Round 16 as the first match of this season's Emperor's Cup

Emperor's Cup Round 16, facing off against Honda FC (JFL) at Ajinomoto Stadium.
This season, Tokyo participated in the ACL, so this Round 16 is their first match of the tournament. Additionally, Honda FC has their final JFL match on Sunday the 13th, so this match was scheduled for Wednesday ahead of the other matches.

Currently, Mori Shige, Maruyama, and Nathan Burns are absent due to their respective national team activities. In addition, Maeda and Higashi are injured and will not participate in this match. Therefore, Takahashi and Yoshimoto will form the center-back partnership, with Hirayama up front and Kono in the attacking midfield position. On the bench, Hayashi and Hiraoka are also available as substitutes.

Honda FC, representing Shizuoka Prefecture, is participating in this tournament. They defeated Fujieda (J3) in the Shizuoka Prefecture qualifying final and have advanced in the tournament by defeating J-League teams Gifu (J2), Matsumoto (J2), and Morioka (J3) in four matches. Currently, they are also leading in the JFL (Second Stage), so their team strength should not be underestimated.

Shinoda coach also said, "Honda FC is a very good team. They have a history and tradition, and many skilled players. If we create even a momentary gap in the ball contest or transition, there is a possibility of being defeated." The team knows the fear of the "one-shot match" where you don't know what will happen, as they have both caused and been subjected to "giant killing" in the past. In order to climb the path to the title step by step, we want to aim for the quarterfinals by fighting without creating any gaps and winning.
 

On a day when the first cold wind of winter blew, the match started at 19:04 with Tokyo's kickoff at Ajinomoto Stadium, where the coldness was even more intense at night.

Unable to grasp the rhythm, leading to conceding the first goal...

Both teams pressed each other from the beginning, and the battle for the ball continued. However, Tokyo today was unable to launch quick attacks after winning the ball, and the tempo did not increase as time passed.
5 minutes: Muroya advances and crosses from the left.
9 minutes: Hashimoto tried to send a cross from the right side, but was blocked by the opposing defender.
12 minutes: Nakajima dribbles past the opposing DF and charges forward. He draws the DF near the area and passes to the left wing. At a good timing, Muroya overlaps and sends a low cross, but it narrowly misses both Hirayama near the goal and Kono who jumped in the center.

15 minutes: Gradually, Honda FC is surpassing us in terms of speed of switching and moving the ball around the pitch, and they are unsettling us.
18 minutes: A vertical pass is made from Suzuki, the center back of Honda FC, to Tsuchiya, the defensive midfielder, and then to Hosogai, the right back. In the right side of Tokyo's field, Kagawa faces forward and sends a through pass behind the defense. Tokyo is unable to press against Honda FC's direct pass at all... In response to the through pass, Kuno jumps out to the right area and takes a powerful shot that goes into the bottom left corner... Although they allowed the first goal by conceding the first shot today, they calmly prepared for a counterattack.

22 minutes: Hashimoto jumped into the left corner kick from Mizunuma, but couldn't make a successful header.
23 minutes: Muroya's shot-like cross from the left side heads towards the goal. It was caught by the opposing GK, but Hirayama was there to follow up. It slipped out of the GK's hands, but they were unable to cross the line.

In the middle of the first half, the positions of Kawano and Mizunuma were changed, and Tokyo increased their time in possession of the ball without allowing Honda FC to find their rhythm, but they were unable to penetrate the front line and create scoring opportunities.
41 minutes: Nakajima dribbles past the opponent and tries to break through the center of the area, but loses the ball in front of Honda FC's defense.
44 minutes: Hasegawa on the right side brings the ball inside, Kajiyama expands to the left. Murai overlaps and cuts in, aiming for a middle shot from in front of the opposing DF... but it's saved by the GK.
45 minutes: Honda FC gave a free kick to Tokyo in the central area of the field, and FW Furuhashi was directly targeted from the front of the goal, from a position of 28-9m, but Akimoto made the save.

Tokyo's shots in the first half were only two from Muroya. On the other hand, Honda FC also had two shots, and it became a tight game, but one of those shots resulted in a goal, allowing them to take the lead and end the first half.

Nakajima scores the equalizer! Sei Muroya's first professional goal leads to a successful comeback, advancing to the quarterfinals.

Substitute Kajiyama for Ogawa on the left side back from the second half. Muroya moves to the right, Hashimoto to the defensive midfielder, and first aim for the same point.
48 minutes: Immediately after the start of the second half, Honda FC aggressively attacked with momentum and speed, but we persevered and defended.
51 minutes: Nakajima on the left side of the opponent's field, passes to the left front line to draw out Ogawa's attack. Ogawa overlaps and sends a left cross into the area. Mizunuma drops it, Hashimoto expands to the right. Muraya's cross hits the opponent, but the opponent's DF and Hashimoto compete for the ball, and Tanabe heads it to Nakajima on the left side of the area. Nakajima receives it, turns around, and shoots with his left foot. The ball grazes the opponent's DF and changes course, scoring a goal. Finally, they catch up to a 1-1 tie.

54 minutes: Waternuma aimed for the back of Honda FC's high defense line and sent a long through pass into the area. Nakajima made a run to meet it, but narrowly missed reaching it.
58 minutes: Lin is substituted for Kono. The game develops with a two-top formation with Hirayama, aiming for an additional goal. With Lin's entry, the ball started to settle in the front line, but the game tempo increased gradually as the line stretched. Honda FC also launched speedy attacks and created opportunities for shots.
69 minutes: Lin dropped the feed from his own zone and passed it to Nakajima -> Ogawa, who advanced to the left area. In response to the short cross sent to the front of the goal, Hirayama came forward in front of the opposing defender and shook the net, but... this was offside.

80 minutes: After that, the game continued with intense back and forth between offense and defense, but Lin received a pass from the DF line and turned forward, passing to Mizunuma on the left and then to Nakajima in the center. Nakajima then moved further inside and shifted the timing of his shot, passing to Muroya on the right. Muroya took advantage of his speed to break through with a trap and faced the GK in a 1-on-1 situation. The DF from Honda FC tried to block him with a sliding tackle, but Muroya skillfully lifted the ball into the left net, scoring a goal!! This was Muroya's first professional goal, giving his team the lead.

86 minutes: Honda FC, who never gives up, takes a shot from MF Kurimoto from a free kick just outside the left area, but it hits the post... In additional time, a cross is sent in from the right and a powerful volley is struck by MF Tomita just in front of the area, but the ball bounces and is caught by Akimoto. Despite being troubled by Honda's counterattacks until the end, we concentrate as a team and withstand them, and the game is over.
Nakajima and Muroya's goals secured a come-from-behind victory, advancing them to the semifinal round in December.

[Player Comments]

"Muroya"
"We knew how difficult this game would be before the match. We were down in the first half, but the team didn't panic. However, our distance between players was off and because Honda is a good team, we couldn't push back. Still, at halftime we all talked and said 'we can definitely turn this around' and in the second half we were able to calm down and play our own football. (On his goal) When I overlapped, I wasn't thinking about scoring, but Nakajima gave me a good ball. I was one-on-one with the GK after my first touch and I could see the GK's position, so I decided to take the shot. I think I was able to calmly score."

"Nakajima"
"Honda is a strong and good team. It was challenging, but I wanted to overwhelm them. However, I couldn't do it and felt that I lacked power. I think the goal itself was lucky, but it was a significant goal for the team. We have a little break before the quarter-finals, and I want to improve both individually and as a team during this time. I don't know who our opponent will be, but both teams are strong, and I am looking forward to it. I want to work hard every day and make good plays."

[Summary of Yoshiyuki Shinoda's press conference]

"It was good to be able to move on to the next stage. As for the game, it becomes difficult when we concede a goal in the first half. We lacked speed and had a lot of stagnant moments, and we ended up conceding without being able to break down the opponent. It was a game that we need to reflect on. In the second half, we made substitutions and had Ogawa play in a high position, focusing on breaking down the sides. However, our accuracy still needs improvement. There were many mistakes in the timing of crosses and overtaking. Honda is a really good team, and we feel that we need to learn from their earnest play and their attitude towards winning. We didn't have the consciousness that we were superior, but it is a fact that we struggled against them in the JFL. We want to clearly identify the points we need to reflect on and the good points, and continue training."

[Summary of Honda FC Manager Hiroshi Ihata's Press Conference]
"We have been practicing to play the first 30 minutes of the first half and the first 30 minutes of the second half for a total of 60 minutes. The first half was a tight game, but we were able to score a goal with just one shot. However, we conceded a goal at the start of the second half, which took away the team's momentum. In the end, we lost by one goal, but personally, I think it was a complete defeat. I couldn't do anything. In the last 10 minutes, we were able to put more players up front because we needed to score, but overall, I have the impression that the team's focus shifted to the back. Thanks to this game, we had a good experience, so we want to use it and aim for victory in the final league match, which will result in winning the championship."