Quarterfinal Round Sec. 2, aiming for victory at home only

　The second match of the Nabisco Cup quarterfinals will be held at home against Yokohama F.Marinos. We won the first match 1-0, and if we draw or win this match, we will advance to the semifinals. However, Coach Hara said, "We don't intend to just defend the 'one goal' from the first match. We are only focused on winning. Especially since it's a home game, we will play aggressively and aim for victory at Ajinomoto Stadium."

　Yokohama FM, who will face them, will have MF Kawai suspended and MF Nasu starting as a defensive midfielder. In order to advance to the semifinal round, they will definitely need a goal, so they will come attacking even at the risk. Perhaps with that intention, they have chosen to start MF Elsinho, who will make his first start of the season, as the left midfielder. They have approached the match with the same formation of 4-1-3-2 as in the first match.

　Tokyo wants to press from the front, compact the lines, and attack by penetrating behind the opponent's defense from the sides. To break Yokohama FM's solid defense, they want to initiate side changes and create opportunities on the open sides. If they can launch wide attacks, Kajiyama and Fukunishi's forward runs will also become effective. They want to take the lead and progress the game in an advantageous position.

　Tokyo will face the match with the same starting lineup as the first game. The match started at 6:30pm with Yokohama FM's kickoff at Ajinomoto Stadium, where it was raining heavily due to the influence of a typhoon and the pitch was wet.

In the early stages, we took the offensive but couldn't grasp the rhythm after conceding the first goal.

　The start of the game saw Tokyo pressing forward and launching quick counterattacks. In the 2nd minute, Tokunaga's forward run resulted in a corner kick. In the 5th minute, Fujiyama cleared the ball to Yokohama FM's frontline, sending a long ball into Yokohama's half. Lucas, who picked up the loose ball from the opponent's defender's trap, evaded the defender and broke through to the left area, facing the goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation. Despite having a clear chance early in the game, his shot missed wide to the right, and the opening goal was not scored.

　After that, Tokyo continued to dominate the ball and attack, but their decisiveness was poor, and scenes of being countered by Yokohama FM began to stand out. In the 15th minute, Lucas received a ball from a right throw-in and immediately turned towards the goal to take a shot, but it went wide. Then, Yokohama FM gradually started sending the ball quickly to the front line and seized the rhythm of the counterattack. In the 18th minute, Kajiyama's pass in the Yokohama territory didn't connect and was intercepted, resulting in a change of offense and defense. The ball was circulated in the Tokyo territory, and in the 19th minute, there was a side change from left full-back Komiyama to the right. The cross lifted by right full-back Tanaka Hayato was skillfully brought down by forward Oshima, and midfielder Yamase Koji, who made a run, scored a goal. They couldn't catch the breakout from the second line of Yokohama FM and ended up conceding the opening goal.

　There was still time. Against Yokohama FM, who tried to gain momentum after taking the lead, Tokyo defended well and did not allow any additional goals, launching counterattacks and engaging in a back-and-forth battle. In the 29th minute, after winning a corner kick from Kajiyama's shot, Tokyo approached Yokohama FM's goal, with Noriyuki Suzuki and Rychely entering the right area. Lucas took a shot at the loose ball, but it hit a defender and couldn't be converted into a goal. In the 30th minute, Fukunishi was fouled in a position 25-26 meters in front of the goal, resulting in a free kick. Noriyuki Suzuki took a direct shot, but it was blocked.

　33 minutes, Yokohama FM left back Komiyama enters the Tokyo field and takes a sharp long shot. It escapes with Doi's save and launches a counterattack from there, but Fukunishi's pass is intercepted and they are counterattacked again. Yokohama's attack is offside, but Yokohama FM surpasses them in terms of speed. In the 44th minute, they repeatedly throw in from the right and threaten the Yokohama goal, and finally Kajiyama sends a floating pass to the front line with a header, but it is offside. Mistakes are also noticeable on the rainy pitch, and they are unable to start from the side. The first half ends with a score of 0-1.

Conceded 4 points and despite a fierce battle, could not come back, eliminated from the Nabisco Cup

　The second half was expected to be a counterattack. However, Yokohama FM also brought in FW Marques to score an additional goal and started attacking by connecting passes from the beginning. In the 48th minute, they lost a left corner kick, and although Tokyo DF initially cleared it, Yokohama FM MF Yamase Koji picked up the loose ball and advanced to the right front line, crossing the ball. FW Oshima struck the ball cleanly with a header and scored a goal. They allowed two goals right after the start of the second half. Tokyo needed more than a draw to advance, they needed two goals.

　In the 51st minute, Akamine was substituted for Rychely. In the 52nd minute, DF Tanaka Hayato advanced after a vertical pass from the right side of Yokohama FM, and crossed. The ball slipped through the Tokyo DF and reached FW Marques who was free in the far area. The shot missed above the bar, avoiding danger. In the 54th minute, Kajiyama stole the opponent's throw-in and passed it to Akamine on the left front line. Akamine's grounded cross reached Fukunishi who was free inside the right area, creating a decisive shooting chance. However, the timing was slightly delayed and it was blocked by the DF. Kajiyama and Kanazawa rushed in to take shots one after another, creating clear opportunities, but they were both blocked by the DF and couldn't score a goal.

　In the 55th minute, BABA replaced ASARI. FUKUNISHI entered the defensive midfield position, and TOKUNAGA also moved forward in the formation, trying to score a goal first. In the 60th minute, from a goal kick, KAJIYAMA → BABA made a through pass to the front line. AKAMINE broke through vigorously, shaking off the defenders while advancing. Although he was initially stopped by the goalkeeper, his shot after picking up the rebound was blocked by the left post... Both teams took risks in attacking, and the offense and defense rapidly changed, with chances for both sides. In the 68th minute, while attacking, the ball was stolen and they suffered a counterattack. Yokohama FM's right midfielder YOSHIDA crossed the ball, which was cleared by MONE, but the ball reached the forward OSHIMA in front of the goal, and they conceded the third goal.

　Substitute Ishikawa for Fujiyama in the 70th minute. In a 3-5-2 formation with Tokunaga, Shigeno, and Kanazawa forming the final line, they launched a full-scale counterattack. However, in the 72nd minute, Lucas' pass was intercepted by Yokohama FM forward Marques, who then exchanged passes with forward Oshima. He swung his right foot from just outside the area and easily scored a goal, resulting in a loss of four points. Nevertheless, they did not give up and tried to retaliate. In the 78th minute, from the center, Lucas passed to Baba who had entered the area, then connected with Fukunishi and made a final pass to the right. They broke through the side and took a goal from Ishikawa's bold shot.

　The exchange of offense and defense was intense, and the development was hectic. In the 87th minute, Noriyuki SUZUKI -> Jo KANAZAWA -> Kajiyama kept the ball in the left corner of the area and passed it to KANAZAWA, who ran up from the outside to the inside. KANAZAWA ran into the penalty area with speed and scored a goal by breaking through the near side. Showing determination, they came close to a 2-point difference, but it was already too late for a comeback. They were defeated 4-2 and although they had the same number of victories in the two matches, they fell behind in goal difference and could not advance to the Semifinal Round of the Nabisco Cup.

　【Player Comments】《Kanazawa》"In the first half, I tried to avoid making mistakes by staying safe, but we were scored on. However, if we can get through the next two games, we will be even, so we were determined to make a comeback in the second half. We aimed for a goal from the start, but losing the second goal at that time was painful. We needed more than two goals to win, and the team lost its energy, resulting in us losing the third and fourth goals in a chaotic state. We couldn't regain our pace against Yokohama FM, who were on a roll. We took risks and attacked towards the end, but I think we switched on too late. I thought it would be more likely to score if I aimed for the near post, as I assumed the opponent's goalkeeper would take care of the cross. Unfortunately, it didn't lead to a victory. I feel really sorry for the supporters who came out in the rain. Although the team has improved since the first half of the season, there are still games like today and the G Osaka game in the league where we struggle. In order to win, I think it's necessary for each of us to look for the cause."《Ishikawa》"On the slippery ground, I focused on finishing with shots and crosses. There was space in front of me, and I think the goal was created simply by using the side. Fukunishi skillfully passed the ball to me from the left. We should have used that kind of attacking play more from the first half... Personally, I was able to focus on finishing in a short amount of time, so I want to continue that in the next game. Maybe the team is being too cautious. I think I am a player who can change the team's bad flow and give rhythm, so I want to play powerful soccer. It's a shame that we couldn't carry the momentum from the Nabisco Cup into the second half of the league. We will switch our focus to the league."

　[Summary of the press conference by Mr. Hara] "We won the first game, but we didn't have the intention to just defend in this match. The ball was moving well for about 15-20 minutes, and there were times when Yokohama FM pushed up and got caught offside, but Lucas and Fukunishi had decisive moments. During that period of pressure, Kajiyama dropped the ball behind when he had a chance to shoot, and it became a loose ball, resulting in a goal against us. After that, things became chaotic. Rychely couldn't perform as he should have in both attack and defense. At halftime, I told them, 'Yokohama FM will send in early crosses, so compete for the loose balls. Do it properly.' While observing the second half, I was considering making changes if things didn't go well, but just before that, they scored the second goal from a corner kick, putting pressure on everyone. However, if we had scored a goal from Fukunishi or Akamine's chances after that, I think the game would have turned out differently. But since we couldn't score, we became more aggressive and conceded the third goal. We wanted to move forward somehow, but today's game showed both our strengths and weaknesses. We knew Yokohama FM would come at us aggressively, so if we had stayed calm and passed the ball even after conceding the first two goals, we could have created chances. Not being able to do that is our challenge. We have shown some improvement since June, but if each individual can't give a little more effort or is a step behind, we end up with a game like today. It was the same in the match against G Osaka, but we need to fix the problem of losing rhythm midway through the game. However, although it was late, we scored two goals and had chances to score 1-2 more, so we need to continue with that attitude. I apologize to the supporters who came to cheer for us in the rain. What we can do now is to prepare well and make sure we don't have games like this after the restart in August."

　[Summary of Yokohama FM Manager Hayano's Press Conference] "In the first match, we lost 0-1, but neither the players nor the staff felt burdened by a significant disadvantage. Considering the away goal calculation, we believed that the game would change if we scored the first goal, so we prepared for this week. Today, we also discussed the importance of fighting with the weather in mind. Additionally, this season we faced FC Tokyo twice and were caught off guard by their quick attacks, so we aimed to prevent that from happening for the third time. Our start to the game was sluggish, and our feet were almost stopping, so I instructed the players to kick long balls like Tokyo does and chase after them, even if it meant playing rough. As a result, we were countered a few times, but the start was very poor. However, a goal was scored from FW Oshima's post, and we gained momentum. At halftime, I instructed the team to go for more goals since the game was still even. By scoring early in the second half, we were able to gain even more momentum, but it would have been easier if the third goal had come a little earlier. In the end, it turned into a shootout. Until now, our two forwards have struggled to score, but today FW Oshima scored two goals, which is a positive outcome. It's disappointing that we conceded two goals, but I think today we were able to play rainy day football better than our pressing game. It was difficult to connect passes, and Tokyo was able to play on the counter by sitting back, so we tried to raise the zone to avoid falling into their trap. We wanted to press them, and we prioritized vertical passes over horizontal ones. With this, we have advanced to the next stage, and we also want to make it a plus alpha for the league."