The Nabisco Cup final tournament is held, facing off against Shimizu

　The Nabisco Cup Final Tournament has started. On Wednesday, September 1st, the first leg of the quarterfinals will be held, with Tokyo facing Shimizu S-Pulse (2nd place in Preliminary Group B) at home. Tokyo advanced from the preliminary league held from March to June as the 1st place team in Group A to reach this final tournament. However, since the league resumed after the World Cup break, Tokyo has not been able to secure a win since Sec. 14 against Shonan, resulting in a seven-match winless streak. Still, they gained confidence from the previous match against Kobe and are determined to focus on winning each game with renewed spirit, aiming to advance to the Semifinal Round. Shimizu, on the other hand, had suffered three consecutive league losses but won their last match against Kawasaki, rising to 3rd place. The team atmosphere seems positive. The key point this round will be how to break down their solid defense, but since the Semifinal Round will be played over two legs (home and away), the approach over both matches will be an important aspect to watch. Especially if the total points and goal difference are tied after two legs, the number of away goals will decide the winner, so it is crucial to minimize conceding goals at home to avoid giving Shimizu an advantage going into the second leg. There may be long periods of having to endure pressure. Even so, if Tokyo can disrupt Shimizu’s momentum, chances should arise from the coordination between Daikoku, Ricardinho, and Otake, as well as from Morishige’s forward runs. Tokyo will be without Ishikawa due to a back injury. The sides will be Suzuki and Otake. Morishige and Kajiyama, returning from suspension, will pair as defensive midfielders, with Nakamura and Mukuhara as fullbacks. Additionally, forward Maeda has made his first bench appearance. Meanwhile, Shimizu will be without MF Ono and DF Ichikawa. They will line up in a 4-3-3 formation with MF Honda at the base of midfield, and MF Ito and MF Hyodo in central midfield. Despite the lingering heat in September at Ajinomoto Stadium, the match kicked off exactly at 7:00 PM with Tokyo starting the game.

Evading Shizuoka's press, they grasp the rhythm and go on the attack

　A focused start together. In the early stages, both sides defended strictly, not allowing the opponent any freedom. Amidst this, Tokyo gradually found their rhythm by evading Shimizu's press, and at the 10th minute, Ricardinho attacked down the flank, passing through Suzuki before Morishige took a mid-range shot. At the 13th minute, Suzuki timed his run perfectly to connect with Kajiyama's long pass, attempting to break behind the defense. Although Shimizu's DF quickly recovered and prevented a shot, it resulted in a corner kick. From this right corner, Suzuki passed short to Otake, and after winning two corner kicks, Otake passed to Nakamura, who ran in from behind and took a mid-range shot in the same pattern.After that, both fullbacks Nakamura and Mukuhara pushed forward, trying to create chances from wide plays. At the 29th minute, Ricardinho created a starting point on the right front, with Suzuki and Mukuhara supporting inside. Mukuhara sent a through pass to Otake in the right area, but it was slightly too long... At the 31st minute, the play shifted from left to right, and Ricardinho's shot from the right side just missed the left side of the goal.At the 42nd minute, from a right corner kick, Morishige headed the ball but it went straight to the goalkeeper.There were moments when Shimizu launched counterattacks, but at the 34th minute, a cross raised by right fullback Tsujio's overlap was cleared by Tokyo's DF, resulting in a left corner kick. From there, Shimizu MF Hyodo's kick was met by a header from far-side DF Hiraoka, but the ball floated and was caught by Gonda. At the 40th minute, Mukuhara advanced inside from Suzuki on the right side, entered the area, and returned the ball to Suzuki. From there, a right cross was sent, but it just missed Oguro, who jumped in front of the goal.At the 42nd minute, Mukuhara pushed forward again, and from a cross, it resulted in a corner kick. Matching Suzuki's right corner kick, Morishige headed the ball at just the right timing, but it went straight to the goalkeeper... Although they couldn't convert it into a goal, Tokyo allowed Shimizu only two shots in the first half. Tokyo controlled the game and went into the second half with the advantage.

Although they conceded the first goal, they pushed Nakano up to the midfield and launched a counterattack, resulting in a draw with Morishige's header.

　In the second half, Tokyo launched a fierce attack from the start. At the 47th minute, Ohguro flicked the ball to the left with one touch, and Otake advanced by dribbling. He was fouled at the corner of the left area, earning a free kick. Ricardinho’s cross from the rebound reached Suzuki near the right area, but his trap was too large, and he couldn’t get a shot off. At the 48th minute, Nakamura entered the area and fell, but there was no foul by Shimizu. At the 50th minute, Ricardinho’s pass was spilled by Shimizu’s DF in front of the goal, and Ohguro reacted, but he couldn’t finish the shot against Shimizu’s tenacious defense.At the 65th minute, after connecting a rebound from a right corner kick, Kajiyama floated a pass to Konno, who stayed behind the opposing DF in the left area. However, Konno’s shot hit the opposing DF and went out over the sideline. Then at the 68th minute, Tokyo failed to keep possession from a goal kick, and Shimizu’s DF Iwashita passed to MF Hyodo, who ran up the left side and sent a cross. Konno fell trying to deal with the bouncing ball in front of the goal and couldn’t clear it, allowing Shimizu’s FW Okazaki to score a low-header, conceding the first goal.However, Tokyo made substitutions at the 69th minute, replacing Ricardinho with Shigematsu, then Otake with Tokunaga, and at the 79th minute, Ohguro with Hirayama. Tokunaga moved to defensive midfield, Morishige switched to DF, and Konno was pushed up to the midfield side, launching a counterattack with energetic offense. At the 79th minute, from an overlapping run by Mukuhara, Tokyo earned a right corner kick, and Morishige headed in a goal from Suzuki’s corner kick! They capitalized on the set-piece chance to equalize.In the final stages, Tokyo pressed further, but Shimizu remained focused. At the 85th minute, Suzuki sent a quick pass from the right side into the area, and Konno on the left side made a direct return pass in front of the goal. However, it was just a bit too long for the advancing Shigematsu... At the 87th minute, Tokyo overloaded the front with players, and Hirayama and Shigematsu launched waves of attacks from crosses, but they couldn’t finish the shots... They failed to take the lead, and the first leg ended in a 1-1 draw.Player CommentsMorishige: “As usual, I thought it was important to do what we normally do. I wanted to produce results like scoring since I caused trouble for the team due to suspension. It’s disappointing we couldn’t win, but I’m happy to have scored. I checked Suzuki’s kick quality during practice and think I was able to show that in the game. As a defensive midfielder, I focused on defense and tried to break forward in attack. However, I think there were few good opportunities to get into the area. For the second leg, I will focus only on winning.”Suzuki: “We conceded first, but it was a positive that we caught up. Also, the atmosphere to come up with attacking ideas was a good takeaway today. It might have been frustrating for the spectators, but we were able to move the ball in a way that was unpleasant for the opponent. Although we didn’t score during open play, we carefully tried to break them down and created chances. Against a strong team like Shimizu, I think we played patiently. We should be confident in this and continue.”Coach Jofuku’s Press Conference Summary“The strong cheers from the stands reached the players, and it was good to equalize, but we really wanted to win the first home leg. It’s disappointing we couldn’t. We want to show our determination for the Nabisco Cup in the next 90 minutes.(On why we couldn’t win) Shimizu’s counterattacks were sharp, and we were cautious about set pieces and counters. Conceding from a single counterattack made things difficult. We expected to press in the second half, but the quality of breaking down from the sides was insufficient, and there were many moments when we chose not to shoot from a distance where we could. The team needs more confidence in kicking, which I also feel in the league. If we could show better accuracy in crosses, confidence in shooting, and fighting spirit, the vital area would have opened more. When the defense is solid and the front is closed, we must improve the quality from the sides.”Shimizu Coach Hasegawa’s Press Conference Summary“We appreciate the many Shimizu supporters who came to cheer. The players fought well for 90 minutes in humid Tokyo, with only two days between matches, compared to Shizuoka. Only those playing understand the difficulty of consecutive matches in this schedule and heat. People watching from outside might want us to play better soccer, and of course, we want to show good and attacking soccer every match. Today, we didn’t just cancel out FC Tokyo’s strengths and play defensively.However, we couldn’t deliver passes through the solid block or switch the ball to the opposite side after drawing the opponent in. It might have been different if MF Ono was here, but we didn’t bring him today so he could be in good condition for the home game. Under these circumstances, we scored an away goal and showed fighting spirit. We fought realistically and can’t ask for more. Since the second leg is at home, we want to prepare thoroughly to advance to the next round.”