Towards advancing to the finals, the team will unite and strive for victory

The 4th section of the Nabisco Cup qualifying league will be an away match against Kyoto Sanga F.C. Despite the frustrating comeback loss in the previous league match against Kawasaki, we will approach this match with a fresh mindset, without lingering on the shock of defeat. With only 3 matches remaining in the qualifying league, we will face a series of "must-win matches" in order to advance to the final tournament.

　Kyoto, on the other hand, is currently in last place with 3 losses in 3 matches in the Nabisco Cup. If they lose today, their hopes of advancing to the next round will be dashed, so they should come out with a winning mentality. Above all, they should be cautious of the counter-attacks led by FW Paulinho and Diego. Although they conceded 3 goals in the Kawasaki match, the key will be whether they can demonstrate their previous solid defensive capabilities. In the league match on May 9th, they had control of the game but failed to break through Kyoto's strong defense, resulting in a 0-0 draw. They will need to come up with various strategies and ideas to break down their solid defense.

　Tokyo, here comes Shigenobu and Hanyu injured. Bruno QUADROS is suspended for the Kawasaki match, and will also miss the Nabisco game this round. In addition, Nagatomo and Konno are absent from the national team, so the final line-up will have Sasaki and Hiramatsu as center-backs, and Tokunaga and Mukuhara as left and right full-backs. In place of Hanyu, Tanabe will start as left midfielder. Tanabe shows enthusiasm, saying, "I have more mental composure than when I made my debut in the Chiba match. I want to focus on moving forward and actively take on challenges without fear of mistakes." And Shioda, who is steadily preparing his condition, has also made his first appearance in the team this season.

　Manager Jofuku said, "Each player has clearly different characteristics, so it is impossible to play exactly the same as someone else. I hope that instead of being afraid of conceding goals and becoming passive, each player will demonstrate their strengths and professionalism, and face the game with confidence." Although they will face the match with a fresh lineup, they aim to create new competition, improve the team's performance, utilize individual strengths, and achieve victory, making a big step forward towards qualifying. The match started at 14:00 with a kickoff in Tokyo, under the strong sunlight and humid conditions of Nishikyogoku.

Leading with 2 consecutive goals by Ishikawa!

　A back-and-forth battle for possession since the start. However, Tokyo calmly moves the ball and creates rhythm, launching attacks through Ishikawa and Tanabe. Then, in the 12th minute, Tanabe attempts a dribble breakthrough near the area but is blocked by the opponent's defender. However, Mokuhara connects the loose ball and passes it to Tanabe, who runs into the area again. Ishikawa at the far post meets the subsequent right cross and firmly strikes a volley with his right foot, piercing the goal! Tanabe's and Mokuhara's bold plays, along with Ishikawa's consecutive goal following the Kawasaki game, give Tokyo the lead.

　Tokyo took control of the game from this point and proceeded with an advantage. In the 20th minute, Hirayama ran into the back of the defense from the left side after receiving a pass from Tanabe and took a shot. However, the ball lacked power and the goalkeeper caught it. In the 23rd minute, from Kajiyama's side change to Tokunaga on the left side. Tokunaga completely broke free with a one-two with Cabore, who was in the front line, and entered the penalty area vigorously, but the shot was not completed and resulted in a left corner kick. From the second right corner kick, Hirayama headed the ball but it went wide of the goal.

　Kyoto brought in MF Futoshi NAKAMURA in the 27th minute and changed their formation to contain Tokyo. As a result, Tokyo was unable to break through and in the final stages, they faced Kyoto's counterattacks. In the 41st minute, Kyoto MF Diego entered the area. He received a vertical pass and immediately turned around for a right-footed shot. This shot hit the crossbar. Paulinho followed up with a shot, but it missed the target. Kyoto continued their attacks, but Tokyo remained calm in defense and did not concede a goal. They went into the second half leading by one goal.

Unable to score additional points, they allowed a goal and ended in a draw

　In the second half, as the humidity increased, the players gradually lost their stamina and the lines became stretched, resulting in a back-and-forth battle. In the 50th minute, Tanabe dribbled up the center of the opponent's field and passed to the right side, where Ishikawa made a decisive final pass to the center. However, Hirayama in the center and Kabore in the far side missed the timing by a small margin and couldn't touch the ball. In the 53rd minute, Kyoto FW Paulinho, who reacted to the final pass to the center, was left free to take a decisive shot, but Kanda made a great save to avoid a crisis.

　Tokyo, 59 minutes, Hirayama sticks to the left side and passes to Cabore in front of the goal. He drops it to Ishikawa, who ran to the center of the area, and takes a shot. However, he is closed down by the defender and the ball is cleared. In the 63rd minute, Ishikawa breaks through the right side and crosses the ball along the ground. Hirayama becomes a decoy in the center in front of the goal, and Cabore creates a decisive opportunity, but his shot is blocked by the goalkeeper. In the 64th minute, Kyoto substitutes forward Yanagisawa, and Tokyo also substitutes Suzuki for Cabore, followed by Akamine replacing Tanabe.

　In the 68th minute, Ishikawa → Mukuhara attacked the right side with a dribble from a counter, and then took a shot. Hirayama in the left area seized the rebound from the goalkeeper and boldly aimed for the goal, but it hit the goalkeeper's face. However, in the 69th minute, a free kick was given inside the Tokyo team's territory, and Kyoto quickly restarted the game. Forward Yanagisawa broke through the defense line and scored a goal. Tokyo had been defending well, mainly with Kanda, until then, but they were caught off guard and equalized. Still, without rushing, they tried to create chances by connecting passes, but it didn't work out and the match ended in a 1-1 draw. They could only secure 1 point away from home.

　【Player Comments】《Ishikawa》"Today, we had a plan to have a high defensive awareness and aim to score one goal through set plays to win the game. We also anticipated that if we took the lead, we would defend and endure. In the first half, Yone, Yohei, Sota, and Kusamin created a rhythm in the midfield, and I think we were able to create chances by involving myself and Cabore. However, we pulled back a little too early, and we couldn't create opportunities as a starting point in the front line. As a result, the game became a situation where Kyoto counterattacked after equalizing. It would have been best if we could have ended the game with a 1-0 score... Regarding the conceded goal, we were quite cautious about the restart, but I think there was a momentary lack of communication and coordination. We shouldn't have let our concentration waver. I was able to show up in a good position for the goal. The interchange between Kusamin and me on the left and right sides was also smooth, and Kusamin created a good rhythm for me, ultimately allowing me to score. I was thinking about the movement of the third player. (Scoring in two consecutive games and being the top scorer in the team, but?) I don't really pay much attention to how many goals I score in total. What's more important is that I have chances in every game, one or two times. If I can consistently convert those chances, it will be a good accumulation."

　[Summary of Manager Jofuku's Press Conference] "If we could earn 3 points today, it would greatly benefit us in advancing through the group stage, so we really wanted to secure those 3 points and entered the game with that mindset. However, we didn't expect it to be an easy match and anticipated a close game with a one-goal difference. In the extremely high humidity, our goal was to keep the ball moving, tire out the opponent, and create chances. Even though the lineup was quite different from the previous match, I think each player challenged themselves. In the second half, until around the 15th or 20th minute, our challenge, which is scoring the second goal, became a difficult situation as we had several big chances but couldn't convert them. That's the current state of the J-League, where the game doesn't end until the final whistle. Since this is an away game, I expect it to be a close match like this. If we can't seal the deal with the second goal, the game can go either way in the end. However, the players showed their determination by defending and blocking shots until the end, and I think it's not the worst outcome to have a draw away. I want to return home and accumulate points in the next two matches, so that this result can be beneficial. (We have been conceding goals early after quick restarts) I didn't see it with my own eyes because it happened during a substitution, but I can confirm that the marking and passing were not clear. However, we were certainly paying maximum attention to the restarts, knowing that Kyoto comes up with various tactics and that their throw-ins are their weapon. So, it's very disappointing that we conceded a goal as a result. We regret not being able to score additional goals, but we also want to strive to become a team that can hold on to a 1-0 lead and show that to our fans."

　[Summary of Kyoto Kato's press conference] "The result ended in a 1-1 draw, but to be honest, we wanted to take all 3 points. However, in terms of the game's content, we were able to gradually express the style of football we want to play, and various players, such as young players who had little playing time and Yanagisawa who had been away from the game due to injury, showed a decent performance in today's match. As for the team's future, I think it was a game that ended with a positive feeling. We had several goal-scoring opportunities, and we were very close to opening the door, but the goal that was scored was born from the synergy between Diego and Yanagisawa, so it was a gritty goal in a sense, and it was great to see Yanagisawa score in his comeback match. It gave us a good impression and a sense that the team is heading in the right direction. (Regarding the timing and instructions for Yanagisawa's substitution) In terms of timing, I planned to let him play for about 30 minutes based on the flow of the game. In that sense, there were several goal-scoring opportunities before Yanagisawa came on, and it was not a bad period in terms of the flow of the game, so I delayed his substitution a bit. I originally planned to bring him on a little earlier, but in that situation, when the momentum shifted to the opponent, I thought that was the right time to bring him on. The movements of top players Paulinho and Toyota were not bad, so I substituted Yanagisawa for Teshima. In terms of tactics, it was not a substitution of players in the same position, and it did not disrupt the balance, but I think it changed the flow of the game. I instructed Yanagisawa to touch the ball once from the second row and then move wide, and then enter the goal area, but I didn't give him too many instructions."