Overcoming the absence of national team members, the team will face the restart of the Nabisco Cup with unity

　The Nabisco Cup has resumed, with four group stage matches scheduled between now and June 9. Sec. 3 will take place on Saturday the 22nd at home in Komazawa, where we will face Albirex Niigata. Although Japan national team players Nagatomo and Konno will be absent throughout the Nabisco Cup group stage, this tournament tests the overall strength of the team. We want to unite everyone's power, ride the momentum gained from the previous league match against Shimizu, and steadily accumulate points.Regarding this round, World Cup registered members Tokunaga and Ishikawa cannot participate due to FIFA rules. Kim Young-gun is suspended for this tournament due to accumulated warnings. Also, Hiraide will leave the team for U-19 Japan national team activities, and even excluding injured Yonemoto and Hiramatsu, we will face this match missing six players. Therefore, Morishige and Takahashi will pair as center backs, Mukuhara will play right back, Nakamura on the left, Kajiyama and Hanyu as double defensive midfielders, and Suzuki and Matsushita on the wings. Additionally, Abe Takumi and Yukino made their first bench appearances.On the other hand, Niigata currently sits second in Group A with the same 4 points as Tokyo. With new head coach Hisashi Kurosaki this season, they struggled to win early on but are now in excellent form, having won four consecutive league matches and remaining unbeaten in the last six games. Coach Shirofuku also warned, "Early in the season, Niigata's match content and results did not match. Their solid defense and attacking accents remain as strong as last season, making them quite formidable. If we allow Niigata to show their strengths, we will struggle."For this round, Japan national team forward Yano and defender Sakai, selected as support members, will be absent. However, the attack led by forward Oshima's hold-up play, forward Michel, midfielder Marcio Richardes, and midfielder Cao is of high quality in both movement and finishing. In response, Tokyo aims to counter by maintaining longer ball possession. After two rounds, Tokyo leads Group A. Without losing aggressiveness, we will focus on winning each match and fight through.The match started exactly at 14:00 at Komazawa Athletic Stadium under cloudy skies and a high temperature of 27.4 degrees, with Niigata kicking off.

Enter the game calmly and establish a rhythm from solid defense

　Calmly fought from the start, gradually gaining their own rhythm through solid defense and moving into attack. At 2 minutes, Niigata aimed behind Tokyo's defense with a long ball, which Takahashi calmly headed back to Gonda. Then, Mukuhara used his strength to stop a breakthrough from the left side and secured possession. At 8 minutes, Takahashi sent an accurate feed to Hirayama up front, who laid it off to Suzuki; they exchanged vertical passes again, and Suzuki aimed for the goal without hesitation. At 9 minutes, from Niigata's speedy attack, MF Marcio Richards fired a powerful middle shot, which Gonda saved. At 14 minutes, a decisive moment came. Morishige, Takahashi, and Hanyu connected several passes from the defensive line, and Suzuki, positioned on the left side, sent a longer pass into the left area. Kajiyama rushed out here and made a back pass from the line to the front of the goal. Nakamura ran in and took a shot, but it went over the bar. At 18 minutes, Niigata stole a loose pass up front and quickly launched an attack; FW Oshima fired a sharp middle shot, but Gonda touched it and deflected it to a corner kick. Although Niigata took middle shots from counterattacks, Gonda's saves and focused coverage by Morishige, Takahashi, Mukuhara, and Nakamura prevented any real chances. At 29 minutes, Kajiyama made a through pass into the area. Shigematsu rushed out from the left to create a great chance but just missed the trap. At 31 minutes, from the combination of Hanyu to Matsushita, Hanyu took a shot near the left goal area, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper with no clear course. At 36 minutes, Matsushita connected a short right corner kick, and Morishige tried to head Mukuhara's cross but couldn't finish, ending the first half at 0-0.

Daichi marked a dramatic goal at the end and secured valuable 3 points

　Possibly affected by the pitch conditions, there were moments of mistakes due to poor ball control, but adapting to the situation with a mix of wide plays and short passes, FC Tokyo held almost complete control in the second half. At 46 minutes, Matsushita on the left passed to Kajiyama in the center, who then found Hanyu drifting to the right front line to deliver a cross. Mukuahara made a run inside and stretched out his leg, but the shot went straight to the goalkeeper. At 51 minutes, Suzuki chased a long pass sent by Takahashi into the forward space and charged into the area with the ball, but was tackled by a Niigata DF sliding in, and the shot went far off target. At 59 minutes, Ricardinho was brought on for Shigematsu. Just after, at 62 minutes, Hirayama dropped a right cross from Mukuahara to his feet in the center of the area, and Kajiyama, advancing from behind, took a shot. At 65 minutes, Kajiyama created a chance on the right side and combined with a cut-back to the inside, followed up by Hanyu who unleashed a decisive shot from just outside the area, but neither could beat the goalkeeper. At 67 minutes, Otake replaced Nakamura, changing the formation with Matsushita playing left side back. Otake then became a key accent, pushing forward with a thicker attack to threaten the Niigata goal. At 76 minutes, Otake charged into the area from the left side, received a return pass from Hirayama in the center, and brought the ball close, but was cut off by a DF and caught in a counterattack. Niigata’s DF Chiba sent a long ball directly to FW Fagner, who broke through in front of goal, but Morishige bravely defended with his body and held firm. Niigata mainly attacked through set pieces, but the FC Tokyo defenders stayed focused and responded well, not allowing a single shot in the second half. However, the score remained goalless as time passed, and it seemed the match would end in a draw. As the 3 minutes of stoppage time neared its end, Niigata’s corner kick went out of bounds, resulting in a goal kick for Tokyo. Quickly moving the ball forward, they earned a left throw-in. Receiving Hanyu’s throw, Otake decisively broke into the left side of the area, feinted past the opposing DF in front of him, nutmegged him, and fired a shot with his favored left foot. The ball, perfectly aimed, pierced the net on the opposite side, scoring a dramatic goal! Their relentless and brave attitude toward the goal paid off, pulling away from Niigata in the final moments and securing valuable 3 points at home in Komazawa. 【Player Comments】《Otake》“I was given the chance to come on as a substitute, and I stepped onto the pitch with the mindset of ‘I will produce results even in a short time.’ The coach told me to keep receiving the ball actively, so I tried to touch it a lot and create the team’s rhythm. For the goal, I first thought about entering the area. Initially, I tried to bring the ball to the line, but the opposing DF pressed on that side, so I thought the inside was open and cut back. I saw the shooting lane and aimed only for that. When I’m in good form, I can see the lanes well. I want to keep scoring goals and producing results that lead to victories in this way.” 《Takahashi》“My impression of my first appearance was that you can never let your guard down. Even a moment’s lapse causes loss of the ball or disruption of line control. In that sense, I fought without losing concentration, calmed down in the second half, and think I was able to show some of my strengths. I felt I could somewhat contribute to build-up and feeding the front line, but I also felt challenges. When the opponent’s pressure was strong, I panicked and couldn’t move the ball forward without support. In one-on-one situations, I felt I was slightly outmatched by Niigata FW Oshima. I couldn’t defend by using my body without using my hands. I want to take these challenges back to practice and work hard to improve. The experience I gained from this one match is very valuable to me.” 【Coach Jofuku’s Press Conference Summary】“While the world is becoming all about the World Cup, I think the fans who came to the stadium today are very important. Heading into this match, we were missing four Japan national team players and Kim Young-gun due to accumulated warnings, so it must have looked like a very tough situation from the outside. But spending time together on the Kodaira pitch, there were many players with strong determination for today. How they worked daily at Kodaira, watched their own team at Ajinomoto, and watched away games on TV — that feeling was conveyed, and I believed that feeling would definitely work as a plus more than the absence of the national team players. Meeting the fans who gave passionate support in today’s Nabisco Cup and the media who came, I was reminded that the club is the most important thing. I want to further develop this club, and I’m glad we could end today sharing joy. (About the match) Niigata works hard as a team, so it’s hard to find gaps. The key is how patiently we can move the ball and make the opponent run. Only then do gaps open. However, moving the ball means there is a risk of losing it and being counterattacked. How much we can do that with a changed lineup was a question. There were many moments it didn’t go well, but in the last 15 to 20 minutes, we pressed forward. That was the result of today’s members moving the ball despite the risks. Niigata’s legs stopped because we moved the ball taking risks from the first half. It was very good to finish the match with a sense of accomplishment with today’s members. Of course, there are many points to reflect on. The way we ended today clearly showed our current challenges. It’s good if we can keep possession and score early, but if not, it becomes the usual scene. We still have to learn a lot at the stage just before shooting, such as the accuracy and decision-making of the final cross. Otake Yohei scored with a play and idea that we coaches can’t teach, but the match development showed the team’s challenges.” 【Niigata Coach Kurosaki’s Press Conference Summary】“Although Japan national team players were absent, we tried to play the same way as usual. Our style is similar to FC Tokyo’s, with ball circulation, but we couldn’t connect it to goals. We created chances to score from set pieces, but couldn’t convert, and I’m disappointed with the result. I had questions about the length of stoppage time, but we must reflect on being scored against at a moment when we should have stayed focused until the end.”