Playing for a spot in the Nabisco Cup Semifinal Round

　The second leg of the Nabisco Cup quarterfinals will be held at home against Urawa Reds. Since the first leg ended in a 2-2 draw, we must settle the score today. It is a crucial game that we cannot afford to lose as we aim to advance to the semifinals. In the first leg held on the 13th, Tokyo was missing Ishikawa, Suzuki, and Tokunaga due to the U-22 national team expedition, but today Ishikawa and Tokunaga will start. Similarly, Urawa also includes MF Suzuki in the starting lineup, making it a showdown between the best formations for both teams.

　The rain that was falling in the morning stopped in the afternoon, and although the temperature is not high at 24.3℃, the match in Tokyo started with a high humidity of 75 percent.

In the early stages, Urawa dominated but Tokyo created many chances

　2 minutes into the game, Tokyo launched a counterattack from the opponent's corner kick, but the pass from Toda after going through Amaral for a side change did not reach Ishikawa and went out of bounds. In the 6th minute, Urawa's forward Emerson sent a pass with his heel to the space on the right side, and midfielder Yamada crossed the ball. Forward Tanaka headed the ball into the goal, but it was offside. After that, Urawa continued to threaten the goal with corner kicks and free kicks, but Tokyo did not allow any clear chances despite conceding possession. In the 14th minute, Suzuki from Urawa picked up a clearance ball from a left cross and took a shot from outside the box. This was the first shot for both teams combined.

　Tokyo took 21 minutes, and Amaral headed the ball after an early cross from Kanazawa for the first shot. Immediately after that, Tokunaga overlapped and sent a sharp ground cross, but Ishikawa, who received it in the middle, couldn't finish. In the 26th minute, Ishikawa attacked from the right and Amaral received a pass in front of the goal and took a shot. In the 27th minute, they launched a fast attack, Amaral passed to Toda, and Miyazawa took a middle shot from the loose ball of the defender. However, both shots missed the goal.

　In the first half, both teams played tough defense and avoided taking risks in their attacks, and time passed by. In the 35th minute, a long pass from Miyazawa reached the right side, where Ishikawa cut back past the opposing defender and made a last pass to Miura in the center. Miura made a shot, but it was blocked by the defender. Immediately after that, Tokunaga dribbled past the sliding opposing defender and made a powerful dribble to advance, then took a strong shot inside the penalty area. In the 41st minute, Urawa attempted a direct goal from a free kick from the left side, with Emerson taking the shot. In the 43rd minute, Emerson headed the ball into the net from Yamada's right free kick. Urawa had a total of 3 shots in the first half, including these two. Tokyo did a good job containing Emerson and Tanaka, their two top players, and the first half ended.

Emerson took advantage of a momentary opening

　Both teams are vying for a spot in the semi-finals in the remaining 45 minutes. In the second half, Tokyo took control. In the 47th minute, Kelly dribbled and took a shot. In the 50th minute, Kanazawa overlapped with a pass from Kelly and crossed. Toda and Amaral were waiting in front of the goal, but the clearance by the Urawa DF was slightly faster, and they couldn't take a shot. In the 52nd minute, Miyazawa's through pass was intercepted by the DF, who won a corner kick. Amaral then headed the ball, but it went wide of the goal. In the 54th minute, Toda boldly aimed for the goal from the right area, but the opponent's goalkeeper caught it. In the 56th minute, Amaral, who had drifted to the right side, exchanged passes with Kelly and took a daring shot from an impossible angle.

　Immediately after, Kelly dribbles and takes a shot, but the goalkeeper catches it. Urawa launches a quick attack from there, and Tanaka shoots but misses the goal. In the 58th minute, Toda catches up to a pass from Miyazawa that came out to the left space, and Ishikawa, who ran in from the right side to meet the cross, forcefully attempts a shot despite being in an awkward position with his back to the goal. The counterattacks lead to thrilling developments, but Tokyo is overwhelmingly creating the chances.

　Here is what happened here at Urawa. In the 60th minute, MF Hasegawa was substituted for MF Yamase. It happened right after that. Urawa DF cleared Tokyo's goal kick in the midfield, and Emerson received the ball and passed it to the left, while moving towards the goal himself. MF Uchidate, who received the ball, sent a lofted pass to the front line, and once again Emerson received it and made a flowing dribble towards the goal. He skillfully evaded the chasing Tokyo DF and advanced to attack, then took a shot. The ball grazed Doi's hand and went into the left side of the goal, and in just a few seconds of play, Tokyo conceded the first goal.

Despite the fierce attack, they were defeated by a counterattack

　First, Tokyo launches a fierce attack from here in an attempt to score a goal. However, in the 62nd minute, a pass was made to Toda, who broke through the Kanazawa defense, but it was offside. In the 64th minute, Miura entered the left area from a short corner and sent a sharp cross, but the opponent's defender cut it off. In the 65th minute, a pass was made from Amaral on the sideline to Kelly, who then entered the right area and won a corner kick. However, they were unable to break through the thick defensive wall of Urawa, who had all their players pulled back.

　In the 69th minute, Abe replaced Ishikawa. In the 72nd minute, Kelly connected a free kick to the front line and took a shot from the center of the goal, but it deflected off the defender. Abe also took a shot, but narrowly missed the goal. In the 76th minute, Suzuki was substituted for Miura. Tokyo went on a power play, with Miyazaki playing as a lone defensive midfielder and Jean moving up to the front line. The game was intense, with Tokyo overwhelmingly attacking and Urawa countering. Tokyo picked up loose balls and launched attacks. In the 86th minute, Kelly took a powerful long-range shot from outside the penalty area, but unfortunately hit the crossbar! In the 87th minute, Miyazaki also made a brave attempt at goal, but missed the target. In the 88th minute, Kanazawa took a well-controlled shot from the middle range of the midfield, aiming for the top right corner of the goal, but the opponent's goalkeeper made a save and it resulted in a corner kick. Shortly after the display of 3 minutes of stoppage time, Kanazawa crossed the ball in front of the goal, and Abe took a shot from just outside the right goal area. However, they just couldn't break the goal.

　And it was in injury time. Tokyo cleared the attack and Yamada on the right side passed forward. Emerson and Shigeki competed for the loose ball around the half-line, but Emerson snatched the loose ball from Shigeki and ran alone towards the goal. Allowing a shot with momentum, it's a goal. Tokyo conceded a crucial second goal. In the end, despite taking 17 shots, they couldn't score, conceded the first goal, and were caught off guard, resulting in a pattern of conceding goals. It was their first home defeat of the season and they couldn't advance to the semi-finals of the Nabisco Cup, suffering their first loss to Urawa.

【Player Comment】《Moriya》"Personally, I was in good shape, but the fear that one mistake leads to conceding a goal was reaffirmed in the 1st Round."

It became known in a way that (except for the scene of conceding a goal) we were able to concentrate and fight, but we were broken through man-to-man marking while taking the risk to score. "Tokunaga" "We were conscious of attacking vertically. I think we were able to attack to some extent because Ishikawa created space for us... As for Emerson's goal, this is what decisive work is like. Every game, the experience at a high level is a learning experience."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Last week, we had an unpleasant loss in the Nagoya Grampus match, so we talked about switching our mindset and have been training accordingly. Today's performance was also affected by Emerson's goals, but apart from that, I think we were able to achieve our team's objectives well. However, when the opponent comes at such a high speed, there is a momentary gap, and they were able to run past us and score. It's disappointing, but the opponent had the strength. Overall, it wasn't a bad performance, but the result is regrettable. We had the desire to win and advance to the semifinals in any way, and we had a fighting spirit, but I think being caught up in stoppage time and drawing the first match had an impact on today. We need to switch our mindset to the league with a feeling of frustration. Urawa had 7 shots, but they scored 2 of them. Of course, we need to improve in terms of shot accuracy and other areas."

[Summary of Urawa Ooft's press conference] "It was a typical cup match. Many problems arose in front of the goal, and I think it was an exciting game for the spectators. It was a game on the edge of life and death. We were able to take a one-goal lead, and then Tokyo also came to score, so there were some chances to exploit the space. In the end, we finished with a 2-0 victory, but in the last 10 minutes, we dropped our defensive line below our penalty area and created space in front of the goal. We ended up allowing a shot that hit the crossbar. However, overall, I think our finishing ability has improved. We will be well prepared for the semifinals."