Emperor's Cup, which decorates the end of this season

Two weeks after the end of the league season, the tournament that marks the end of this season, the 80th Emperor's Cup All Japan Soccer Championship, has begun. The tournament has already been held up to the 2nd round, and FC Tokyo, who competed in J1 this season, will make their appearance starting from today's 3rd round.

Ventforet Kofu, who will be facing them, did not perform well in the J2 league, but that's why they should have a strong determination to bet on the final tournament.

Tokyo, GK Doi and MF Sato, Asari, who fought in J1, are injured, and today, the starting members include Nakai and Kina in the midfield, and Horiike in the GK position.

The dominating Tokyo faces the wall of Kofu DF

From the start, Sako sent a long ball to the right side space, making Masuda run and cross from just near the goal line. Masuda's proactive attacking attitude, expanding from the central midfield position to the side, raised expectations for today. However, in the 2nd minute, Kofu's forward Fujita dribbled up from the midfield and took a shot. By taking the first shot of the day, he showed no fear against the J1 team.

Tokyo took 3 minutes, Amaral's post-play, TUTO and Kobayashi exchanged direct passes, and finally Fujiyama, who had advanced from the left side to the middle of the penalty area, sent a final pass for Kobayashi to break through. However, the shot from a close distance from the left goal post was blocked by Ito, the goalkeeper of Kofu.

Tokyo dominates the ball. Even when Kofu defends and clears, Kina, Naito, and Fujiyama pick up the ball and continue the game inside Kofu's territory. In the 11th minute, from a quick restart, Kobayashi takes a clean shot from outside the penalty area, but the goalkeeper spills it and Amaral tries to follow up, only to be stopped by the goalkeeper again, missing a scoring opportunity.

On the other hand, Kofu also had a chance in the 12th minute when Fujita broke free from the defense with a long ball, skillfully dribbled past Komine with a feint, and took a powerful shot, opening up the shooting lane. They are aiming for opportunities despite having few chances.

Tokyo continues to attack, but they start to feel stuck by having too much freedom with the ball. There is no space in front of the goal, and they cannot bring it to a shot.

At 18 minutes, Masuda broke through the defense and faced the goalkeeper one-on-one with a free kick ball, but there was a collision. At 22 minutes, a cross from Naito on the right side went up to Amaral in the center, but his header shot, contested by the defender, couldn't find the target.

In front of Kofu, who have four midfielders and three defenders pulling back and defending tenaciously, the frustrating time continues. In the 32nd minute, Sandoval picked up the loose ball after a scramble in front of the goal and sent a final pass to Amaral, but his shot from the goal area missed the target. In the 38th minute, Amaral's header from a left corner kick was cleared by the opponent's defender just before the goal. Despite connecting this ball, Kobayashi's header at the end could not find the goal. On the contrary, in stoppage time, Kofu's Fujita dropped a pass from near the halfway line to the front line, where midfielder Dobashi was waiting freely. Naito cut it off just in time, avoiding any danger, and the first half ended with a score of 0-0.

Kofu, who couldn't convert their scoring opportunities and capitalized on one chance

Even in the second half, Kofu's tenacious defense remains unchanged. Tokyo earns free kicks in the 46th and 49th minutes, but TUTO's powerful kick narrowly misses the goal. On the other hand, Kofu aggressively presses from the front, disrupting the flow and preventing Tokyo from connecting as they would like.

In the 54th minute, the ball in the midfield was intercepted, and Kofu launched a quick attack, but Sandro's brave interception and goalkeeper Horiike's save just before the shot. Tokyo's attacking play becomes monotonous against the concentrated Kofu defense... In the 12th minute, Masuda tries to break through with a dribble in the center of the penalty area, but there is no support and Kofu instead takes the ball and counterattacks. As time goes by, the exchange of offense and defense becomes intense.

Tokyo replaced Kobayashi with Yatogi in the 63rd minute, and immediately replaced Kina, who injured his leg, with Koike in the 67th minute. In the 68th minute, they connected a short pass from a right corner kick, and Amaral, who was left free in front of the goal, took a soft touch volley shot, but the ball went over the goal. In the 70th minute, Koike also took a middle shot, but it went straight to the goalkeeper.

Both teams gradually eased off their pressing, allowing the opponent to create more free situations. In the 67th minute, Kofu's newly substituted midfielder, Shinmei, attempted to break through in front of the goal and won a corner kick. Nakawaki headed across Arai's kick, and Naka kicked it into the left corner of the goal without hesitation. Tokyo suddenly found themselves behind in an instant.

Without breaking the goal......

In the 68th minute, FW Toda was substituted for the injured Sakai. They tried to increase the number of players in the front line and somehow regain a goal, but in the 77th minute, TUTO dribbled past the defender in front of the goal and took a shot, but it did not go into the goal. Tokyo, who had no space against Kofu's solid defense, tried to break the situation by running in from the second row. In the 80th minute, Toda made a free run from near the halfway line and broke through to the front of the goal in response to a ball from behind, but the Kofu goalkeeper jumped out and caught it. In the 81st minute, TUTO dribbled past two defenders in the right penalty area and took a shot, but it was saved by the goalkeeper.

After that, Sandro and Naito were brought up to the front line to counterattack, but they were unable to create effective chances through combination play. In the 85th minute, MF Arai received his second warning and was sent off, leaving Kofu with 10 players, but the situation remained unchanged. On the contrary, Tokyo began to make noticeable mistakes due to impatience in front of Kofu's desperate defense. In stoppage time, Amaral's header from Fujiyama's long throw-in also failed to find the goal. The one goal weighed heavily until the end and time was up.

"In this period, amidst the chaos of players being fired or staying, there is a current situation where it is difficult to concentrate on motivation. However, the members who were fired displayed professionalism until the very end," said Coach Tsukada. "That's why I want to play as long as possible in this team," said Nakata. In the face of Kofu's determination, Tokyo ended the season with all matches."

"Coach Tsukada's Comment"

"We tried to get through the first half without conceding any goals. There were a few close calls, but we were also saved by the opponent's missed shots, and a rhythm started to develop among the players and the defense."

I think that's the winning factor. In the second half, while the opponent was struggling to score, we were aiming for one chance. The substitutions also worked well at key moments, and as a result, we were able to defend and score one goal, just as we planned."

"Coach Okuma's comment"

"I think that if we were to lose to a J2 team, it would be in this kind of pattern. There were times when we conceded goals through counterattacks or set pieces, and there were many scenes where we missed clear chances and our front two couldn't utilize the tight spaces effectively. It's a disappointing result. I think that not being able to score against a team that sits back, especially when our front two were stuck, led to conceding goals at that time. I've been saying this since spring, but if we don't develop the ability to adapt to various teams, we can expect to suffer defeats like this. We need to change our mindset and further enhance our individual abilities and player depth."