Victory only!

　The opponent for the 5th round of the Emperor's Cup is Omiya Ardija, who secured promotion to J1 next season. They also defeated Shimizu 1-0 in the 4th round, extending their winning streak in the J2 league to 13 matches. They are likely to bring that momentum into this match. By the way, the last match against Tokyo dates back to November 8, 1999, during the J2 era, so both teams have mostly changed players and there is no past data to speak of.

　Omiya has already had three Brazilian players, who were the core of both offense and defense, return to their home country, so it cannot be denied that their strength has decreased. In particular, it is considered painful that TUTO, who has scored more than two-thirds of the team's total goals, and the powerful top two of Vale will be missing in the attacking aspect. In their place, FW Mori, who is in second place in team scoring, and FW Takahashi, who has often been defeated during his time at Hiroshima, have been named as starters, but it is unknown how well they will perform.

　On the other hand, Tokyo has been hit by injuries to Nishino, Toda, and Kajiyama, and the team is struggling to gather its strength. Jean, Fujiyama, and Inamoto are in the center line of the defense, with Ishikawa on the right and Suzuki on the left in the midfield. In the end, they finished 8th in the league, failing to meet the expectations of the fans. Therefore, in the Emperor's Cup, which is the last tournament of the season, they aim to win and focus on the results rather than the performance. It is also important to have an advantage in the J1 league next year against Omiya. They want to end the season with a clear victory.

Tokyo dominates from the kickoff

　In the cloudy sky, the game started with Tokyo's kickoff. Following the instructions from Coach Hara during the pre-game meeting to be careful about how the game starts, Tokyo aggressively attacked from both sides from the kickoff and scored the opening goal in the first minute.

　When the ball kept by Suzuki and Kanazawa on the left side was passed to Baba in the center, he swung his right foot boldly from outside the penalty area as he saw that the opponent's defenders did not come close. The low trajectory pierced the left side of the goal, and suddenly Omiya received a first punch against them.

　Tokyo continues to dominate Omiya. In particular, they create chances from both sides and repeatedly penetrate the sides. In the 15th minute, Lucas from the right side, and in the 8th and 10th minutes, Suzuki from the left side, deliver crosses to the center, keeping the opponent's defenders pinned in front of the goal. They completely prevent Omiya from playing football and now they will score an additional goal in the ideal time of the 22nd minute.

　On the right side, Imano keeps the ball and draws a foul from the opponent, earning a free kick. Miyazawa puts the ball towards the far side of the opponent's goal, and Jean, who is free, scores a header, adding another point. It has been a nearly perfect way to progress in this match.

　However, after scoring the second goal, Tokyo's slight relaxation allowed the pressure on the ball from the front line to weaken, and Omiya started to pick up the ball and increase their possession time. As a result, they gave Omiya the chance to restart with a free kick or corner kick, and in the 40th minute, MF Masashi Ando put the ball in with his right foot from a left corner kick, allowing DF Tomita to score with a header. Tokyo was unable to regain a good rhythm afterwards, and the first half ended with a score of 2-1. It seemed like they could decide the game within the first half, but the game development became uncertain.

Further extend the lead with an own goal from the opponent...

　In the second half, Tokyo aggressively went forward to take the ball from the front line and launched quick attacks, just as Dobu said in the pre-match huddle, "We can't afford to lose for the supporters who came all the way to Kagoshima and for the supporters who believe in victory in Tokyo." In the 48th minute, Miyazawa and in the 53rd minute, Konno took shots, and in the 55th minute, Suzuki went for an overhead shot to score an additional goal. As a result, Omiya appeared to be pushed back by that momentum.

　58 minutes, Fujiyama intercepted the opponent's pass in the midfield and passed it to Suzuki on the left side as he ran up the center. He then dribbled into the penalty area and placed a shot between the opponent's defender and goalkeeper. The opponent's defender couldn't help but stick out his leg to clear the ball, but it ended up being an own goal. The team successfully extended their lead to two goals.

　However, Tokyo allowed Omiya to counterattack. From a counter, Masashi Ando on the right side put in a centering pass with perfect timing. In the 64th minute, a header shot by FW Takahashi was freely taken on the far side, and in the 69th minute, another header shot by Takahashi was freely taken on the near side, resulting in 2 goals conceded in 5 minutes. Tokyo was brought back to square one. Before each goal conceded, Tokyo made player substitutions (Baba → Kelly, Miyazawa → Miura) in order to regain the pace, but it did not change the flow of the game.

Decide the game with a goal rush at the end!

　After being tied 3-3, without panicking, we calmly continued our attack, seeking only victory. Two minutes after the tie, a winning goal was born. Suzuki passed a vertical through ball to Lucas on the left side, who dribbled into the center, attracting the opponent's defender and goalkeeper. He then sent a ground pass to Ishikawa, who was running up from the opposite side, and he calmly slotted it into the goal with his right foot. This goal became Ishikawa's first goal of the season in an official match and put us in the lead.

　Tokyo replaced Suzuki, who showed signs of fatigue in the 76th minute, with Abe, but their aggressive attacking posture remains unchanged. Omiya also launched a counterattack without giving up, but Tokyo scored their fifth goal in the 80th minute to seal the game. With a lofted pass from Fujiyama to Abe, who ran up the center with a heel flick, Kanazawa received the pass. As the opponent's defender approached, Kanazawa sent the ball to Lucas, who had run up from behind, and calmly shot with his right foot. The ball pierced into the right side of the goal. With a flowing passing play leading to a beautiful goal, the game was completely decided.

　The final goal rush came in the 88th minute, when Abe received Miura's pass and dribbled past the right side. He then sent an early centering cross from the end line, and Kelly, who was free in the center, scored the 6th goal with a skillful right heel shot. The game ended as it was. It was a thrilling match with a final score of 6-3. They secured a spot in the Emperor's Cup quarterfinals and will compete in the semifinals against the winner of the Urawa and Shonan match at Saitama Stadium on December 19th (Sunday).

　【Player Comments】《Fujiyama》"I aimed for a goal but it didn't work out. However, today my goal as a defender was to keep a clean sheet. I'm really happy to be able to play in my hometown. I want to contribute to Kagoshima's soccer in some way in the future. (Regarding the goal conceded) I'm reflecting on it. I want to make adjustments by watching the video before the quarterfinals."《Ishikawa》"Even though it was my first goal of the season, it was a messy goal. However, I realized that I can score in that position in such situations. I was actively attacking today and there were moments when I lost concentration, but I think the performance was good. I need to improve the accuracy of my shots in the future... I want to fight each match with importance."

　[Summary of Manager's Press Conference] "Finally won against Sendai in the 4th round of the Emperor's Cup, and we also received information that Omiya will only have Japanese players, so it's actually better for them to come together as Japanese players. We won the Nabisco Cup, but our performance in the league matches was not very good, so I thought we had prepared well for the Emperor's Cup. I think the start of the match was good. Omiya will defend in a zone, but we used the sides and even shot from a distance, and Baba scored, and we were able to score from set pieces as well, just as we practiced, with Jean scoring. However, from around before conceding a goal, the opponents started to pass the ball among their two forwards, and I thought if we could hold on until halftime, but we conceded a goal and became chaotic, and when we thought we could go on after scoring the third goal in the second half, we conceded easily, and to be honest, it was chaotic again. It was not our usual style of play, and we don't often score 6 goals or concede 3 goals, so it's like the Emperor's Cup, I guess. As for Kelly, who came on as a substitute, I think he gradually showed his quality, and I want to use super subs like Abe and Kelly effectively and win each game one by one. I'm glad we can play at Saitama Stadium. I'm glad it didn't become a Saitama Derby, and I thought that can wait until next year. We still don't know who our opponent will be, but I wanted to play against Urawa at Saitama Stadium again. I think it won't be an easy game no matter who we face, but I want to prepare well for a week and advance to the next round. I think Omiya has strength if they add 3 Brazilian players to their Japanese players today, and they are a team with real potential as a J1 team, so to be honest, we were quite troubled."

　[Summary of Omiya Miura's Press Conference] "Tokyo had a better start to the game and we conceded two goals. After that, it became a back-and-forth battle, and in such a situation, having foreign players with scoring ability gives an advantage. The game didn't turn out the way we imagined, and that was the reason for our defeat. The way we started the game was a crucial point to consider. Ultimately, we couldn't break the deadlock in the game. (We were attacked from the sides) It was clear that Tokyo's strength lies in the wings, and we had the impression that we allowed them to penetrate from the first half, and we couldn't stop their momentum in the second half either. Tokyo's speed in transitioning from defense to attack, which is at a completely different level from J2, was something we couldn't contain."