In the rain, an away game at Tokyo Stadium

　The second match of the Nabisco Cup qualifying league is an away game at Tokyo Stadium against Tokyo Verdy 1969. The rain that started in the afternoon has weakened a little, but it became a night game in the continuing light rain.

　The starting members are the same as the previous match. In this match as well, there was no goalkeeper on the bench. The members on the bench were DF=Komine, MF=Hoshi, Baba, and Suwazono, and FW Amaral.

Tokyo dominates with aggressive soccer, but...

　The former coach reflected on the game, saying, "In the rain, we had to connect more carefully and create our own rhythm," but it was Tokyo who took control from the start.

　The Verdy attacking line, led by FW Edmundo, tried to dribble through, but Jean cut them off with sharp anticipation and connected the ball to the front line, not allowing easy chances. When they switched to the offensive, they developed attacks from the sides with Kelly as the starting point. In the 7th minute, they won a corner kick and Ishikawa took a ground shot from a short corner. In the 9th minute, once again from a right corner kick, Miyazawa picked up the ball punched by the goalkeeper and took a shot. They displayed bold plays.

　On the contrary, Verdy gradually shifted from a formation with two top players, Edmundo and Marquinhos, and midfielder Kobayashi pushing up to a three-top formation. In the 11th minute, Tokyo DF cut off Edmundo's central breakthrough. The ball fell in front of FW Marquinhos, who was free on the right side. However, the ball was saved by Doi after trapping it. Even after that, they cut off the course and did not allow a shot.

　In the 18th minute, Miyazawa passed to Fukuda, who was trying to break through the defense from a deep position, but the Verdy goalkeeper quickly caught the ball. In the 23rd minute, Kaji overlapped from the right side, and in the 24th minute, Kelly passed to Fukuda in the center, consecutively entering the penalty area, but they were blocked by the defense and couldn't finish.

Take the lead with Miyazawa's beautiful goal!

　In the 26th minute, Kelly's through pass allowed Ishikawa to break through the defense, but the opponent's goalkeeper caught the ball. Ishikawa not only made this play, but consistently contributed to the attack. In the 31st minute, he aimed for a goal from a direct free kick, and in the 32nd minute, he approached the goal with a direct pass that shook off the opponent's defenders, starting from Miyazawa on the right, then Kelly in the center, and again Ishikawa on the right. In the 38th minute, he controlled a loose ball in the midfield, turned around to evade the opponent's defenders, and quickly dribbled up to make a final pass. Although Kelly, who received the pass, was offside, the combination with Kelly and Miyazawa was good, fitting well into Tokyo's soccer. Ishikawa continued to show abundant ideas and sharp plays.

　Despite continued pressure, they were unable to create scoring opportunities, and it was an unpleasant period of time. However, in the 40th minute, they reached a right corner kick after Fukuda deflected a cross from the right side. Kicker Miyazawa kicked the corner with the hope of someone connecting from the far side... and the ball beautifully curved directly into the goal! Miyazawa's precise left-footed play resulted in the opening goal.

　Tokyo, gaining momentum, in stoppage time, Toda jumped in with perfect timing to aim for a goal with a diving header from Miyazawa's early cross from the left, but it narrowly missed the top left corner and the first half ended.

No chance for Verdy, 2 consecutive victories in the Nabisco Cup!

　In the second half, Verdy substituted the midfielder Takagi with the speedy forward Sakura. Shortly after the start, Marcinhos took a header shot from a right free kick, but narrowly missed the target. After missing this chance, Tokyo dominated the game.

　In the 50th minute, Kelly took a shot from the pass sent by Shimodaira with exquisite timing, taking advantage of the back of the DF, but the timing was slightly delayed and it was cut by the opposing DF. In the 58th minute, Ishikawa connected with Kelly with one touch, and finally passed to Fukuda who broke through on the right side, and took a shot from inside the penalty area. The shot from an angleless position hit the bar.

　On the contrary, in the 60th minute, Verdy FW Sakurai, who was free in the penalty area, was able to take advantage of the opportunity and shoot after receiving a cross from the right. It was a momentary tense scene, but the shot missed the goal by a wide margin.

　However, Tokyo also failed to score a shot that would make it easier. In the 62nd minute, Ishikawa stopped a long through pass from Kelly right on the edge of the right touchline. Toda broke free in front of the goal with excellent timing, but his shot was unable to be taken due to a slight miscontrol. In the 71st minute, Toda received a pass from Kelly in the center and sent a final pass in front of the goal from the left open space, but Fukuda's shot went just left of the goal.

　In the 74th minute, Toda was replaced by Baba, and in the 77th minute, Fukuda was replaced by Amaral, but there were also scenes where they were counterattacked without being able to keep up with the rhythm. However, Tokyo remained calm and maintained their balance. They also firmly suppressed Verdy's counterattack at the end of the game and achieved a one-point victory.

　From the next match, it is expected that Ishikawa will be called up for the U-21 national team, while Baba and others will be absent from the U-19 national team. "We will somehow manage," said Coach Hara.

　This qualifying league continues for two days, and I want to maintain the good condition by playing lively with the attacking team and balanced soccer with two consecutive games without conceding a goal.

[Summary of the press conference by Coach Hara] "In the first half, I think the rain had an impact, and the ball became slippery, causing us to miss passes that would normally go through, and we couldn't create a rhythm. Also, Verdy adjusted their system to match ours, with Ewerton and Marcinho playing in the center, and Kobayashi playing on the side of Kaji, forming a front three. With them staying there, the field became wider, and we had to barely keep up with Verdy's ball circulation until midway through the first half. So, I instructed the team to raise the defensive line a bit more and connect the passes, or when Ewerton drops back, Miyazawa and Shimodaira should mark him tightly."

　Miyazawa is not only scoring goals, but also growing with each game, and Ishikawa is showing his strengths and adding a nice accent. And Fukuda, too, didn't lose in the competition and ball possession, overflowing with power and making an impact. As a team, it wasn't a game where everything was good enough to be praised. I really want to play more aggressively, but considering the rainy conditions and the game in 2 days, we can say that it was good to take 3 points.

[Verdy Lori Press Conference Summary] "Today, FC Tokyo was faster in ball circulation, able to keep and move the ball aggressively, and strong in duels. However, Marcinhos got injured in the first half due to a foul and couldn't continue until the end of the 90 minutes, which I think was one of the reasons for our defeat when the rhythm picked up in the second half. Also, we couldn't execute quick passing and side attacks under FC Tokyo's pressure. In the second half, we had two chances but couldn't convert them, which didn't contribute to the team's momentum. FC Tokyo had good positioning, but not being able to finish was also a factor in our defeat."