Emperor's Cup first match, a game to redeem the frustration of last year

The Emperor's Cup of this season has begun. In the 2nd round, J Team will face Yokogawa Musashino FC, the representative of Tokyo. This 2nd round match, which is held at the same venue as last year, is a revenge match as we were unable to score and suffered a bitter defeat due to missed opportunities. We must secure a victory and advance to the 3rd round.

However, MoriShige and Gonda, who are members of the Japan national team, are absent. As a result, GK Shiota and DF Maruyama will be included. In addition, Musashino-En, like in the league Hiroshima match, is a team that primarily uses a 3-back formation, so Takahashi will play as the central DF in the 3-back formation.

Musashino-En, which belongs to the JFL and is currently in 12th place. In the JFL, there are ups and downs, but under the guidance of coach Yasuhiro Yoshida, who took over this season, they aim for an even more attacking style. Their concentration and tenacity in crucial moments are still strong. Tokyo will need to show "something more" in response to their high motivation and desperation to "win again" this year. There is a possibility that Musashino-En will defend by pulling back, but how Tokyo will break through that is also worth watching.

Entering September, Ajinomoto Stadium still retains the lingering heat of summer. The match started at 16:00 with the kickoff at Musashino.

Unable to finish despite creating scoring opportunities...

The start of the game was a back and forth battle between Musashino and Tokyo, but gradually Tokyo took control of the ball. In the 11th minute, Tokyo created a scoring opportunity as East broke through the opponent's defense from behind and took a decisive shot from the left area. However, the goalkeeper made a great save to deny the goal, and afterwards, Tokyo lost the ball many times when attacking the opponent's half due to their quick defensive reactions. Still, in the 26th minute, Tokunaga sprinted up to the sideline and crossed the ball into the center. Lucas headed the ball, but it was saved by the goalkeeper, and East followed up on the rebound from close range, only to be stopped by the goalkeeper again.

Immediately after, Hasegawa broke free in the area from Yonehara's pass and faced a decisive moment, but Musashino GK came out and fouled Hasegawa by tripping him. They were awarded a penalty kick for this play. However, Watanabe's PK was stopped by the GK in the bottom left corner of the goal. Ota reacted quickly to the ball that spilled to the left and took a shot, but it was saved again.

Entering the second half, in the 48th minute, East in the right area took a shot freely from Ota's cross, which was spilled by the goalkeeper's punching. In the 49th minute, Ota again carved the side and crossed from the left area. Hasegawa in the center tried to push it in with his whole body, but it only resulted in a corner kick. Unable to make the most of the opportunity, they would be troubled by Musashino's defensive play as time passed.

Therefore, Tokyo substituted Hirayama in the 60th minute and Mita in the 71st minute. Taking this opportunity, they launched a fierce attack and the game progressed mostly in the Musashino-En territory. After the 75th minute, Hirayama continuously created scoring opportunities. However, Musashino-En also had all their players drop back to form a defensive block. Tokyo was unable to break through the defense, with the defenders putting their bodies on the line, especially the goalkeeper. Despite taking 12 shots in the first half and 16 shots in the second half, the game ended scoreless after 90 minutes, leading to a 15-minute halftime extension.

Despite sending off players, Shun Hirayama's valuable goal secures a fierce battle

Musashino-En was brought into the desired development, and a unpleasant atmosphere was also felt. In the 92nd minute of the first half of extra time, Maruyama, who made a sliding tackle on the opponent in the midfield, received a red card and was sent off. From here, they were forced to play with 10 men. However, they made a change to a 4-back formation. Without panicking, they quickly launched attacks in the front while maintaining the defensive balance.

In the 101st minute, Ishikawa was substituted. After that, they continued to push forward without feeling disadvantaged and approached the Musashino defense. The breakthrough came in the first half of extra time. Although the throw-in from the right side was initially cleared by the opponent, Chang Hyun Soo and Mita connected with a header to the left side. Ota, who was advancing up the field, perfectly met the pinpoint cross and Hiraoka in front of the goal headed it into the net! They finally succeeded in scoring the opening goal!

Afterwards, Musashino-En came forward chasing one point and took advantage of Ishikawa and Hirayama's effective counterattacks. Although they couldn't score any additional points, they successfully defended Hirayama's valuable goal until the end of the game. Despite struggling against Musashino-En's persistent play, they achieved victory and advanced to the Emperor's Cup 3rd Round.

[Player Comments]
"Hirayama"
"Before the game, we were all talking about how important it would be to score the first goal. We couldn't score for a while, but we didn't concede any goals in the meantime. It was good to score and win in the end. I scored a goal from Ota's cross the other day as well. When Ota has the ball, he always watches my movement and delivers it perfectly, just like today. I'm glad I could contribute with a goal that helped the team win. However, I don't feel that happy. Musashino-En played with a lot of determination and we were protected by their physical play. It made me realize that we need to do more in that aspect."

"Takahashi"
"I think it's embarrassing as a professional, but it's also necessary to win in a gritty way. I felt that painfully last year, that's the world of soccer. As for today, it was different from the J-League, everyone was also emotionally invested, and I think we showed strength in the challenges. We should have taken it earlier and there were also moments where the opponent's big save or physical defense stopped us from pushing further. It may be embarrassing, but I think it's good to keep winning like this."

[Coach Popovich's Press Conference Summary]
"It was a long 120 minutes, but I think the players fought well and I am grateful to the fans and supporters for their continued support. There were moments during the game where we felt we lacked respect... but not being able to convert the chances we had is something we need to reflect on. If Maruyama received a red card, shouldn't the opposing goalkeeper also receive a red card in the penalty kick situation? There were parts where we didn't agree with the decision, but if we had converted our chances, we could have ended the game earlier. Despite that, we were able to show growth in terms of patience, perseverance, and stability compared to last year, and we demonstrated that over the course of 120 minutes. It is commendable that we achieved results even with one less player."

[Yokogawa Musashino・Coach Yoshida's Press Conference Summary]
"In the end, it was 0-1. Looking at the score alone, I think it was a good game. However, in order to aim for another level from here, I felt that the one-point barrier was significant during the 120-minute match. The players showed a fighting spirit from the beginning. They endured the first half and gradually created opportunities in the second half. I think we were able to demonstrate what we have built up this season. Both defense and offense should be done collectively, not individually. The result was being able to maintain a never-give-up attitude throughout the 120 minutes."