Restarting the Nabisco Cup, fighting without giving up

　The Nabisco Cup resumes. On the 4th day of the qualifying league, we will face Avispa Fukuoka at home. Currently, we have lost all 3 matches in Group A of this qualifying league, making it a difficult situation to advance to the final tournament. However, it doesn't mean that there is no possibility. Above all, we want to concentrate on winning the upcoming match and fight until the end without giving up.

　Due to the activities of the Japanese national team, Doi and Shigeta were absent from the team today, so GK Shiota and DF Masushima started. Toda, who made his first appearance on the bench this season in the 12th round of the league against Omiya, was also selected as a starter. Coach Garo expects Toda to contribute more to the attack, as he has been working hard in defense and is in a good physical and technical condition. The team will kick off with a 4-4-2 formation, with Toda and Kawaguchi as the front two and Lucas as the attacking midfielder. Toda and Kawaguchi will use their natural athleticism to disrupt the opponent's defense and take control of the game.

　On the other hand, Fukuoka, who was promoted to J1 this season, has lost all three matches in the Nabisco Cup. They have only won one match in the league, so they are in a difficult situation. However, they have conceded the same number of goals as Tokyo, which is 16, so they haven't collapsed significantly. In terms of attack, they are skilled at playing with the central focus on the midfielders on both sides and the fullbacks also joining the attack. Today, DF Alex is absent due to circumstances, and DF Nakamura is on the bench, but regardless of who is on the field, they are able to create opportunities until the finish, so it is necessary to defend without letting your guard down.

　Shiota also said, "Since we are a young team, there are times when we lack concentration in small gaps. I want to keep shouting from behind to fight for the full 90 minutes. I believe that such a fight will surely lead to the next one." The match started at 15:04 in Tokyo with a kickoff at Ajinomoto Stadium under cloudy skies.

Almost grasping the flow centered around set plays...

　From the beginning, Suzuki on the left side aggressively attacked. In the 4th minute, Suzuki's left cross went to Tokunaga on the right. Miyazawa ran in for the return to the center and got into a shooting position. However, he was closed down by the opponent's defender and couldn't finish the shot. After that, Fukuoka had no choice but to stop Suzuki's breakthroughs and Toda and Kawaguchi's speedy plays with fouls, and they gained one set piece opportunity after another. In the 6th minute, Jean tried to head the ball from the left free kick, but it was offside. In the 7th minute, Masushima had a heading shot from the left corner kick.

　At 10 minutes, Tokunaga -> Toda -> Lucas connected, Kawaguchi was fouled just to the right of the penalty area and won a free kick. Miyazawa sent the ball neatly to the top left corner of the goal, but it was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper. In the 12th minute, Lucas received a throw-in from outside the left area and shot towards the goal while turning. The aim was good, but it hit the crossbar. After that, although they couldn't create decisive opportunities in the flow of the game, they seized chances from many set plays.

　In the 21st minute, Suzuki aims directly at the goal from a free kick position on the right side, about 24-25m away. The powerful ground shot grazes the opponent's defense wall and hits the post... In the 26th minute, Toda is fouled outside the left area, and Suzuki's powerful free kick is saved by the opponent's goalkeeper, narrowly missing the goal. On the contrary, as time passes, Tokyo is unable to pick up second balls and repeatedly suffers counterattacks from Fukuoka, who quickly transition from defense to offense. However, Fukuoka also misses several shooting opportunities.

　24 minutes, Tokyo DF competes for Fukuoka's long ball and it falls behind to FW Graucio, but the shot is off target. In the 28th minute, a through pass is played into the left area, and FW Graucio breaks free and takes a shot, but Shioda bravely dives out and makes a nice save! In the 32nd minute, the ball is sent to midfielder Hube who has advanced into the area, but the shot is off target. In the 38th minute, Tokyo's pass is intercepted in front of the goal, allowing Fukuoka FW Yabuta to break away. MF Roberto receives the last pass and takes a shot. This one also goes over the bar. The first half ends scoreless, with both teams looking to win in the second half.

Sunk by Fukuoka's counterattack, failing to advance to the qualifiers with 4 consecutive losses

　Regarding the first half, Coach Gallo reflected, "It wouldn't be strange to concede 2 or 3 goals. We particularly lack concentration in marking." As a result, Inoha was substituted for Kajiyama, forming a double pivot with Imakawa. Lucas and Miyazawa were positioned in the second line to initiate attacks and started to find their rhythm. In the 46th minute, Miyazawa advanced on the right and sent a lofted pass to the forward line. Toda, who had broken free in the right area, attempted a volley jump to connect with the ball, but it didn't hit well. In the 56th minute, Lucas, who received a throw-in on the right, broke free in the forward line and crossed the ball. Kawaguchi closed in on the ball that slipped between the opponent's goalkeeper and defender and attempted a volley shot. It was a decisive opportunity, but the ball went over the crossbar.

　In the 58th minute, Abe was substituted for Toda. In the immediate 59th minute, Inoha advanced and passed to Kawaguchi in the area. Kawaguchi attracted the defender and sent a minus last pass to the center. Lucas ran into it and created a good opportunity, but the shot was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper. As they missed the chance, they allowed Fukuoka's fast start to dominate once again. In the 66th minute, Tokyo's defense lost the competition against Fukuoka's long ball, and Koga broke free towards the goal. He was about to take a decisive shot, but it was stopped by Shioda's fine play.

　In the 67th minute, Sasa was substituted for Miyazawa and a power play was launched with a front three, but they couldn't bring it to a finish and lost their rhythm, and the development of receiving Fukuoka's counterattack remained unchanged. In the 71st minute, Fukuoka FW Kawashima ran into the left area and received a pass. Jean initially took it away, but FW Kawashima persisted and regained possession to take a shot. It was cleared by the determined defense of Tokyo's DF line and resulted in a corner kick. In the 75th minute and beyond, they were continuously attacked from corner kicks, but Shioda and Mashima fought hard and successfully averted the danger.

　However, in the 84th minute, Jean cleared the feed to Fukuoka's front line with a header. The ball reached Fukuoka MF Kudo, who immediately sent a vertical pass to the front of the goal. Substitute MF Miyazaki reacted to this ball. Tokyo's Suzuki chased after him but couldn't catch up, and Miyazaki calmly scored as he broke through in front of the goal, finally breaking the deadlock. In the 89th minute, Fukuoka DF Yamagata received a second warning and was sent off. The situation became 11 against 10, but there was not enough time to take advantage of the numerical advantage, and the game ended as it was. In the end, we couldn't fix the problems during the game and lost in a disappointing manner, suffering our fourth consecutive defeat in the Levain Cup. Our hopes of advancing to the finals tournament have been dashed.

　【Player Comments】《Shioda》"Everyone had high motivation, and I also tried to do what I should do properly. I didn't feel pressured, but I'm disappointed that I couldn't produce results. I was caught off guard in the second half and my start was slow. I didn't handle the ball well and couldn't show Tokyo's strengths. But the problem is that we couldn't fix it there. The opponents were quicker to switch and we couldn't finish. I should have been able to communicate more by raising my voice at that time. (Were there any fine plays?) It doesn't matter because we conceded a goal in the end. Each individual should think about today's challenges."《Toda》"It was the first time this season that I stepped onto the pitch and experienced the atmosphere of the game after a long time, but it didn't lead to victory. We need to create more chances in front of the goal... that's also a challenge, but as a forward, we have to score even with fewer chances. Today, I was instructed to not lose the ball and create opportunities in the front line. I tried to adjust the relationship with Lucas and Kawaguchi during the game, but couldn't do it. I want to make adjustments in practice and have the next two matches lead to the future."

　[Summary of Manager Garo's Press Conference] "As you can see, it was a bad game and we couldn't play our own game. Especially in the first half, we lacked concentration in marking and allowed Fukuoka to create many scoring opportunities. In the second half, we made some changes in the lineup and were able to find our rhythm and create chances. There were periods in the middle of the second half where both teams had dull moments and both had chances. Particularly, there was a period where our momentum dropped and they scored during that time. In the second half, we went for the win with a 4-forward formation, so we were vulnerable to counterattacks. We want to forget about today's match and focus on the next one."

　[Fukuoka Matsuda Coach's Press Conference Summary] "I am grateful to the players who have delivered results when it was required for the team to win. I think they have worked hard. There were times when it felt unpleasant, similar to the previous flow of not being able to score when it mattered, but the defense held on and in the end, MF Miyazaki scored well. I think we had a game deserving of 3 points. We were able to properly defend set plays, which was a challenge. GK Kamiyama also made crucial saves at the end, and we were able to defend as a team. Despite being able to play our style of soccer in most of the previous games, we couldn't win due to a lack of finishing. In that sense, it was not a game where we could be completely happy. However, if we can't continue playing this kind of soccer because of the lack of results, or if we give up, we will lose any possibility. We have no choice but to continue patiently. So, it is truly appreciated that we got results. We will build on today's battle and solve the issues and problems during the break period. The cause of the lack of finishing is that we were stopped by the opponent's fine saves and our own lack of technical ability. However, like us today, there are times when even in any situation, it can go in if our mindset is fulfilled. Today, FW Koga and Graucio had many scoring opportunities, but when it doesn't go in, it doesn't go in. Especially in terms of mentality, we weren't at that level. MF Miyazaki was also a player who was said to have a lack of finishing, but in the end, the most important thing is the mindset. I think it depends on whether we have players with that kind of mindset."