The 3rd round of the Emperor's Cup, which is played in a tight schedule alongside the league matches, saw a match between JEF United Chiba, who belongs to J2 League, and Fukuda Denshi Arena.
The starting members, except for center back Teppei Oka, were all replaced from the Kashiwa Reysol match in the league. Go Hatano guarded the goal, Hotaka Nakamura played as right fullback, Yuto Nagatomo as left fullback, and Masato Morishige as the other center back. In the midfield, Riki Harakawa and Keigo Higashi formed a double pivot, with Kuryu Matsuki in the attacking midfield position. Up front, Ryotaro Araki led the line with Keita Endo on the right wing and Jája Silva on the left wing.
1st HALF - A back-and-forth battle of creating chances
It was a long 45 minutes in the first half, with Chiba setting the pace.
Tokyo showed a strong start, taking control of the ball, but gradually struggled against Chiba's pressing and gave up the lead. In the 10th minute of the first half, they suffered a counterattack from a pass mistake in the enemy's territory, leading to a decisive chance. When a cross was sent in from the right side and Dudu was about to score with a header on the far side, Hotaka NAKAMURA, who had desperately returned, threw his body to block it.
Tokyo finally approaches the goal in the 22nd minute of the first half. Pressing from the front line, Jean player expands the ball that Jaja player took to the right side. Endo player swings his right foot from a calm trap, but it is also blocked by the defender.
After that, the game was a back and forth battle. In the 39th minute of the first half, there was a miscommunication in their own half and Lins was able to take a shot, but it was saved by Go HATANO. Then, in the 43rd minute of the first half, they created their biggest chance. Starting with a long pass from Harakawa, they broke through the left side and connected with Endo and Nagatomo, and finally Harakawa took a strong shot with his right foot in the box. The shot was on target, but it was also saved by the goalkeeper, and the score remained unchanged as the game reached halftime.
2ndHALF - Matsumaki's brilliant goal leads to a tie and goes into extra time
Tokyo started the second half with a sharp start and threatened the goal. In the 4th minute of the second half, they scored the first goal in a brilliant fashion.
Jean, who received a vertical pass from Okamoto, turned forward and made a through pass. Matsuki, who received the ball between defenders, made a brilliant turn using the sole of his foot and broke through, calmly slotting the ball into the goal.
Tokyo, who completely grasped the rhythm with this one point, further attacks to take the second goal to decide the match. However, in the 14th minute of the second half, Endo was unable to shoot on target, and in the 26th minute of the second half, substitute player Leon NOZAWA broke through the right side and took a shot, but it flew straight to the goalkeeper and they were unable to score an additional point.
In the 28th minute of the second half, Kota TAWARATSUMIDA made a cross and Matsuki took a left-footed shot, but it went outside of the goal.
As a result, Chiba gradually regained their breath and created a scoring opportunity in the 29th minute of the second half. Hidaka player's shot, after breaking through on Takahashi player's feed, hit the post and escaped danger, but in the 34th minute of the second half, Hayashi player scored with his right foot, bringing the score back to a tie.
5 minutes of additional time, Tokyo extended the time to push for a winning goal, but in the end, they were unable to score a second goal and the game went into extra time with a score of 1-1.
EXTRA TIME—Defended against the early goal...
Tokyo, who aimed for a comeback, conceded a goal within the first minute of the match. They were pushed back on the right side and although player Sho SASAKI's shot was saved by player Go HATANO, the ball fell to player Wataru KUREYA who kicked it in, leading to a turnaround and the start of extra time.
The bench quickly moves. Teruhito NAKAGAWA and Shuhei TOKUMOTO are brought in to aim for an equalizer and reset the game. However, time passes without being able to regain the rhythm. In the 15th minute of extra time, Harukawa takes a direct free kick from the right side, but the ball falls short and misses the goal.
Tokyo, who must catch up at all costs in the remaining 15 minutes, will bring in player Yasuki Kimoto in the 6th minute of extra time and push tall player Oka to the front line for a power play.
In the 9th minute of extra time, a header shot was taken from a counter attack in front of the goal, but Go HATANO made a fine save to protect the goal. However, the overall situation became sluggish and they were unable to create attacking opportunities, and time passed by quickly. In the end, they were unable to catch up and the Emperor's Cup battle ended with a reversal after taking the lead.
MATCH DETAILS
＜FC Tokyo＞
STARTING Ⅺ
GK Go HATANO
DF Hotaka NAKAMURA/Masato MORISHIGE/Yuto NAGATOMO (6 minutes into extra time: Shuhei TOKUMOTO)/Teppei OKA
MF Kuryu MATSUKI/Keigo HIGASHI (23 minutes into second half: Kei KOIZUMI)/Riki HARAKAWA (6 minutes into extra time: Yasuki KIMOTO)
FW Keita ENDO (23 minutes into second half: Leon NOZAWA)/Jája Silva (23 minutes into second half: Kota TAWARATSUMIDA)/Ryotaro ARAKI (6 minutes into extra time: Teruhito NAKAGAWA)
SUBS
GK Taishi Brandon NOZAWA
GOAL
4 minutes into the second half: Kuryu MATSUKI
JEF United Chiba
STARTING Ⅺ
GK Ryota SUZUKI
DF Issei TAKAHASHI/Riku MATSUDA/Mendes/Masaru HIDAKA (37th minute of the second half: Shogo SASAKI)
MF Yusuke KOBAYASHI/Koya KAZAMA (18th minute of the second half: Toshiyuki TAKAGI)/Akiyuki YOKOYAMA (0th minute of the first half of extra time: Taishi TAGUCHI)
FW Masamichi HAYASHI (37th minute of the second half: Hiroto GOYA)/Taichi SAKUMA (8th minute of the first half: Kazuki TANAKA)/Dudu (18th minute of the second half: Hiiro KOMORI)
SUBS
GK Toru TAKAGIWA
GOAL
34' Second Half: Masamichi HAYASHI / 1' First Half Extra Time: Hiroto GOYA
[Interview with Peter CKLAMOVSKI, Manager]
Q, please review the game.
Unfortunately, it was a disappointing result and I am very heartbroken. We went into the game with a strong desire to win, but we were unable to achieve victory and I am extremely disappointed. From here, we want to bounce back and keep going. Congratulations to JEF United Chiba. It was a really tough game. I feel like it turned into a tough battle.
Q, entering extra time, there were times when the ball couldn't be controlled or it was difficult to move forward while retrieving the ball. What do you think was the cause?
A, I think it was because the opposing team responded well to the second ball, so it became that time zone. Even in that situation, the players gave their all and fought. It's a very frustrating feeling, but we have time to see how we react and prepare as a team for the next game.
[Player Interview]
＜Player Tokyokeigo＞
Q, please look back on today's game.
A, I think we broke the game ourselves. Instead of panicking when we were winning 1-0, we needed to stay calm and try to counterattack when the opponent was pushing forward to score.
Q, it was my first appearance in a while. What were you conscious of when you entered the game?
A, I thought it was my role to control the game well. There were times when I was able to do it and times when I couldn't, but after scoring, I wish I could have calmed down more and carried the game. There were also chances to score, so I wanted to take them firmly.
Q, in the first half, the team was unable to ride the momentum.
A, I think we were able to get into a good rhythm by playing more man-to-man defense from the start of the second half, as our defensive strategy was not clear in the first half. While we would have liked to have done this from the beginning, it is important to maintain balance and think about the entire 90 minutes. We were able to score in a good way in the second half, so we need to improve our game management after that.
<Keita ENDO player>
Q, it was my first start in a while. What were you thinking about when you entered the game?
Three days later, we have a match against Albirex Niigata, and I thought that the result of this match would also affect the Niigata match. Since it is a one-shot tournament, we talked about starting strong together. Personally, I couldn't perform well in the important scenes of the first half. If we can't finish in those scenes where we really have to finish, I think it will affect the team's result. We can't keep saying "to get used to it" or "trial and error", and I think everyone, including myself, has to take responsibility for the result.
Q, I felt like there was momentum in the second half.
I stopped putting pressure on the center back and started putting pressure on the side back. As a result, I think we were able to turn things around. If possible, it would have been better to make adjustments earlier in the first half. Personally, I have to reflect on the fact that I should have taken the chances to score at my own position.
Q: Please share your enthusiasm for the next game.
A, I think both ourselves and the fans and supporters are disappointed with today's result. However, the next game is coming up and for the sake of those who will support us there, we must aim for victory and play. Of course, we can't feel good right now, but we want to move forward towards the next game with an arrow.
