Important match that leads to the future of the Nabisco Cup

　The Nabisco Cup qualifying league has reached its fourth round. Today's victory or defeat will greatly change the possibility of advancing to the final tournament, making it an important match that will lead to the future. This will be the first match against Kashiwa Reysol since the start of the league, but currently Kashiwa is in good form with two consecutive wins in the league. The lineup has also changed since the start of the season, and today MF Ricardinho and FW Marcinho will be absent due to accumulated warnings, so we cannot let our guard down.

　Tokyo, Amaral and Abe both started together for the first time this season. Abe took the left outside position in a 4-5-1 formation. The match started at 7:00 PM at the Japan National Stadium, under a sky that seemed to be taking a break from the rain, with Tokyo's kickoff.

Kei Ishikawa scores with a fine goal for the second consecutive game to take the lead!

　Connecting the kickoff ball, Kelly sends a pass to the right side space and Ishikawa crosses to the far side with speed. Abe dives in and heads the ball. The shot misses to the left, but Tokyo creates a chance right from the start, 15 seconds into the game. In the 2nd minute, Amaral is fouled just outside the penalty area and earns a free kick.

　However, it was Kashiwa who later found their rhythm. The game progressed within Tokyo's territory. However, Tokyo's strong defense in the final line prevented any shots, and in the 12th minute, Arai connected with Ashikawa's long pass, and Miyazawa made a through pass to the front line. Ishikawa made a run, and Kelly, who received the ball outside the penalty area, turned and took a right-curved shot with an outside kick, but the ball that captured the upper right corner of the goal was blocked by Kashiwa GK Minami's fine save.

　Tokyo, who had been pressed by Kashiwa's attacking, calmly waited for a chance. In the 17th minute, Kelly passed the ball to Kanazawa on the left side and dashed towards the goal. Kanazawa dribbled up and made a through pass to the penalty area. Kelly acted as a decoy for this ball, and waiting in the left corner of the goal area was Ishikawa. He controlled the ground ball with one touch, lifted it up, turned around while being surrounded by defenders, and volleyed it! The goalkeeper couldn't even touch the ball with this awakening and brilliant shot, and it's a goal!! Tokyo took the lead with a superb goal that demonstrates Ishikawa's excellent technique and shooting awareness.

Miyazawa scores his first goal of the season, adding valuable points!

　Kashiwa took the lead in the 22nd minute with a decisive header from defender Nagata, from a left corner kick. The shot slipped past the outstretched hand of goalkeeper Doi, but Mochizuki cleared it just before it crossed the goal line. Tokyo, gaining momentum in both attack and defense, capitalized on the lead. In the 24th minute, Kelly fought hard on the right side of the midfield to win the ball and played a through pass to the forward line. Ishikawa broke free and faced the goalkeeper one-on-one in the penalty area, but his shot narrowly missed to the left. In the 33rd minute, Kelly dribbled up from the midfield and passed to Abe on the right side. Abe, from just outside the right penalty area, played an artistic heel pass to the center. Kelly received the return pass but his finish unfortunately hit the goalkeeper straight on.

　In the 37th minute, after a wide passing play, they attacked the goal area and Amaral headed the ball in from Kanazawa's cross, but it was blocked by a nice save from the goalkeeper. In the first half injury time, they also had a free kick from the right side of the penalty area, but it did not result in a goal. Despite creating decisive opportunities, they were unable to score an additional goal and the first half ended with a score of 1-0.

　Tokyo approached the second half with the instruction from Coach Hara, "Don't retreat from the beginning, press forward. When we win the ball, open up quickly and attack using the wide sides." They showed an aggressive attitude as instructed. In the 47th minute, they won a corner kick and in the 55th minute, Kaji ran up to the open front line and passed to Kelly. Amaral and Kelly exchanged passes, and Kelly took a shot from the penalty area again. It missed the target, but they showed a good attacking form. Then, in the 56th minute, Amaral harshly checked the ball held by the opponent's defender on the right side of the Kashiwa's defense. He made it his ball and passed it to Kelly in the center. From there, at the perfect timing, the pass was passed to Miyazawa, who ran up overtaking Kelly, and Miyazawa scored with a powerful shot! The man who will celebrate his 25th birthday tomorrow on the 24th, fired a celebratory shot, which is his first goal of the season, on the Birthday Eve, and Tokyo finally scored the additional point they had long desired.

Kei Ishikawa's second goal! Abe also continues, explosive attacking soccer

　Kashiwa never gave up and in the 61st minute, FW Unozawa was substituted for MF Masuda. Both teams were starting to engage in a back-and-forth game of stealing the ball from the defensive line and launching quick attacks. However, in the 63rd minute, Kashiwa's left full-back, DF Tanoue, received his second yellow card of the day for time-wasting and was sent off. In response, Tokyo substituted Toda for Amaral in the 64th minute. They adopted a formation with Abe as the lone striker and Toda on the left to unsettle Kashiwa, who were now one player short.

　In the 67th minute, Toda received a long pass from Miyazawa and took a shot. In the 69th minute, Ishikawa invaded the penalty area from the right side and connected with Kelly after persisting, and Miyazawa ran in from behind and took a shot. Immediately after the chance, there was also a pinch, and the ball was passed to Unoza on the left front line from Kashiwa's counter, and Yano, who ran in from the center, made a shot, but it narrowly missed to the right of the goal and nothing happened.

　And in the 71st minute, Ishikawa caught up with the ball that came out to the right side space, dribbled inside, and shot vigorously from just before the penalty arc without any pressure! The ball shot with his left foot was sucked into the lower right corner of the goal, leaving Kashiwa behind.

　In the 73rd minute, Kelly was replaced by Baba, and in the 76th minute, Miura was replaced by Miyazawa. And in the 79th minute, Abe, who picked up the opponent's DF clear ball inside the Kashiwa area, advanced. He quickly broke through the three Kashiwa DFs standing in front of him with a super high-speed step, entered the penalty area, and took a shot, scoring a goal! With an additional goal to seal the deal, they stopped Kashiwa's momentum and won 4-0. They took first place in the goal difference in the Nabisco Cup qualifying league.

【Player Comments】《Ishikawa》"I think I'm in good condition, but there are parts where I lack concentration. I want to contribute to the team's victory and score goals. Exactly one year ago today, on April 23rd, I participated in FC Tokyo's practice for the first time. I want to continue growing even more in the future."《Asari》"I had a bad start to the game and we were pushed back by the opponent. I wanted to keep the ball in the front and expand to the sides to create rhythm on the pitch. However, it was good that we didn't concede during that time."《Miyazawa》"In the past, we were often pushed back in the second half, but we were able to move the ball and pass it around, and it was significant that we scored the second goal. I was really happy with the goal."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "We played the Nabisco Cup alongside the league match today, and by winning, our chances of advancing to the finals tournament have increased. We wanted to build momentum and face the Kashima match without changing the lineup. However, Abe's condition has improved, so we tried pairing him with Amaral. Although this trial is not yet perfect, the rhythm between the two is quite different, making it difficult for the opponents. If Kelly and Miyazawa get involved, it will become even more interesting, and the combination will develop during the game. Ishikawa's opening goal set a good rhythm, but after that, we missed several chances, and it reminded me of the previous league match against Nagoya. However, we scored a second goal, and the opponent received a red card, so we were able to play in a favorable situation. I think it was good that we scored four goals with players other than Amaral and Kelly. This season, we have set Japanese players' goals as a challenge, and Abe, Ishikawa, Toda, and Miyazawa have been practicing shooting every day. I think we are starting to see the results little by little. We will soon face the league match, but we have never won away against Kashima, so we want to defeat them at Kashima Stadium."

[Summary of Kashiwa Aurelio's press conference] "Today's FC Tokyo had a fantastic performance and didn't give us any opportunities throughout the 90 minutes. I don't think there were any defensive issues until the 0-1 score, but we couldn't maintain compactness. In the second half, with 10 players, Tokyo brought in speedy players and capitalized on their chances. Kashiwa also created a few chances, but unfortunately couldn't score. However, there is no time to be disappointed. We need to regroup as a team and strive for victory."