After the break, the quarterfinals of the Emperor's Cup will be held at "home"

After a break of about a month and a half since the Round of 16 (4th Round) on November 9th, the Emperor's Cup resumes.
Kawasaki Frontale will face off against Ajinomoto in the quarterfinals at Ajinomoto Stadium. In the final stages of the league, we were able to finish with consecutive victories accompanied by both performance and results.

As we approach the last tournament of the season, we aim to regain the momentum we had at this time. Manager Shinoda said, "We want to showcase everything we have worked on and accumulated this season and make it our 'magnum opus' tournament." We will continue to move forward until the end of the season, aiming for victory while growing.

Unfortunately, during this break, Hashimoto and Kono underwent surgery and left the front lines. On the other hand, Tokunaga returned and started as a left back. Maeda, who injured his ribs, also quickly improved his condition and was named to the starting lineup, with Muroya at right back, Mizunuma at right midfielder, and Nakajima at left. Takahashi and Tanabe will serve as a double pivot in the lineup.

Kawasaki, on the other hand, has advanced to this point by winning against Blaublitz Akita, the representative of Akita Prefecture, in the second round of the Emperor's Cup, and by defeating Urawa in a fierce battle in the third round through a penalty shootout. Although they have also suffered a defeat in the championship first match, they are also strongly determined to compete for the title.

Kawasaki boasts individual high abilities, led by MF Nakamura, and a strong scoring power centered around FW Okubo and Kobayashi. It is expected that if the transition between offense and defense is delayed, they will be brought into the development they aim for. We want to be conscious of the transition and ball contests more than usual, and demonstrate an organized defensive power to prevent goals. In addition, Coach Shinoda continues, "If we can aggressively play both offense and defense, the spectators should feel the excitement. We want to give our all and aim to win by surpassing Kawasaki with a dynamic style, aiming for the semifinals."

The weather was clear during the day, but the wind was cold and the temperature dropped sharply. The match started at 16:04 with Kawasaki's kickoff.

Unable to regain the rhythm, conceded 2 goals in the first half...

Kawasaki's momentum pushed Tokyo back from the start. Tokyo's initial movement and mobility were slow compared to the fluidity and speed of Kawasaki's passing play, allowing chances to be created from both sides.

6 minutes: Kawasaki's forward Yu OKUBO in the left area near the goal feints to time his move and crosses to the right area. Midfielder Elsinho, who had slipped behind Tokyo's defense, was given a scoring opportunity, but his shot goes over the bar.
11 minutes: Kawasaki left MF Torisawa was dribbled on the side, allowing a breakthrough towards the goal at a close distance, but Takahashi escaped with a sliding tackle and won a corner kick.

When they avoided conceding a goal, they gradually regained their composure and turned the tables by stealing the ball and launching an attack.
12 minutes: Nakajima, in the right area just in front of the goal, takes his first shot of the day from the loose ball after Mizunuma's right corner kick. Immediately after, he tries a middle shot from the left side, but both attempts are caught by the Kawasaki goalkeeper.
15 minutes: Nakajima on the left side passes to Maeda in the center, and then he charges into the area himself. Maeda skillfully controls the ball and attempts a through pass into the area, but it is intercepted by a Kawasaki defender just before reaching Nakajima.
17 minutes: Tanabe cuts off the opponent's loose pass. He exchanges passes with Nakajima, and Nakajima takes a shot from mid-range, but it goes over the goal. It seemed like they regained their rhythm.

20 minutes: Kawasaki DF Eduardo sends a vertical pass from the back line. MF Elsinho receives it and passes it to MF Nakamura in the center, who then spreads it to the right side where RB Tasaka has advanced. From a high position, he crosses freely and FW Okubo jumps in front of the goal. Okubo competes with Muroya, but he shoots with a high jump and pushes it in with his knee... The ball goes into the net. In a series of careless moments, they conceded the first goal.

26 minutes: Still without panicking, Tanabe dribbles and spreads to Mizunuma on the right. Muroya overlaps from the outside and crosses. The ball that passed through Maeda in front is slightly behind Nakajima in the far side. Nakajima aimed for an overhead shot with his back to the goal, but it curved to the left.

28 minutes: Kawasaki stole the ball in their own half, and MF Eduardo Neto advanced from the left MF Torisashi with a pass exchange to the front of the goal, and connected to the slightly right MF Elsinho. In response, Tokyo was unable to press and MF Elsinho in front of the area scored a shot to the bottom left... resulting in conceding the second goal.

The time for Kawasaki to hold the ball continued. Tokyo had a low position to steal and couldn't bring the ball to the front line. Nakajima took 5 shots, but couldn't create an attacking shape other than that and ended the first half with a 2-point lead.

Although Hirayama scored a goal to retaliate, the counterattack did not bear fruit, and they finished in the quarterfinals

Substitute Ogawa as left back from the second half. He showed an aggressive attitude and tried to counterattack.
46 minutes: Send a pass to the front line from the kickoff ball in the second half, and Mizunuma earns a corner kick.
49 minutes: From a quick switch, Ogawa overlapped to the front line. He sent a ground cross into the area, but it just missed reaching Higashi and Nakajima.

55 minutes: The ball was taken in their own half, and Tanabe switched the attack to the right. Muroya, who had advanced at the right time, sent a cross. Although it was blocked, Tanabe went around to the right front line and crossed again. In response, Mizunuma in the center attempted an overhead shot, but... the shot grazed the bar and bounced back.

57 minutes: The momentum increased on both offense and defense, with 5 Erik making a vertical attack and earning a right corner kick. From Mizunuma's kick, Morishige headed the ball. Just before being blocked by the Kawasaki DF, Higashi passed it short to Maeda right in front of the left goal area...but the shot couldn't be completed.

Kawasaki, who maintained a 2-point lead, created a block to defend and both teams started launching counterattacks as time passed. Kawasaki quickly brought the ball to the finish line, while Tokyo attempted various challenges such as crosses from the side and through passes into the area, but they were unable to capitalize on their chances for a prolonged period of time.

63 minutes: Substitute Maeda with Hirayama.
68 minutes: Mizunuma sends an early cross from the right side, Hirayama heads the ball but it's offside.
74 minutes: From Maruyama's intercept, Higashi passes to Mizunuma in the center, but the timing is slightly off. Nevertheless, Nakajima takes the second ball and takes a shot, but it goes wide of the goal.

75 minutes: Takumi ABE is substituted for Mizunuma. He tried to increase speed and momentum towards the goal. However, Kawasaki Frontale also launched accurate counterattacks.
82 minutes: FW Okubo, who remained in the front line, dribbled and shot, hitting the left post... He was also put in a tight spot.
90 minutes: Still not giving up and attacking, Ogawa boldly makes a move and earns a free kick on the left side of the opponent's field. Ogawa himself takes the free kick and Hiraoka heads the ball that bounced in front of the opponent's goalkeeper, GOAL!! Finally, we successfully score a goal. Furthermore, fueled by the momentum from the stands, in the 4 minutes of additional time, we push forward in front of Kawasaki's goal and launch a strong attack.

However, in the end, despite the scramble from Tanabe's cross from the right area, they were unable to push through. Although they managed to score one goal with Hirayama's goal, the counterattack was not enough. They suffered a defeat in the Emperor's Cup Best 8, ending the season with the two goals conceded in the first half.

[Player Comments]

"Hirayama"
"It was a situation where we were chasing two goals, so I wanted to score one goal as soon as possible. I tried to create opportunities from both sides and I was conscious of playing in the center to contribute to scoring goals. The goal was scored by taking advantage of the gap in the opponent's zone defense, and Ogawa made a good kick. However, it would have been better if I could have scored earlier... It is very disappointing that I couldn't respond to the support and cheers from many fans and supporters with a victory."

《Masato MORISHIGE》
"The strong desire for the title should have been present in each player individually and as a team, as well as in the fans and supporters. Today, we were unable to meet those expectations, and I feel sorry and regretful about it. However, today, I feel that we were outperformed by Kawasaki in each position. Each of us should think and feel, 'There must have been something more we could have done, something we should have done'... and I want to build on those thoughts and feelings for the future. We won't be able to win unless we learn from the experience of defeat. This year, there have been various events, and we ended up with disappointing results, but I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who supported us and cheered for us throughout the year."

[Summary of Yoshiyuki Shinoda's press conference]

"It was a frustrating defeat. We had hoped to win here and move forward, including the players, staff, and fans/supporters, but unfortunately, it ended in a disappointing result, and I feel responsible. From the start of the match, we were attacked by Kawasaki's fast ball movement. The distance between opponents and teammates did not match, and there were many scenes where our press was broken. We gradually increased the time we held the ball at our own pace and tried to create chances, but the way we conceded goals was not good. It becomes difficult to recover when the first half ends 0-2. In the second half, we brought in Ogawa to increase the attacking gear so that the side players could take up higher positions, but it was difficult to score a goal and we also invited dangerous situations. I feel that there was a lack of team strength and a difference in what we have built up. There are various things that are lacking, including myself, but I want to clearly determine how we will build up from here and connect it to next season. Some players will leave the team, and I don't know yet how we will approach next season, but I want to do what we can do properly and use this defeat for the future."

[Summary of Kawasaki Frontale Manager Yahiro Kazama's Press Conference]

"We conceded one goal from a set piece, but other than that, we were able to control the game well. It was a difficult situation for the players as it was their first game in a while, but they made a good start and fought hard to secure the victory. It was a good match."
(The second half was a situation where we were pushed back until around the 15th minute?)
Since the result throughout the 90 minutes is what is sought, we are not aiming for perfection until then. It was understood that Tokyo would come out aggressively at the start of the second half. On the contrary, it would have been even better if we could have scored there. The players understood that they would be in such a situation. It was a little disappointing that we couldn't score at that time rather than being pushed back."