Nabisco Cup kicks off, a new challenge for the title

　After completing the second round of the league, this season's Nabisco Cup has begun. Tokyo belongs to Group C in the qualifying league and will play home and away matches against Chiba, Kashiwa, and Oita. In order to advance to the knockout stage, the top two teams from Group 1 (and Yokohama FM and Iwata, who participate in the AFC Champions League) will secure their spots. Therefore, it is crucial to aim for first place in the group in the first match.

　It is possible that the team will be closely marked as the champion of last season, but Manager Hara emphasized that it is a new challenge for Tokyo, saying, "Of course, I want to stand on that national stage again and win the championship, but being a champion is already in the past. Every team will come with a new team and a new battle." Due to the World Cup qualifiers for the Japan national team, Tohi and Kaji will be absent, but Shioda will be in goal and Fujiyama will be at right back for the opening match.

　Kashiwa has drawn both of their league matches this season, and it seems that they are unable to secure a win. However, the team's characteristic this season is their aggressiveness and flexibility to change their system during the game and continue to aim for goals. Due to the absence of the Japanese national team's forward Tamada, new signing forward Choi Sung-guk (South Korean national team) who has not had a chance to play in the league matches, started the game. Kashiwa changed their lineup from the league matches, and the average age of the starting members is 23.91 years old, compared to Tokyo's 25.27 years old. They aim for their first victory of the season with a fresh lineup.

　Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Stadium is an undefeated stadium with 3 wins, 1 draw, and no losses in the past. Last season, they competed in the qualifying league of the Nabisco Cup, and their overall record, including league matches, was 2 wins, 2 draws, and no losses. However, in a closely contested match between the teams, Manager Hara said, "There is only a slight difference between winning the championship and being eliminated in the qualifying league." Despite being an away game, they start the new battle with a strong determination. The match kicked off at 15:01 under a clear sky, although the wind was strong.

石川のゴールで先制し、リズムをつかみかけるが…

　Kashiwa lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, with MF Akira Myojin as the lone defensive midfielder and MF Tanihara and Ono on the wings to strengthen the midfield. They started the game by quickly launching attacks with FW Choi as the focal point. Tokyo, on the other hand, tried to counter Kashiwa's pressure by playing long balls to the wings and creating opportunities, but they couldn't quite get their rhythm. There were no clear-cut chances until around the 10th minute. In the 9th minute, Kashiwa's center-back Nagata got injured and was replaced by DF Tsuchiya. In the 10th minute, Miyazawa took a direct free kick from outside the right area, but his low shot was caught by the opposing goalkeeper.

　It was the 17th minute when Kashiwa gradually grasped the rhythm and almost dominated the ball. Tokyo stole the ball in their own half and launched a quick counterattack. Starting with Lucas on the left, Imakawa sprinted up the left side and crossed from near the area to the far side. The ball went over Lucas, who had moved up to support, and reached Ishikawa in the right area. Ishikawa controlled the ball with one touch, swung his right foot, and volleyed the shot into the goal! They scored the opening goal from a counterattack that turned the tide of the match.

　It seemed like they were able to regain their rhythm, but just 18 minutes later. They gave a free kick to Kashiwa on the left side of Tokyo's defense. Choi sent a long pinpoint free kick into the goal area, and DF Nakazawa scored a perfect header. This goal quickly equalized the score. In the 24th minute, Kanazawa was beaten by Kashiwa MF Yuzawa on the left side, allowing him to penetrate into the center. Yuzawa sent a lofted pass to the goal area, and MF Ono, who had run in from the right, was left unmarked and took a shot. The ball passed through Shimoda's legs and went into the goal. Tokyo's defense was caught off guard for a moment and conceded the second goal.

　However, Tokyo continues to fight back without getting discouraged. But despite Lucas and Toda repeatedly pushing forward, their coordination is not working well. In the 35th minute, they launched a counterattack from Kurihara's starting point after the opponent's corner kick. Imano and Ishikawa connected, and Ishikawa took a shot from outside the right area. It narrowly missed the goal, and Lucas, who was closing in from the far side, couldn't reach it in time. In the 44th minute, Toda picked up the clearance from Kashiwa's goalkeeper's back pass and took a shot at the open goal, but it missed to the upper left. In stoppage time, Imano took a shot from the left corner kick, but a foul was called in the goal area. Despite struggling, Tokyo had 8 shots compared to Kashiwa's 5 shots in the first half. However, they couldn't score a decisive goal and went into the second half trailing by one point.

The counterattack was thwarted, and the substitution strategy did not bear fruit

　At halftime, Coach Hara's instructions were "Each individual competition is weak. Let's put pressure on the ball from the beginning. Once we steal the ball, let's attack from the sides." Following the instructions, in the 46th minute, Ishikawa created a chance on the right side and crossed the ball into the box. In the 48th minute, Fujiyama advanced forward and tried to break down the right side in combination with Ishikawa. However, Fujiyama's shot from inside the box failed to find the back of the net.

　However, in the 49th minute, Kashiwa scored their third goal as if breaking through the defense. Tokyo DF cleared the cross. Ono picked up the loose ball and passed it to MF Kleber, who was in the midfield. Miyazawa tried to block him, but Kleber evaded with a feint and unleashed a powerful mid-range shot. It hit the crossbar and went in. Tokyo found themselves in a difficult situation.

　Kashiwa is riding the momentum, repeatedly launching fast attacks with Choi as the starting point. In the 54th minute, Tokyo substitutes Suzuki Nori for Toda, and in the 59th minute, Danilo replaces Miyazawa. They try to score, but scenes of Kashiwa attacking increase instead. In the 65th minute, Danilo receives a long ball from Jean while running towards the front line and stretches his leg to shoot, but it goes over the goal. In the 75th minute, Fujita replaces Fujiyama. They create opportunities with Ishikawa on the right side and cross the ball, but fail to score.

　After that, both teams rapidly moved back and forth on the field, and in the 83rd minute, Suzuki Nori shot the ball dropped by Lucas, but it went over the bar. In the 88th minute, a decisive chance for Danilo to head the cross from Fujita to Lucas was unfortunately offside. In injury time, Kanazawa's shot from the chaos in front of the goal, after two corner kick opportunities, also missed the target. The game ended with a 1-3 defeat. The start of the Nabisco Cup could be described as "unpredictable" according to expectations. However, we will earnestly accept today's result and aim to regroup for the next match.

　[Player Comments] [Ishikawa] "I felt that the opponent had studied us. Kashiwa was different from the expected lineup, and we couldn't make adjustments within the 90 minutes on the field. It's my strength to go behind the defense simply, but I couldn't do that because they took the second ball. (Regarding the goal scene) I am in a position where I can score, so I want to keep attacking and scoring goals." [Imano] "Losing the first match is painful. Kashiwa was energetic and had a strong desire to win. Akira Myojin was effective in the midfield, and we couldn't pick up loose balls and couldn't find our rhythm. Choi was also fast and had good ball control, which was a good accent. However, I think the fact that we conceded a goal right after scoring summed up today's match."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Kashiwa was tougher in the competition, and we ended up losing. Especially in the midfield, Kashiwa had four players, and we had Ishikawa and Toda marking tightly, so loose balls were mostly picked up by MF Myojin and quickly played forward. And FW Choi kept the ball and continued to move forward. We didn't start well, but just when I thought we could regain our rhythm with Ishikawa's goal, we were caught up and conceded in a bad way. We talked about making adjustments at halftime and competing firmly, but we couldn't score when we had a good rhythm and instead were beaten by MF Kleber. It was a wonderful goal, but our defense was slow. We tried to score another goal until the end, but couldn't reach it. There are no easy opponents to beat no matter who we play against. Last season, we also lost the first match of the Nabisco Cup at home, so we want to switch our mindset and focus on the next match against Oita. Although we lost, Danilo was able to play for a certain amount of time, and Fujita was able to play in a crucial moment. We also have a satellite match tomorrow, so we want to prepare well for the next game while using players in good condition."

　[Summary of Kashiwa Hayano's press conference] "I'm very happy because it's been a while since our last victory. I want to continue experiencing victories with the supporters. As it was the Nabisco Cup, I had the players enter the game with the image of the opening. The previous games were not so bad in terms of content, so we entered the game with the attitude of trying to show our attacking power against Tokyo, who are said to have attacking power. We started off very well, conceded a goal, but quickly equalized and I think we were able to fight without losing confidence. The team as a whole performed very well. However, there are still 6 matches in the qualifying league, so we have only finished one match. I want us to continue creating opportunities to shoot and score more in this direction. Cui also performed very well. Kleber as well, if he gets fit, we will see even better combinations. It would have been good to score 4-5 goals if I had to say, but without being greedy, I want us to regroup and focus on the next match."