Striving for victory and aiming for the semifinals!

The Emperor's Cup quarterfinals will be played against Shimizu S-Pulse. After suffering a comeback loss in the final league match against Chiba, we finished in 6th place and were unable to achieve our goal of securing a spot in the ACL. However, during the two-week interval, we have reset our mindset and each player has been training with high motivation. We will give our all in the final official tournament of the season, the Emperor's Cup, and aim for the top step by step with our own strength.

　Shimizu, on the other hand, advanced to the 5th round of the Emperor's Cup by defeating Chiba 3-2. They finished the final 7 matches of the league with a record of 6 wins and 1 loss, showing that they are in excellent form. Above all, in this season's matches, they have not won a single game against Tokyo, with 1 draw and 3 losses, revealing their poor compatibility. In previous matches, in order to deal with the sharp movements of Shimizu's FW Okazaki and DF Hara, the defensive line often dropped too deep and left space in the midfield. This time, it is important to be compact while paying attention to the defense. It is also important to avoid being pushed back and giving the opponent set plays from desperate fouls.

　Tokyo, with Kajiyama returning from a 2-game suspension, forms a lineup with Imano and the midfield. However, Ishikawa, although he has returned to practice, has been excluded from the squad considering his condition. Shigeta said, "Shimizu has strong players in the front line who kick long balls. In response, we want to jump and pick up the second ball, and connect it to the attack. No matter how the game unfolds, we want to keep going until the end and avoid conceding first. It is important to continue without letting our guard down for even a moment, as we can be caught off guard. We need to be tenacious and gritty to defeat this tough opponent. We want to enter the game with a heightened defensive awareness, without being passive."

　Kajiyama said, "I have no worries because I have been training, including practice matches, despite the gap between official matches. I want to play clearly against Shimizu's pressing from the front line and avoid losing the ball from mistakes. Considering it is a tournament, it is more important to have a game that can ultimately win rather than focusing on the performance." The match started with Shimizu's kickoff at 13:04 at Yurtec Stadium Sendai.

Trailing by one point into the second half

　In the early stages, both teams kicked back and forth, but Tokyo also picked up second balls and connected them to attacks. In the 5th minute, Akamine stole the opponent's ball in the midfield and took a long shot. This was Tokyo's first shot of the game. In the 6th minute, Akamine -> Cabore moved up the left front line and entered the area to cross. It was initially cut off, but the ball came loose and the cross was made again. However, no one was able to connect. In the 9th minute, Shimizu also had a counterattack, and FW Hara volleyed a cross from left SB Kodama, but missed the target by a wide margin.

　After that, the offensive and defensive battle continued to go back and forth, but in the 24th minute, Shizuoka MF Hyodo's right corner kick was crossed by FW Hara, and DF Aoyama headed the ball, causing Tokyo DF to commit a handball foul and give away a penalty kick. In the 25th minute, DF Takagiwa converted this penalty kick, conceding the opening goal. Although they conceded a goal in an unlucky manner, they did not panic and patiently awaited a chance to counterattack from their resilient defense. In the 27th minute, after a left corner kick was cleared, a right corner kick followed. Sato connected with Hayashi's kick, but it fell to Akamine in front of the goal, who was unable to take a shot. They were unable to break through the opponent's solid defense.

　In the 32nd minute, Suzuki, who broke through the left side, evaded the opponent and made an excellent last pass in front of the goal. Kabore, who made a run, tried to finish it, but the shot missed to the left... Unable to capitalize on the scoring opportunity. In the 37th minute, Kajiyama on the right side made a superb through pass into the penalty area. Hayashi, who made a run to overtake, took a shot with speed, but couldn't find the target. Shimizu also created chances one after another from corner kicks, but the defense, centered around Shioda, held firm and didn't allow an additional goal. They went into the second half trailing by one point.

A comeback victory with two goals from Akamine, showing his strength in decisive moments!

　Tokyo starts attacking from the beginning of the second half. In the 49th minute, Cabore on the left side changes the side. A vertical pass is passed to Suzuki, who entered the right area after Tokunaga, and he aggressively attempts to dribble through, but is fouled by the opponent's defender and earns a penalty kick. Akamine confidently converts this penalty kick, equalizing the score early on. With this goal, the momentum quickly shifts to Tokyo's side, and in the immediate 50th minute, Nagatomo overlaps with the ball dropped by Cabore and crosses it to Suzuki on the far side. Redmine receives the cross and spectacularly kicks it directly to take the lead.

　Unfortunately, Kabore was injured in this play and was replaced by Kondo, but Tokyo's momentum continues. In the 54th minute, Kajiyama launched a counterattack from here after clearing Shimizu's corner kick, and Suzuki on the right side took a shot but was blocked by the defender. In the 57th minute, Kajiyama made a through pass behind the opponent's defender from the counterattack. Nagatomo, who had come up with great momentum, entered the penalty area and took a shot. It was a good save by the goalkeeper and resulted in a corner kick. In the 63rd minute, Kondo brought the ball into the middle from a left throw-in and took a shot. They maintain their proactive attitude.　

　FC Tokyo did not give up and tried to change the flow of the game with player substitutions, launching aggressive attacks. There were moments where they struggled with the speedy movements of the Shimizu forward line, but Tokyo made adjustments by replacing Suzuki, who showed signs of fatigue, with Fujiyama, and replacing Hanyu with Hirayama. In the final stages, Shimizu brought in the tall forward Nagasawa and repeatedly sent long balls into the goal area, but each time the defense remained highly aware and focused, successfully holding on to the lead. In the end, FC Tokyo won 2-1, securing their first ever Emperor's Cup semifinal appearance (they reached the quarterfinals in 1997 as JFL Tokyo Gas).

　【Player Comments】《Akamine》"(Regarding the PK) During yesterday's PK practice, I had a feeling that I... and that atmosphere was created. Today, I made eye contact with Hayabusa-san and Konno-san and felt an aura of 'Go for it!'. However, regardless of whether it went in or not, this was a chance, so I kicked it with all my might. For the second goal, I drifted back a bit and moved to a place where I could react to Tatsuya-san's pass. He delivered it perfectly. The other players were saying, 'Wasn't that not a pass from Tatsuya, but a trap mistake?' (laughs). (Not just scoring goals, but also being a key player in the flow of the game?) I think there were moments where I was able to link up with Cabore and the midfield players according to the situation. Above all, I'm glad we were able to get the result of a victory. Of course, scoring a goal is great, but the fact that the team won is the most important thing."《Suzuki》"We were scored on first with a PK, but I think we were able to play calmly. (What about the second goal?) It was just like in practice. We had trained for the scenario where the far side would be open. I knew Yuto was looking at me, and I knew Shingo was coming closer. Of course, it was a pass. However, I was also thinking about the possibility of receiving a return pass from Shingo and taking a shot... (Regarding the situation where we got a PK) I've come to understand the criteria for when the referee calls a foul or not, so I just tried to be aggressive and take risks. As a result, we were able to get a PK, just as I had planned. I was substituted because both of my feet were bruised and my calf was cramping. In the Chiba league game, my leg cramped up and ended up causing trouble for the team, so I told them today. I really wanted to win. (If we end up facing Kashiwa in the semifinals?) I might have mixed feelings, but I definitely don't want to lose!"

　[Summary of Manager Jofuku's Press Conference] "Shimizu, who is in the best condition and most stable in the second half of the J-League, was our opponent. Also, we haven't won in four games this year, and we haven't made it to the top four since becoming FC Tokyo, so I thought today's game would be a very big and important challenge. The players fought with a strong determination and thanks to the support of many supporters who created a home stadium-like atmosphere, we were able to win and I am very happy about that. In the first half, we weren't really broken down, but when the opponent's two top players flowed and received the ball, there were some very panicked responses in the penalty area, which led to some chances and we conceded. We didn't feel like we were being broken down, but we were also creating chances, so I thought if we could calm down a little and control the ball, we could create more chances. In the second half, we didn't change our approach, we confirmed our defensive responses and how to see the space, and we had a very good start. After creating 2-3 chances at the beginning, we were able to score two goals, so we were able to continue playing fresh, aggressive football without pulling back. In the last 15 minutes, we were pushed back, but I think we showed a very strong determination towards this game until the end. I want to celebrate this victory with the supporters. (What was the intention of bringing in player Fujiyama?) We had Emerson waiting on the bench and we were also monitoring Suzuki's condition. We have been practicing using Fujiyama in midfield for defense all week, and when it came to that time, I prioritized defense in my decision. I think he was mentally prepared and he fulfilled his role on the pitch."

　[Summary of Shimizu and Hasegawa's press conference] "Today's loss is very disappointing. Our first goal was also a penalty kick, but the opponent's first goal was a scene that makes you wonder what happened. However, the second goal we conceded was something we should not have done. I don't feel like we lost, I don't feel like it's over. I feel like we can play another game next week in the Emperor's Cup, but the fact is that we lost. We want FC Tokyo to do their best for us and go all the way. The supporters also came to Sendai and supported us. Thank you very much for the past year. (What was the intention of the substitute players?) It was to put in DF Jun Takagi and FW Yajima to be more aggressive and go for the goal. In the end, we put in Nagasawa for a power play. We created some chances from there, but we couldn't score until the end. (Summary of this season and aspirations for next year?) This year was a difficult season until the middle, but in the end it was a very rewarding season. We will reinforce the team before next season, and there are also young players and players returning from injury, so we want to raise the overall level and fight next season."