Secure a spot in the knockout tournament on our own

　The 7th round of the Nabisco Cup qualifying league is held. Shimizu S-Pulse will play against Tokyo at Komazawa Athletics Stadium as the home team. In the final round, which determines the advancement to the knockout stage, Tokyo, currently in 2nd place in Group B with 10 points, will rely on the results of Kashiwa (8 points) and Yamagata (7 points) if they draw or lose this match. If they win, they will surpass Shimizu's 12 points and become 1st place, making self-advancement in the qualifiers their main goal for this match.

　Tokyo will enter this section with a 9-day interval as there was no match in Sec. 6 (6/7). Therefore, they have taken their time to thoroughly prepare. In this section, Hirayama will be suspended due to accumulated warnings, but Kondo will start as a forward for the first time since the Sec. 3 Chiba match on 5/20. Mokuhara, who came on as a substitute in the previous section, will play as the right full-back, and Tokunaga will play as the left full-back.

　Shimizu, on the other hand, has already secured a place within the top 2 and enters today's match having secured qualification. They are without the Japanese national team's FW Okazaki, and FW Yong-sen is suspended, so they have lined up with FW Hara leading the front line, FW Edamura slightly dropping back, and MF Ito and Honda forming a double pivot in midfield. FW Hara has been in good form recently, and his movement exploiting the space behind the defenders with his speed and attacking prowess requires careful attention. Additionally, MF Fujimoto, MF Hyodo, and other players with high accuracy in their kicks pose a significant threat in terms of long-range shots and set pieces, so they must be closely monitored.

　On the other hand, Shimizu's organized defense is strong and has caused difficulties for Tokyo in the past season. The key for Tokyo is how they can grow from there and make moves to break through Shimizu's block. We can also expect dribbles from Kondo and Tanabe. The game, which will be held at Komazawa for the first time since 2003, is under clear skies with rising temperatures. Many spectators have gathered in the stands, creating an energetic home atmosphere. The match started with Shimizu's kickoff at 14:04.

First goal by Cabore! Showcasing focused and stable gameplay

　Shortly after the start, Shizuoka's left MF Fujimoto dribbled to the center from a one-two with forward Harada on the front line. He broke through Tokyo's defense and sent a through pass, but Tanabe quickly returned and cut off the ball. In the first minute, Harada forcefully dribbled through the center. However, Bruno QUADROS firmly held his ground and defended tenaciously. After gaining momentum from focused defense, they reached the 6th minute, where Kajiyama dropped a vertical pass and Cabore in the center, and Kondo on the right skillfully controlled the floating pass back to the center. Cabore's header went over the stretched hand of the goalkeeper and into the top left corner! They scored the opening goal in the early stages.

　Seizing the flow after taking the lead, Ishikawa and Tanabe continued to be the starting points, and Kajiyama and Yonemoto also actively participated in both offense and defense, launching a fast-paced attack that threatened the Shimizu goal. In the 14th minute, Kondo received a return pass from Ishikawa after connecting from a free kick in the opponent's territory and entered the right area. Near Bruno Quadros connected with a decisive cross, but was closed down by the defender and resulted in a corner kick. On Ishikawa's right corner kick, Hiramatsu showed an impressive diving header, but it went wide. In the 17th minute, Tanabe initially lost the ball in the opponent's territory, but tenaciously regained possession and passed to Tanabe who broke through to the right area. Tanabe delivered a strong final pass with shooting intent to the far side. Cabore jumped in, but couldn't make the connection and was offside...

　In the 24th minute, Ishikawa connected a side change from left to right, and Mokuhara, who went up on the outside, carried it to a deep position near the touchline and crossed. Kabore in the center and Kondo in the far post couldn't convert, but Ishikawa intercepted the defender's clearance and took a shot from the right area. However, it was saved by the goalkeeper... While losing the chance, Shimizu gained momentum and launched a counterattack. In the 28th minute, Shimizu's left full-back Kodama made an attacking run, but Tanabe defended persistently. Immediately after that, FW Hara circled inside from the right and entered a shooting position with speed, but Ishikawa blocked with a sliding tackle. From there, they attempted a counterattack, but the pass from Tanabe to Ishikawa, who was trying to make an attacking run, didn't go through.

　In the 30th minute, Shimizu gave a FK to Tokyo's central position around 27-28m. MF Fujimoto aimed directly, but the ball grazed Kajiyama and Gonda caught it. In the 37th minute, after Shimizu's right CK, they gave a left CK and MF Hyodo's kick was initially blocked, but it went back to MF Hyodo. From there, a cross was sent to the front of the goal and hit the bar... There were also moments that made us nervous, but we concentrated on defense and ended the first half with a stable game.

Scored 3 points and despite a hectic ending, advanced to the qualifiers in first place!

　In the early stages of the second half, the game continued with a back and forth development, but in the 57th minute, Suzuki was substituted for Kondo. Tanabe was moved to the front line to aim for an additional goal. In the 61st minute, Ishikawa in the center passed to Tanabe who was on the right side. Tanabe boldly dribbled forward, attracting the attention of the defenders, and sent a negative pass into the penalty area. Ishikawa, who received the pass, calmly evaded the sliding defender and scored with his left foot!! With a good combination between Ishikawa and Tanabe, the team scored their second goal!!

　In the 66th minute, Cabore was replaced by Akamine. Then, in the 71st minute, shortly after coming on as a substitute, Akamine was brought down in the area while chasing the ball on the front line. Tokyo was awarded a penalty kick, and as a result of this play, Shimizu DF Aoyama received two yellow cards and was sent off. The penalty kick taken by Akamine himself was initially saved by the GK, but it was ruled that the GK moved early, so it was retaken. However, on the second attempt, he firmly struck it and took a 3-goal lead.

　It seemed like they had pulled away, but Shimizu, even with 10 players, launched a counterattack with determination. In the 75th minute, Otake replaced Tanabe. Akamine took the front line, Otake in the center, Ishikawa on the left MF, and Suzuki on the right, trying to close the game. In the 82nd minute, Kajiyama made a run behind the defense, following a strong lofted pass from Otake. Otake and Kajiyama created a chance, but their timing was slightly off. Immediately after that, in the 83rd minute, Tokyo took advantage of Shimizu's attacking vulnerability and countered. Shimizu MF Edamura sprinted up the right side and delivered a cross, which was met by substitute FW Omae near the goal, who scored with a header...

　Tokyo panicked and in the 86th minute, Shimizu FW Omae created an opportunity from the left corner of the area, and Hiramatsu fouled inside the area due to a delayed response. A penalty kick was awarded to Shimizu. However, FW Hara's PK was saved by Gonda! The end of the game became hectic, but we managed to keep the score at one point and in the end, we calmly passed the ball around until the time was up. As a result, we secured our spot in the final tournament as the 1st place in Group B. The first match of the quarterfinals will be held on July 15th (Wed) at Ajinomoto Stadium against Nagoya. The second away game will be held on July 29th (Wed) at Mizuho Athletics Stadium.

　【Player Comments】《Tanabe》"Today was an important game, but I didn't try to change anything from when I played before and was able to play without pressure. However, when I was substituted, the coach told me to score a goal. I have to score as I am in a position where I have to score. I also need to be more aggressive in aiming for goals. I also need to improve my through passes as I got caught a few times today, both individually and as a team. I'm not particularly talking to Nao-san, but he is really good, so it's easy to play with him. For today's assist, I passed it to Nao-san because he was free. We haven't specifically talked about changing positions, but both Nao-san and I are the type to move around, so I think we are doing well together. (What is the atmosphere like at Komazawa?) It was completely different from when I played in the high school championship. The atmosphere in the stands is different and what is expected of me is different. I can't just take the ball and go by myself like I did in high school, so I naturally think about how to use my teammates..."《Gonda》"In the PK situation, I tried to wait until the last minute while watching the kicker's movements. I thought he would kick it this way, so I was able to stop it well in the midst of negotiations. However, we shouldn't have conceded a goal in the final minutes when the opponent was down to 10 men. I have regrets and reflections about that, but we were able to hold them off with the least amount of goals conceded... Komazawa is a place I have been going to since elementary school and have grown up in this stadium, so I have a special feeling for it. I was happy to hear the cheers from the supporters and I'm glad we were able to get a result in this way. Thank you very much."

　[Summary of Coach Shirofuku's Press Conference] "We knew that depending on the results of the other venues, we could advance to the qualifying round even with a draw. However, we believed that if we focused on that, it would not lead to good results, so we approached the match with the mindset that we absolutely had to win in order to advance to the final tournament. It was good to be able to celebrate advancing to the quarterfinals together with many supporters and fans. The match showed both challenges and achievements. Despite the humid weather, we were moving the ball and looking for opportunities, but we lost the ball a bit too much in the first half. In the second half, our intentions worked to some extent until the third goal, but even if the game had ended 3-2, it wouldn't have been strange. There are still challenges in that aspect, but we want to build on today's lessons and move forward. However, considering that the national team players and injured players were absent, the players who played in the match each showed their own strengths, and it became a situation where there is competition in every position. That is the biggest factor in the team's growth. I hope that the players who overcome this competition can develop a good habit of participating in both league matches and Nabisco Cup matches."

　[Summary of Shimizu Hasegawa's press conference] "Despite being away, many supporters gave us passionate support until the end, and I feel sorry that we couldn't meet their expectations. The overall performance was not bad from the first half. We had more possession and only conceded a goal from a header. However, in the first half, with FW Hara playing as a lone striker, we had the ball but couldn't create many scoring opportunities. In the second half, we brought in FW Nagasawa as a second striker and created several big chances. If we had converted those chances, the game could have had a different outcome. However, we conceded a second goal and then gave away a penalty. The decision for that penalty was up to the referee, but there could have been arguments for the opposite foul as well. After that, DF Aoyama protested and received his second yellow card, which he needs to reflect on. He has been sent off in the past two matches. He received the Fair Play Award last year and should play in a way that lives up to that, but he has received unnecessary cards, and the team needs to reflect on that. We finished in second place and will face Urawa in the quarterfinals, but reaching the top 8 will be a tough game no matter who we play against. We are prepared for that and will do our best to win and have a rematch with Tokyo."