Striving for the semifinal round and fighting together as a team

The second leg of the Nabisco Cup quarterfinals will be played away against Nagoya Grampus. In the first leg on July 15, we won by 5-1. Therefore, even if we lose, as long as the goal difference is within three, we will advance to the semifinals. We can say that we are currently in an advantageous position, but Coach Jofuku said, "Nagoya will surely come to this match with a strong determination. It is also a home game, and if we take it lightly, we will suffer. We want to show a strong determination to win the semifinals and fight with a tightened focus."

　Nagoya, on the other hand, welcomes the halfway point of the league with the addition of Australian representative forward Kennedy. Not only has he already scored consecutive goals in two matches, but he has also unified the team's intentions and brought out the strengths of the surrounding players. Therefore, it will be a major point to see how we can contain the attacks targeting this forward Kennedy. As coach Jofuku says with a wry smile, "No matter how cautious we are, we cannot change Kennedy's height." We want to firmly control the sides and take care of where the early crosses come from.

　Tokyo will face the match with a fresh lineup, making significant changes to the team. In goal, Shioda, who will make his first official appearance this season, replaces Tokunaga, Yonemoto, Ishikawa, and Hirayama, with Mukuhara, Suzuki, Tanabe, and Akamine starting. Coach Jofuku said, "We have been using the same starting lineup for a while now, so the aim is to provide stimulation and increase new options, so that we can synchronize our breathing in any combination. Each player has accumulated injuries and fatigue, so there are players who need recovery."

　In this match, if Tokyo can score the first goal, they should be able to advance the game more advantageously. Although it won't be easy as Nagoya has regained their strong defensive power, they want to attack by aiming for the spaces and behind on both sides of Nagoya. It will be a match where the team's overall strength and the flow of the game are read, and tactics are tested. Let's unite and seize the semifinal round! The match started at 19:00 with Nagoya's kickoff at Nagoya Mizuho Athletics Stadium.

First half ends with a one-point lead

　The strong desire not to concede goals from both sides was evident in a cautious start. Among them, Tokyo began to create chances by connecting passes. In the 13th minute, Kajiyama, who picked up a loose ball in the center, dribbled up and passed it through to Akamine, who had drifted to the right area. He shot directly but missed the target. In the 22nd minute, there was a quick counterattack from a swift transition. Kabore sent a final pass from a dribble to the right area. Akamine ran precisely into that position and took a decisive shot, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper's excellent save...

　32 minutes, Kajiyama's side change and Mukuhara overlaps and crosses from the right. Akamine in the area heads the shot, but the timing is slightly off and it floats. In defense, they were firmly holding back Nagoya's long balls, but in the 33rd minute, Imamura and Nagoya FW Maki competed and the ball spilled to Tokyo's right side. FW Kennedy reacted quickly to the ground pass that was crossed to the center, and Maki jumped in to score... They conceded the opening goal that they didn't want to give away.

　However, Tokyo continued to play calmly without feeling down. In the 36th minute, Akamine received a through pass from Tanabe and kept the ball while carrying the defender. He then passed it to Hayashi, who made a decisive shot but it went over the goal. In stoppage time, Kabore, Suzuki, Hayashi, and Tanabe displayed great passing skills on the right side, with Hayashi trying to break through the defense. However, his pass from Tanabe was intercepted, leading to a counterattack. Although they managed to contain the counterattack, Nagoya's right back Tanaka advanced and made an early cross. However, Kennedy, the forward in the left area, failed to touch the ball and it went out of bounds. As a result, Tokyo ended the first half with a one-goal deficit.

Game over with Hirayama's goal! Securing a spot in the semifinals

　In the second half, Nagoya aggressively launched a power play, while Tokyo took advantage of the opportunity to counterattack. In the 50th minute, Nagatomo overlapped and crossed from the left. Cabore, who was running freely in the right area, volleyed the ball but couldn't put it into the goal. In the 52nd minute, Kajiyama quickly restarted the game. Cabore caught up with a long ball sent to the right front line, skillfully turned past the opposing defender who came to mark him, and attempted a looping shot over the jumping goalkeeper, but the shot missed to the upper left.

　Tokyo replaced Cabore with Tokunaga and Ishikawa in succession, using player substitutions to launch a counterattack. However, in the 65th minute, they failed to clear Nagoya's right corner kick and allowed a header goal by DF Yoshida, conceding their second goal. Nagoya, riding the momentum, continued to launch fierce attacks. Tokyo was under pressure for a prolonged period of time, and in the 77th minute, they substituted Hirayama for Tanabe in an attempt to regain their rhythm.

　As time passed, Nagoya became more aggressive, but gradually seized opportunities on the counterattack. In the 82nd minute, Ishikawa sprinted down the right side and sent a last pass, but it was caught by the goalkeeper. Then, in the right area, a left-footed shot was deflected by a defender and resulted in a left corner kick. Then, in the 85th minute, Ishikawa picked up a loose ball that Akamine and the opposing defender contested and rushed to the right area. Hiraoka scored with a negative cross. The game ended as it was, and we lost the second game. Although we tied in terms of wins, we advanced to the semifinals by surpassing the goal difference and secured a match against Shimizu S-Pulse in September.

　【Player Comments】《Shioda》"I felt both tension and excitement on the pitch in an official match after a long time. I'm glad to be back, but since we lost, I think I could only do the minimum work. We have been conceding few goals recently, so I was conscious of conceding the fewest goals today as well, but we were under attack for a long time and conceded two goals, which is a challenge. However, even in the midst of being under pressure, I think it was good that we were able to go and score goals firmly. (There were also loud cheers from the stands?) I felt grateful for the support I received so far and stepped onto the pitch with a sense of gratitude. I'm really happy that I was able to return to the ground with the support of my teammates, family, and friends. I want to repay that support by producing results from now on. (Have you been supporting Konda as well?) In the future, I want to strive for a high level of competition and work hard to win titles."《Hirayama》"We lost, but we were able to achieve the minimum goal of reaching the semifinals, which was the original purpose. I think that was good. Even when I was on the bench, we had chances, so I wasn't very anxious. I was watching, thinking that if we scored one goal, it would be much easier for us... When I participated, Nagoya had a lot of long balls, so I tried to firmly control where our forwards kicked the ball. As for the goal, Nao-san was in great form, so I was thinking of following his lead. Then, the pass came as I expected, and it was a great goal. (Did the "unbeaten streak" end?) Everyone is not so down, and we will switch to the next game. We have the goal of winning against Kawasaki and also the goal of winning the championship, so we want to win one by one towards the Nabisco title."

　[Summary of Coach Jofuku's Press Conference] "I think it was great that we were able to achieve the minimum requirement of advancing to the semifinal round, and I believe that each player did their best. We lost today, but I think it is important to recognize that we were able to play the game with the minimum expected result. We thought that if we could score one goal without showing any weaknesses in today's match, the game would be over. I believe that the players had the attitude to go for that one goal and their movements leading up to the final shot were solid. However, by continuously missing scoring opportunities, we allowed the opponent to regain their momentum. It wasn't a game where we should have given the opponent a chance, but if we keep missing scoring opportunities like that, it becomes that kind of game. The players need to engrave that in their hearts, and if we want to aim for the next stage in the league or the cup, we should have stopped the opponent's momentum earlier. Along with the achievements, I hope we can use this as a lesson for ourselves and connect it to the next stage, including the league matches. Today, I am glad that we were able to celebrate the semifinal advancement with the fans who came from afar."

　[Nagoya Stojkovic's press conference summary] "I think our team showed a good performance. We were able to win, but it was a tough game. Considering the result of the first match, it was a really difficult game. We were able to play aggressively and win, but it was not enough. Today, the loss in Tokyo (in the first match) was really significant. (In terms of game play, couldn't you attack enough?) In the first 10 minutes, it would have been good if we could have put pressure and scored about 3 goals, but the result of the first match was significant. However, we tried to score the third goal, and I thought we could have gotten it a little closer. As for us, I think we were able to show what we have today, and if we could have scored the third goal, everything would have changed and various possibilities would have emerged. I am satisfied with the content of the game, and I think the players really made an effort. Tokyo is a team that aims to counterattack, and they are a good team, so it was a difficult game. Although it resulted in this way, we want to focus on the ACL and the league and move forward."