Emperor's Cup opening, want to take the initiative and show the difference in class

　The Emperor's Cup is being held. The 4th Round, which is the first match for J1 clubs, was played. Tokyo faced Bandeionce Kobe, the top team in the Kansai Amateur League, at Ajinomoto Stadium. They approach this season's final tournament with renewed determination. In the past, they have struggled against "lower-ranked" teams in the first match of the Emperor's Cup. Therefore, Coach Kuramata said that he wants to "fight with fresh players" in today's match, and he started with GK Shiota, left MF Abe, and right MF Kawaguchi. "They have shown results in their regular practice and training matches. It's not to give the previous starting players a rest," he explained the intention. In addition, Ikegami made the bench for the first time since the Nabisco Urawa match on May 17th. The defensive line will be composed of Masunaga and Inoha as center-backs, as Mone and Jean are injured.

　B Kobe, who won the Kansai Amateur League this season, will participate in the Emperor's Cup from the 1st Round and have successively defeated V-Varen Nagasaki, Aichi Gakuin University, and J2 Yokohama FC. There is no doubt that the team is in good form. We should be cautious of the two top forwards, Wada and Mori, who have speed and ample experience in the J-League. Morioka on the left side also used to play for G Osaka and has been showing his presence. We need to be careful of their attacking style, which gathers the ball from a solid defense and launches quick counterattacks. Above all, they have nothing to lose, so we want to fight without losing to their fighting spirit.

　Tokyo's point is how to break down Kobe's defensive strategy. They want to challenge using the speed of Kawaguchi and Abe, and connect to a wave-like attack without rushing from the combination of Lucas and Baba. It is also a match where they want to show the difference in class by not losing in spirit and taking control with their own soccer. The match started at exactly 13:00 with Kobe's kickoff at Ajinomoto Stadium, which is sunny and gives a sense of winter.

Starting with Masushima's goal, Lucas and Baba make the most of their chances!

　The game progressed at a Tokyo pace from the first half. However, B Kobe also pressed with a 4-4-2 formation, quickly transitioning to attack, and the start was not an easy development. In the 2nd minute, B Kobe MF Kawasaki took a middle shot. In the 5th minute, B Kobe FW Mori crossed from the right side and FW Wada took a heading shot. However, Tokyo dealt with it calmly without panicking. They also aggressively attacked after winning the ball, creating many chances from both sides. In the 11th minute, from a one-two between Kajiyama and Baba, Kajiyama floated a pass to the front line. Abe, who received it, shot overhead but slightly missed to the right of the goal. In the 14th minute, from Tokunaga who entered the right area, side change to Lucas on the left side of the area. From here, Lucas aimed for a shot, but it went outside the frame.

　17 minutes have passed. When we got a left corner kick, Baba's kick was hit by Masuzaki with a header and it's a goal! Tokyo, who scored the opening goal at the "desired time," calms down and shows a stable game by avoiding the opponent's press. In the 19th minute, Baba's shot hits the bar directly. In the 23rd minute, B Kobe FW Mori enters the area and collides with Inoha, falling down, but this is a foul by FW Mori. In the 31st minute, a perfect through pass is sent from Baba to Abe, but the trap is too big and it crosses the goal line.

　The additional point was born in the 33rd minute. Inomata cut the ball in the midfield and passed it to Abe, who dribbled into the open space. As soon as he was marked by the opponent's DF, he made a good decision and passed it to Lucas, who was also moving up at the same time. Lucas scored this goal perfectly and got the second point! In the 41st minute, the pass rotation in the DF line was cut off by B Kobe MF Morioka, and they received a counterattack. The last pass from MF Tsuyama to FW Wada was caught by Shioda. Then, in the 43rd minute, Lucas, who had drifted to the right side, tenaciously kept the ball. Abe, who received a pass in the center, boldly attacked and Baba, who followed up on the loose ball, scored a goal! From Lucas on the side, Baba in the second row scored a goal, expanding the lead to a 3-point difference and turning to the second half.

Suzuki also scored 2 goals and won the first match against the weak opponent with a large 7-0 victory!

　The second half also progressed within the B Kobe team's territory. Immediately after the start, Konno aggressively dribbled up and passed to Kawaguchi on the right side of the area. Kawaguchi shot with speed, but it was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper. In the 48th minute, B Kobe was awarded two corner kicks, and Kamata shot a mid-range shot from the loose ball, but it missed the target. In the 50th minute, Baba received a lofted pass from Kajiyama and found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper in the forward line. He aimed carefully and shot from the left area, and the ball went into the right side of the goal! This goal shattered B Kobe's counterattack morale, securing the fourth goal.

　In the 53rd minute, Miyazawa was substituted for Kajiyama. In the 60th minute, Miyazawa made a big side change from the left side of his own field. Received by Tokunaga, he dribbled up and Baba cleared the cross with a shot... showing a dynamic attack, but the shot hit the bar. Immediately after this, Suzuki replaced Kawaguchi as the left MF. Abe moved to the right. In the 62nd minute, from Tokunaga's right throw-in, Abe and Lucas connected with a header in the crowded area, and Suzuki, who followed up on the loose ball, calmly kicked it in and scored!

　B Kobe, the midfield is stretched and there is no pressure, and the initiative is completely in Tokyo's hands. In the 66th minute, Ikegami, who made his first appearance in an official match, was substituted for Baba. Ikegami entered as a defensive midfielder, and Miyazawa moved up one row, creating a calm passing game that threatened the goal multiple times. In the 69th minute, B Kobe's MF Morioka aimed for a shot from a counterattack, but Shioda caught it. Immediately after, Tokyo quickly connected the ball, and Suzuki advanced to the left side of the penalty arc and swung his left foot. The ball bounced in front of the goalkeeper and went in! Suzuki also scored two goals.

　Still not letting up on the attack, in the 72nd minute, Tokunaga cut inside and from the chaos in front of the goal, Ikeda took a bold shot just outside the area. In the 76th minute, Abe quickly broke through the front line and took a shot from a free kick in their own half. Although neither shot found the target, they actively continued to push the game forward. In the 81st minute, Tsuzuki from B Kobe played a through pass to Shibasaki, but Inoha and Shioda combined to defend without any danger. Immediately after, Tsuzuki had a shot from outside the box, but Shioda saved it and it resulted in a corner kick.

　When shutting out B Kobe's attack, in the 85th minute, Lucas received a pass from Suzuki on the left and, seeing no pressure in front of him, took a middle shot from outside the area. The ball drew a beautiful arc and was sucked into the net, scoring the 7th goal. With Lucas' beautiful goal, they sealed the victory with a massive 7 goals, a first for the team. They safely advanced to the 5th round. In the next Emperor's Cup match, they will face Shimizu S-Pulse at the Momotaro Stadium in Okayama Prefecture on December 9th (Saturday).

　【Player Comments】《Shioda》"The scoreline widened, but it wasn't an easy game. I thought Tokyo would have more attacking opportunities, so I focused on taking care of the counterattacks and balancing the gaps left by the attacking players. We were able to finish the game without conceding a goal, thanks not only to my efforts but also to the hard work of the defense line and the chasing of the forwards. We have often struggled in the first match of the Emperor's Cup, so I was only thinking about making it count. Our performance in the league and Nabisco Cup hasn't been great, and the Emperor's Cup is the only title left for us, so we want to go all out and win it."《Mashima》"In this kind of game, it's common for the opponent to defend and score on the counterattack. I had been dealing with a long injury, but I finally got a chance and wanted to leave a mark. Inoha and I communicated with each other, trying to cover for each other when one of us went for a challenge. (For the opening goal), it was a good ball, so I just had to finish it. I think that goal allowed me to relax and play with confidence. But the goal is like a bonus, and I'm happy that we won without conceding a goal."

　[Summary of Manager Kuramata's Press Conference] "I told the players that they need to enter the game firmly against any opponent. We wanted to score early in the first half and play at our own pace. To be honest, there were chances to score a little earlier, so we wanted to take them and proceed with our rhythm. However, we had already scored three goals in the first half, so mentally it was easy. In the second half, the opponent also tried to score actively, so we thought we could win if we scored the fourth goal there. In the past, we always had a tough game in the first round of the Emperor's Cup. As a result, we scored seven goals, and there has never been a game that we won by such a large margin, so I am satisfied personally. (Regarding substitutions), I intended to bring Suzuki in from the middle of the second half. He has a shot, so I gave him some time and sent him out. He scored two goals as a result. Kajiyama had a slight injury to his thigh, so I didn't want to push him too hard. Baba also had an injury to his adductor muscle, so I brought in Ikegami and pushed Miyazawa forward. We have been practicing since last week, anticipating these situations. (Did you expand wide?) We wanted to create an attacking shape where Lucas would be the starting point, running him into the spaces on the left and right, and breaking out from the second row. The third goal, for example, was exactly that shape. We have been practicing this shape all season and were able to score. Of course, we are aiming to win the Emperor's Cup. In that sense, the next match against Shimizu will be a hurdle. We have lost six consecutive games since losing to Shimizu in the league, and we have regrets. We want to win against Shimizu no matter what and aim higher."

　[Summary of Bandione Kobe Hashimoto's press conference] "We were shown the reality. Both myself and the players cannot make excuses, and it was clear that there was a difference in level. I want to sincerely accept the result. The initial plan was to continue without conceding goals, just like the previous Yokohama FC match. However, we conceded a goal from a mistake and couldn't recover. We talked about how making mistakes will always lead to conceding goals at the J1 level, and we tried to approach the game with our own plan. But we ended up with this result. In terms of attack, we created several decisive opportunities, but it's still lacking. We need more depth, so it will be a future challenge. In defense, there were unclear situations regarding whether the full-back or the wide midfielder should go against the players coming inside FC Tokyo or opening up on the outside. There was also a lack of communication and slow movement, which caused confusion when the opponents came at such speed. We were giving instructions to stay calm and improve the quality and accuracy of our play. Lack of communication is also a challenge for the team so far. We have a corporate tournament in two weeks, so we want to make adjustments. The team's plan is based on the individual skills, mental state, and condition of the players. We believe that individual improvement leads to the formation of an organization. Today, there were many mistakes. The difference in quality of stopping, kicking, running, and making decisions became apparent. In the Yokohama FC match, we were able to compete in terms of the quality and accuracy of our play. However, we have a plan to reach the JFL stage. In today's game, we realized that we need to work harder. We want to take this as a good experience and make adjustments so that we can consider today's match as a good game in the future."