supporters. I am also enjoying my work in Tokyo and I want to continue working together until New Year's Day. I have always said that I want to create an FC Tokyo family. As you can see from today's match, there is a sense of unity between the players on the pitch and the fans and supporters, and I feel that it is a very good family.
 
We still have the rest of the season, so we want to achieve a full stadium at home games and we want you all to enjoy the soccer that the players will show you."

[Summary of Omiya Ogura's Press Conference]
"The start of the first half was difficult with some moments of stiffness, but we were able to play the game at our own pace from the middle. However, we conceded a goal from a mistake that should not have happened in the stoppage time of the first half. In the second half, we were able to do what we wanted despite being behind. But then we conceded another goal from a counterattack."
 
Rather than taking risks and attacking, there was a feeling that we could do it with the players we had, so we went with that. In the end, we attacked aggressively, but we ended up conceding a goal from a free kick and lost. It's not about losing by a certain score in a tournament, but it's still disappointing to lose. It's a shame that we couldn't win despite having so many supporters here.