GAME RESULTGame Result

3rd Round 2018/7/11 (Wed)
Audience 2,315 people 
Weather cloudy, no temperature 28.7 degrees humidity 70% 
Referee: Hiroki KASAHARA Assistant Referees: Taku NAKANO / Yusuke SHIOTSU Fourth Official: Reo TANAKA

Emperor's Cup JFA 98th All Japan Soccer Championship 3rd Round

DENKA BIG SWAN

FC Tokyo

3-1

Match Finished

First half1-1

Second half2-0

Albirex Niigata

FC Tokyo Albirex Niigata
23' Keigo HIGASHI
56' Diego OLIVEIRA
60' Diego OLIVEIRA
Scorer 20' Daisho Sakai
73' Togashi Cayman → Yonemoto Takuji
83' Omori Kotaro → Sotan Tanabe
Player Substitution 64' Yoshimi OGASUMI → Bruno MENEGEU
66' Arata WATANABE → Atsushi KAWATA
79' Yuta ITO → Go HANDA
9 Shoot 9
6 GK 9
10 CK 5
5 Direct Free Kick 12
0 Indirect Free Kick 1
0 Offside 1
0 PK 0
53' Keigo HIGASHI Warning 58' Ryota Yasuda
Ejected
FC Tokyo Starting Lineup
GK 1 Yu OKUBO
DF 2 Sei MUROYA
DF 29 Makoto OKAZAKI
DF 3 Masato MORISHIGE
DF 6 Kosuke OTA
MF 38 Keigo HIGASHI
MF 8 Yojiro Takahagi
MF 18 Kento HASHIMOTO
MF 39 Kota MORI
FW 17 Cayman TOGASHI
FW 9 Diego OLIVEIRA
FC Tokyo Substitutes
GK 30 Riku HIROSUE
DF 22 Masayuki YAMADA
DF 25 Ryoya OGAWA
MF 7 Takuji YONEMOTO
MF 27 Sotan TANABE
FW 15 Takefusa KUBO
FW 24 Taichi HARA
Albirex NiigataStarting Lineup
GK 1 Koki OTANI
DF 24 Naoki KAWAGUCHI
DF 44 Shun OBU
DF 2 Kenta HIROSE
DF 3 Yasuda Rida
MF 23 Yasutaka YANAGI
MF 50 Sakai Taisho
MF 17 Yuta ITO
MF 16 Arata WATANABE
FW 40 Kasumi Ogawa
FW 11 Thales
Albirex NiigataSubstitute
GK 21 Yasuhiro WATANABE
DF 29 Taiki WATANABE
DF 35 Shosei OKAMOTO
MF 20 Goh Hayama
MF 26 Sachiro TOSHIMA
FW 9 Atsushi KAWATA
FW 27 BUENO MENEGEU

【Player/Coach Comments】

《Keigo HIGASHI Player》
(It was a priceless equalizing goal)
"I'm glad I was able to execute the shape we had trained for in that goal-scoring opportunity."
However, as a team, we couldn't enter the game in a good shape since it has been a long time since our last match.
After catching up with the tie, I think it was a game that showed the usual Tokyo-like style.
"We were able to show our strength in the second half and play without being pushed back by the opponent, so we want to build on this."

(I was screaming after the goal)
"I want to aim for another goal in the second half."
I have been working on improving my condition since the camp, so my body is starting to move again.
It is difficult to improve the condition during consecutive matches, but I think I want to continue because I can approach the game with a fresh feeling again after the restart."

(We won the competition for scoring opportunities)
If scenes like that increase, I think the number of goals will also increase, and Tokyo has good crossers.
There are also scenes where it collapses inside, so I think there are times when the outside is empty. I think there is still room for improvement, and the attacking pattern is something that we worked on during the camp, so I think more will come out from now on."

"Kosuke OTA"
(2 assists. How was the game?)
"I thought it was a bit bad when we were scored on first, but East player quickly got it back for us so it was good."

Sei Muroya assisted, so I thought I couldn't lose and I was satisfied with the part where I could assist for additional points afterwards.
I am happy to have contributed to the team's victory.

(There were many breakthrough scenes in the second half. What did you focus on at the beginning of the second half?)
"In the second half, Hiroshi OMORI took a good positioning. The space in front of me was wide open, so it was easy to play."
I think our team's intention worked well as we were able to break down the opponent with one touch even in the third goal scene.

(I feel that the team's atmosphere is good as we conducted a camp during the break period)
"Some players have transferred, but today Makoto OKAZAKI showed a solid performance."
I think that such things are very important and will contribute to raising the team's level. As the league matches will also resume, I want to tighten our focus from here on and fight together as a team."

"Summary of Tokyo - Kenta HASEGAWA Coach's Press Conference"

"In the first half, I think we lacked a bit of speed and power to threaten the goal, as it was our first game in a while. We managed to get close to the goal and take shots, but we couldn't quite produce that final push and intensity in the first half."
In the second half, I think the power and intensity to finish the game off came out quite a bit. In that kind of situation, we were able to turn the game around and take the lead.
Today, we played with players who were not familiar with the game. The members who are playing in J3 have game sense, so it was good to be able to have players like Yonemoto and Tanabe play early and return them to official matches.
"The league matches will resume in another week, and we have also advanced to the next round of the Emperor's Cup. We want to continue making good preparations as a team so that we can achieve victory again."

"Summary of Niigata Masakazu Suzuki's press conference"

"In the first half, the players were in a good shape and we were able to score goals while maintaining a compact defense. However, in the second half, we conceded goals due to a lapse in marking and allowed the opponents to take advantage."
"However, I believe that the players' efforts to continue scoring until the end will lead to something in the future."