Resume the cup competition and regain momentum with a fresh lineup

　The Nabisco Cup resumes, and in Sec. 5, they will face Yokohama FC at home. It will be the first cup match since April 11th. Currently, Tokyo is in 2nd place (7 points) in Group C of the qualifiers, while Yokohama FC is in 3rd place (6 points). With only 2 more matches left in the qualifiers, it is a crucial match for both teams to secure a spot in the final tournament. Additionally, after a disappointing loss in the previous league match against Kawasaki, it will be interesting to see how they bounce back in this back-to-back match. This is an important game in order to turn things around.

　However, Baba was absent due to injury. In addition, Shigeki Shigeki, who returned in the previous round, did not make the squad due to conditioning. In the midst of consecutive matches, there is also the meaning of encouraging the team that tends to sink, so a fresh lineup was used today. GK is Doi, who will start for the first time since March 31 (Sec. 4 Kashiwa match). Suzuki Nori is at left back. Inoha and Kajiyama form a double pivot, with Kawaguchi on the left side of the midfield. FW Hirayama is also in the starting lineup for the first time since March 31. Morimura has made his first bench appearance of the season, and Evaldo is on the bench as well.

　Yokohama FC, who will face FC Tokyo, has not won a league match since Sec. 2, and is in a difficult situation. Today, like Tokyo, they have changed their lineup in order to find a breakthrough. It is important to first surpass Yokohama FC in terms of mentality. Then, regain Tokyo's fast-paced style of play in both offense and defense, and aim for victory. From a solid defense, quickly seize opportunities and launch attacks from a strong position to overcome the difficult situation!

　The daytime weather that made us feel the heat of midsummer has finally eased, but it is a windless Japan National Stadium. The match started with Yokohama FC's kickoff at 19:04.

Completely taking control and creating opportunities...

　In the 4th minute of the start, Tokyo welcomes a big chance. Imakano, who stole the ball, develops to the left. Suzuki Nori overlaps and aims between the opponent's DF, sending a perfect through pass to the front of the goal. Kawaguchi catches up there and creates a scoring opportunity, but the shot is blocked by the opponent's GK who bravely jumped out. In the 6th minute, Ishikawa jumps out freely to the right area and traps the cross with his chest. However, his feet slip and he cannot shoot. In the 13th minute, Ishikawa cuts back the opponent's DF and crosses. Kawaguchi heads it back from the far side and Lucas connects it backward. Kajiyama, who ran in, gets into a shooting position, but once again his feet slip and he cannot shoot.

　In defense, without losing focus, we didn't give Yokohama FC any chances. From the attacks with a good rhythm, we should have been able to gain momentum by finishing. In the 20th minute, Kawaguchi on the left, Inoha in the center, and Ishikawa on the right connected passes, and Tokunaga, who had moved up on the outside, attempted a breakthrough, resulting in a free kick from a wide position on the right side of the penalty area. However, they couldn't convert the kick into a shot. In the 30th minute, In the right corner kick by Ishikawa, Imano perfectly timed his header, but it went slightly to the left. We couldn't take advantage of set plays either.

　In the 31st minute, a dynamic counterattack was launched from their own territory. Kajiyama sent a long feed to the left front line, and Suzuki Nori, who caught up, crossed directly. Inaba, who had advanced to the goal, jumped in with his head, but it didn't hit well and was cleared by the opponent's goalkeeper and defender.... In the following 32nd minute, Kawaguchi broke through with a feed to the front line and aimed for a shot from the trap, but the opponent's goalkeeper saved it. Lucas followed up on the ball that spilled into the left area and took a great shot, but couldn't find the target.

　In the 34th minute, before they could make the most of their chance, the ball at the feet of Imamura was taken away by Yokohama FC forward Miura, who dribbled up the field. Then, Fujiyama fouled just outside the box, resulting in a free kick. Yokohama FC midfielder Uchida aimed a low shot that went under the Tokyo DF wall and into the goal. They were scored against with just one chance and fell behind. With this lead, Yokohama FC began to defend by pulling back into their own half. In the final stages, they created chances from set pieces, but were unable to score against the Yokohama DF who had many defenders. The first half ended with a score of 0-1.

Unable to change the bad flow, Yokohama FC defends until the end

　Tokyo dominated the ball in the second half and took the advantage. In the 49th minute, Ishikawa received a pass from Tokunaga, who had moved up the right side, and quickly turned forward to take a shot, but it went slightly to the left... In the 52nd minute, from Kajiyama's development, Tokunaga -> Ishikawa won a corner kick. From Ishikawa's corner kick, Hirayama took a header shot, but it curved to the left. However, Tokyo gradually lost its rhythm as it struggled against Yokohama FC's defensive play. In the 55th minute, from Yokohama FC's free kick, MF Zheng crossed the ball in the front line, and MF Uchida ran into the area and took a powerful shot. It curved to the left but did not result in a dangerous situation, yet Yokohama FC surpassed Tokyo in terms of speed.

　59 minutes, substitute Kurisawa for Ishikawa, who injured his leg. Then, in the 65th minute, substitute Wanchope for Kawaguchi. Move Imakawa to defensive midfield and Inoha to defense. Wanchope and Hirayama in the front line, Lucas, Kurisawa, and Kajiyama attacking with numbers, aiming for a goal. In the 68th minute, from Wanchope's drop, Lucas passed to Hirayama on the right front line. Hirayama quickly took a shot from the right area, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper's save...

　In the 78th minute, Akamine was replaced by Akamine to go on a power play, but also faced Yokohama FC's counterattack while becoming aggressive. In the 80th minute and beyond, they continuously earned corner kicks, but were unable to finish. In the 88th minute, Lucas jumped on Tokunaga's right cross, and Wanchope reacted to the loose ball and took a shot, but it also missed to the right... In the end, they showed Tokyo-like soccer at home, but were unable to score during the good rhythm period. They were unable to hold off Yokohama FC's one goal and suffered a frustrating defeat.

　【Player Comments】《Masahiko INOHA》"I tried to change the flow even a little and played aggressively... If we can't score when we have the chance, this is the result. Even the counter chance in the first half, if I had touched the ball a little earlier, I could have scored. But I think that is our current ability. In order to make progress, we need to rethink from each position. To regain confidence and make up for what is lacking, let's discuss together."《Kajiyama》"I tried to touch the ball a lot and create a rhythm. Thanks to Inoha's defense, I was able to play in front of him... The opponent was sitting back, so I should have tried to attack more from the sides, but maybe I kicked the ball a little too early. I regret that there weren't more moments of connecting. If we had scored the chance in the first half, it would have been our game. It's frustrating."

　[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "Due to the disappointing performance in the last match, I wanted to use fresh players today and play an aggressive game at home. In the first half, there were several good moments and decisive scenes, but we couldn't score. However, we had chances including corners and free kicks, so I thought if we continued like this, we would create more opportunities. But after conceding a free kick, we started to panic. At halftime, I said, 'We only conceded that one goal. Our chances will definitely come,' and I believed we could play that way in the second half. However, due to an accident with Ishikawa's leg, I brought in Kurizawa and instructed to move the ball a bit more. I was observing the situation with Kawaguchi on the right, but he also showed signs of fatigue, so I brought in Wanchope. I mentioned that 'not only long balls but also the full-backs should push up as much as possible,' but the ball wasn't moving well, and we ended up just sending in long balls. I thought if we could carry the ball to the side and cross it, Wanchope, who is tall, and Hirayama could connect with Lucas, but we couldn't score as Yokohama FC solidified their defense. Despite it being a weekday, so many fans came to support us, and both the players and staff are doing their best to respond. However, when we concede the first goal, we lose confidence, and it's very disappointing that we can't show our usual aggressive play. The players are definitely fighting, and if just a few gears align, there were scenes where we could have scored. Not being able to convert those chances has led to a loss of confidence, which is the current situation."

　[Yokohama FC Coach Takagi's Press Conference Summary] "In the situation of back-to-back games with only two days in between, we had to approach the match with members we are not used to playing with. Naturally, I thought it would be a very difficult game, but the entire team managed to come together well. While effectively suppressing FC Tokyo's attacking aspects, we capitalized on the few chances we had. There were several moments when we reached the opponent's goal area on the counter, but if I had to be greedy, I would have liked one more there. However, even with various changes due to the opponent's substitutions, the players responded well and played a thrilling game. We adopted a 4-1-4-1 formation because Tokyo's frontline often has four players in the flow of the game, and Ishikawa on the right side tends to move inside after going forward. Since there was no player to mark Ishikawa, we positioned Zheng as an anchor to fill the space that opened up between the fullbacks and center-backs. Forward Miura was positioned not so much as a top player but to make the opposing defensive midfielder take care of him. While we have not been blessed with many wins, we have made our fans and those involved with our club feel very disappointed and sad. However, I felt that we are starting to grasp a good flow in this game, and the players performed very well as we head into the next league match."