The Emperor's Cup of this season, welcomed as the defending champion

The Emperor's Cup of this season has begun. J Team will face the 2nd Round, representing Tokyo, against Yokogawa Musashino FC. As the reigning champion of last season, coach Ranko Popovic said, "In order to take a new step in this new tournament, we must play a good game. That is also the mission of the champion." He emphasized the need to focus on each match and aim for advancement.

　However, Takahashi and Gonda from the Japan national team are absent, following the Nabisco Cup Shimizu match. And considering the consecutive matches, the lineup was changed, with Watanabe at the top and Nemanja VUCICEVIC starting as the attacking midfielder. Ishikawa and Tanabe are on both sides. The defensive line consists of Mukuhara as the right back and Maruyama as the left back, adopting a 4-2-3-1 formation.

　Yokogawa Musashino, who belongs to the JFL and is currently in 12th place, showed great tenacity in the "Tokyo Soccer Tournament" held in August to determine the representative of Tokyo for the Emperor's Cup. In the final match against Tokyo 23, they brought the game to a tie at the end of both the second half and extra time, and won in a penalty shootout, earning their ticket to the tournament for the third time in three years. Then, in the 1st round held on September 2nd, they defeated Iwate Grulla Morioka, the representative of Iwate Prefecture, with a score of 2-0, advancing to the 2nd round.

　If Tokyo can get into the rhythm, they should be able to hope for a victory by a large margin, but it is also the first match held under a unique atmosphere. Even if the situation becomes deadlocked, it is necessary to fight without rushing. Regardless of how the situation unfolds, it is a match that requires winning steadily. We want to dominate the game ourselves, advance advantageously, and seize the victory.

　There is a breeze and the sunshine has the softness of autumn, but the game started at 13:04 with Tokyo's kickoff at Ajinomoto Stadium, where the lingering summer heat is severe.

Despite taking control throughout, they lacked the finishing touch and went into halftime with a scoreless draw.

　We entered the game firmly, controlled the ball, and moved forward. However, we were unable to finish due to Musashino's concentrated defense. In the 15th minute, Hasegawa sent a floating ball forward, which Nemanja VUCICEVIC dropped. Ishikawa advanced to a high position on the right area. As he tried to head the ball from a right cross, Tanabe in the far post was escaped by Musashino with a corner kick.

　In the 21st minute, they obtained a right corner kick, and Morishige headed the ball perfectly from Ishikawa's kick, but the shot that hit the frame was saved just before it crossed the goal line. From here, Musashino-En launched a speedy counterattack, but Tokyo quickly switched to defense and prevented Musashino-En from creating any scoring opportunities.

　In the 29th minute, Hasegawa deployed on the left front line. There, Ishikawa received the ball and Maruyama, who had moved inside, aimed for the goal, but the goalkeeper saved it. In the 33rd minute, Ishikawa sent a free kick from the opponent's side on the left to the front line, and Tanabe headed a shot towards the bottom right corner of the goal, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper.

　Despite taking the initiative, they lacked the finishing touch against Musashino's resilient defense, and towards the end, they struggled to attack. In the 40th minute, Ishikawa stole the ball from the opponent's defender and dribbled it out, but his shot from the left area was weak and saved by the goalkeeper. They also had a chance from a set piece, but Maruyama's free kick from a distance in the 41st minute went over the bar. In the 45th minute, Maruyama headed a free kick from the opponent's right side in the penalty area, but it was offside. They didn't allow Musashino any clear chances, but the score remained 0-0 going into the second half.

Unable to take advantage of the opportunity, we conceded a goal in stoppage time and lost our first match...

　Tokyo brought in Kajiyama from the second half. They created opportunities in the front line and further pushed Musashino-En. However, in the 51st minute, Musashino-En launched a counterattack, with left defender Ueda dribbling up and aiming for a shot from the left area. A powerful shot on target was released, but Shioda made the save. In the 54th minute, Yonehara went directly to the front line from Maruyama's interception. Although it initially became the opponent's ball, Kajiyama quickly regained possession and made a through pass to the right area. Watanabe caught up, but couldn't find the right angle and couldn't finish.

　In the 56th minute, Lucas came in. However, Musashino-En's entire team continued to struggle to break through the defense that had retreated to their own half. In the 60th minute, Maruyama → Kajiyama broke through to the left area and made a last pass in front of the goal. However, they couldn't finish it in the midst of the scramble. Hasegawa, who followed up on the loose ball, passed it to Lucas in front and received a return pass, but he couldn't take a shot in the crowded area.

　65 minutes, Maruyama's header from the right corner kick is blocked. Lucas in the right area connects persistently and passes to Watanabe in the center with a header. However, Watanabe's decisive header shot is saved by the goalkeeper. In the 67th minute, Maruyama moves up to a high position and crosses from the left. Lucas in the right area drops the ball and Kajiyama in the front of the central area takes a direct shot but it goes wide of the goal.

　In the 78th minute, Hayu was substituted. Completely pushing Musashino-En, but in the 85th minute, from the flow of the left corner kick, Hayu sent a left cross and Watanabe in the right area's shot was blocked by the opponent's body... On the contrary, in the 86th minute, a left cross from Musashino-En's counterattack goes past the far post. It doesn't reach FW Sekino and avoids danger, but even towards the end, Musashino-En's concentration does not waver, and their momentum increases as planned.

　90 minutes, Murohara pushes forward from a high position and passes to Kajiyama on the right side. Kajiyama passes to Watanabe on the left. Watanabe in the center of the area takes a direct shot, but the ball grazes the bar and goes out... Unable to break through the thick Musashino-En defense, it seemed like the match would go into extra time.

　But in the 3 minutes of injury time, Musashino-En countered Tokyo's right side and gave away a free kick. As Musashino-En entered Tokyo's territory, a free kick from the left side. Although there was distance, MF Iwata's fast kick, which he aimed for, was sucked into the far net as if being carried by the wind... Tokyo overwhelmingly attacked but couldn't convert their chances. On the other hand, Wanchope took advantage of their one chance and fell into Musashino-En's trap, resulting in their elimination in the first match of the tournament...

[Player Comment]《Ishikawa》"With the level difference between categories disappearing and no difference in soccer itself, we don't have the luxury of showing any gaps or carelessness, and I don't think that's the reason for our defeat. There should be a different cause. When we couldn't break through, I think we needed to take another step individually and tactically."

　"Kajiyama" "We tried to pass the ball well and move the opponent to create opportunities... The opponent had many players in front of the goal, but Musashino-En had gained momentum by thoroughly defending from the end of the first half. However, we were able to receive the ball when we got in between, and there was no one to mark us there. If we could spread out more to the sides, make the center thinner, and repeatedly make vertical passes there, I think we could have created more chances..."

　[Summary of Coach Popovic's Press Conference] "Such events happen in cup competitions around the world, but today we experienced a major upset ourselves. There are no excuses to be made after the match, so I am at a loss for words... I sincerely congratulate Yokogawa Musashino on their victory. Looking back at the game, we played in the opponent's half throughout the 90 minutes, but we lacked precision, agility, and focus in the finishing. The opponent's shot was like a free kick from a faraway place, just like in Hokkaido, but it ended up in the goal. This is what can happen in football. It is truly a painful defeat, but we must use this as our strength and move forward. We will give our all in the league and Levain Cup and aim for good results. We would like to express our gratitude to the fans and supporters who came to support us, and we want to show them a solid performance in the next match."

　(Have you ever experienced a goal scene like today?) In a match where Serbia fought for the Euros, they scored a similar goal and couldn't qualify for the Euros. The goalkeeper saved us from many pinches until then, and of course, we cannot blame the goalkeeper for that goal. It's not about losing because of someone's fault or winning because of someone's help... it's about "team" for me, whether we win or lose. Even looking at the content, the only shot that entered the goal was the one that was shot at the goal. I think the problem lies in the fact that we couldn't score despite overwhelming the opponent.

[Yokogawa Musashino・Coach Yoda's Press Conference Summary] "The individual abilities of Tokyo players are very high, so we tried to start with defense. After surviving the first half, we wanted to continue nullifying the opponent's strengths in the second half and score a goal if we had a chance to win... that's what we told the players. In that sense, it was a result that went according to the game plan, in an almost perfect situation. We were considering the possibility of going into extra time, but when we scored at that moment, I wondered if it was really okay to continue like this. However, I think it was because our players fought for the ball that God was watching."

　(What is the defensive point?) It was the first time to switch to a 5-back formation from the start of the game, but I wanted to create a shape where only the players can be seen, by eliminating spaces and minimizing the gaps in marking as much as possible. There are two points, one is to prevent Tokyo's side midfielders and fullbacks from gaining speed. The other is to prevent the forward movement between the defensive line and the midfield. I tried to eliminate these two points. FC Tokyo, perhaps due to the decrease in physical activity in this heat, couldn't create good attacks... that's what I honestly think. In the first half, there were not many long movements, and our defensive line was not moved back and forth much. In the second half, the players changed and there were movements towards the front such as dribbling and aerial duels, so it became difficult to mark them."