A hard-fought battle aiming for victory by skillfully avoiding Kobe's attacking momentum and connecting it to our own attacks

Sec. 3 of the Nabisco Cup, which will be played 3 days after the league match, will be against Vissel Kobe. In the league match against Hiroshima, we conceded a goal from a corner kick and lost, while implementing measures against Hiroshima. Although we couldn't achieve the desired result, Hanyu looks back and says, "We were able to fully demonstrate the preparations we made as a team and had control."
This round, there will be consecutive away matches, and there will also be league matches on the weekend. Manager Massimo stated, "There are players who need rest, and on the other hand, I want to use players who are in good condition as usual." GK Shiota and RB Matsuda are named in the starting lineup, along with CB Morishige and Yoshimoto. In the midfield, Takahashi as the anchor, with Uyu and Higashi as inside halves. Up front, Edu and Watanabe as the two top players. Muto will approach the game as the top midfielder.

Kobe, on the other hand, has only played one game in the Nabisco Cup. They lost to G Osaka in the first match and have 0 points. However, they are currently in 3rd place in the league and can be considered the team with the most momentum. The strong forward Pedro JUNIOR, along with the young midfielders Morioka and Matsumura, are showing their full potential. Kobe's forward Marquinhos starts on the bench. Although there may be some minor changes, there are no significant changes to the lineup. MF Hashimoto plays as the left fullback, with MF Choong-Won and Tanaka in midfield. Pedro JUNIOR is on the right side of the front line, and Matsumura is on the left. Tashiro is the top forward, with Morioka playing behind him. They aim to win with a cohesive and united team effort. However, Tokyo aims to unify their defense, including the CB duo of Morishige and Yoshimoto, as well as their forward and midfield, to prevent conceding the first goal and find opportunities to score.

Cloudy skies at NOEVIR Stadium Kobe. However, the match started at 19:04 with a kickoff in Tokyo in a calm weather.

Salt stood in front of the goal and did not allow a goal, and Muto scored his first professional goal to take the lead!

In the 6th minute of the start, a long pass from the left side of the Kobe defense line to the right front line. The Tokyo defense judged it as offside or lacked concentration for a moment, and Pedro JUNIOR of the Kobe right forward was able to break through behind. Although a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper was created in the right area, the shot was blocked by Shibata's good save, and the pinch was avoided. In the following 10 minutes, Watanabe broke through from the left side and took a daring shot from just outside the area. The rebound from the opponent goalkeeper's save flowed to the far side, and Edu ran in, but it was cleared by the desperate return of the Kobe defense and only resulted in a corner kick.

15 minutes have passed, and although there was a close call in the 6th minute, the team has been playing solid defense and maintaining possession of the ball, leading to a fast-paced attack. In the 19th minute, Edu and Muto carried the ball forward with an angle, and passed it to Watanabe who was trying to break through in front of the goal. Watanabe managed to break free and faced the GK in a one-on-one situation, but his touch on the ball was slightly off. He managed to evade the GK once, moving to the left and shooting towards the outside, but the opponent's GK blocked the shot.

Furthermore, in the 22nd minute, Hanyu lifted the ball in the center and wisely passed it to Edu on the right. Edu entered the right area freely but did not take a shot. He chose to make a last pass to the center. However, the ball flowed behind Watanabe, who had closed in front of the goal, and did not result in a scoring opportunity. This time, in the 26th minute, Matsumoto passed the ball to the center from the right side, Watanabe received it with his back to the goal and turned with a trap. However, he couldn't shoot directly and brought the ball to the left before taking a shot, but the shot lacked power and was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper...

28 minutes, Shioda and Kobe FW collided bravely against the opponent's long ball. Shioda couldn't get up, and the game temporarily stopped. However, a few minutes later, Shioda got up without any problems and the game resumed. 30 minutes passed, and although they created several big chances, they lacked finishing ability and couldn't score. In the 33rd minute, Kobe exchanged a direct pass in front of the goal, and Pedro JUNIOR, the right area FW, broke through and took a decisive shot, but Shioda made a great save!

At the 35th minute, the feed from the DF line was initially headed by Kobe's midfield, but Edu intercepted the loose ball and demonstrated his strength. He sprinted up the right side, skillfully turning between two opposing DF players. He slipped through and crossed from the right. The opposing DF cleared the ball, but it fell to Mutoh just outside the area. Mutoh took a first touch and shot, deflecting off the goalkeeper's hands and into the goal! Mutoh scores the opening goal with his first professional goal!

In the first half, we launched a good attack from the beginning and created many chances. However, we couldn't convert them into goals. On the other hand, Kobe FW Pedro JUNIOR also created scoring opportunities, but Shioda saved them one after another and averted the danger. Immediately after that, Edu broke through the right side and created a chance, and Muto scored a powerful goal! With Muto's first goal, we took the lead and headed into the second half.

Everyone comes together as one and secures victory with the first clean sheet of the season, without losing concentration!

48 minutes into the second half. Muto pressed the opponent's right side pack pass, causing a mistake and sending the ball to Edu in the center. Edu confidently struck a powerful shot from just outside the penalty area and scored an additional goal.

In the 52nd minute, Kobe gave a free kick from their own goal almost directly in front. It was aimed at MF Chung Wuyong, but it hit the wall and Saltada caught the ball. In the 57th minute, Kobe's MF Morioka took a powerful shot from the left side of Tokyo's field, but it hit the right post and there was no danger. In the 59th minute, Kobe made two substitutions, FW Marquinhos and MF Simplício, in an attempt to break the deadlock. Just one minute later, Tokyo also substituted Yonezawa for Higashi. In the 63rd minute, Nakagawa jumped into the area from the opposite side to meet Ota's early cross from the left, but his perfectly timed header... the shot on target was caught by the goalkeeper.

65 minutes have passed and in the early stages of the second half, Edu capitalized on the opponent's mistake to score an additional goal. After that, without losing balance, they aimed for the third goal. Kobe also made player substitutions, trying to launch a counterattack. It was also interesting to see how much they could stop Kobe's momentum.

In the 67th minute, Kono replaced Watanabe and entered as an attacking midfielder, forming a two-top with Edu and Muto. Then, in the 75th minute, Hiraoka replaced Edu and became the lone striker. 70 minutes have passed, and during this time, Kobe, who was on the offensive, had possession of the ball and pushed Tokyo back. However, Tokyo managed to hold on and withstand Kobe's speedy dribbles and direct passes with perseverance and focus. But in the 79th minute, Kobe's forward Marcinho skillfully dribbled past one, then two Tokyo defenders and made a breakthrough. Tokyo managed to stop him with a foul. This gave Kobe a free kick from the right area just before the goal. Kobe's midfielder Simplício sent the free kick to the far post, and defender Masukawa headed the ball but missed the target.

In the 89th minute, Hirayama dribbled past the opposing defender in the center and flowed to the left. He brought it into the left area, cut back past the opposing defender again, and took a shot that grazed the goalkeeper's hand and scored the third goal in the bottom left corner of the near post.

In the early stages of the second half, Muto's press caused a Kobe pass mistake, and Edu scored an additional goal! Towards the end, there were times when Kobe, who was trying to counterattack, found their rhythm, but the defense remained focused. In the final moments, Hirayama scored the third goal to put Kobe in the lead, while also securing the first clean sheet of the season and grabbing the victory together.

[Player Comments]
"Muto"
"I hadn't been able to score for a long time, but today I was able to score and finally relieved the pressure. I feel lighter mentally as well. After the goal, I think I was able to play calmly, which is a little different from usual. I couldn't score in many games, and I always had the feeling of wanting to score quickly. That might have led to impatience. At that time, Mita said to me, 'If you keep running for the team, you will eventually score.' Today, I was thinking of running for the team with that mindset. Thanks to Mita, I was able to score."

"Shiota"
"If I can contribute to the team's flow by doing my job well, I think that's good. However, throughout the 90 minutes, all 11 players on the pitch, including substitute players, were conscious of defending well. I think that led to keeping a clean sheet and winning. Overall, I think we were able to fulfill what the coach demanded, such as where the midfielders should press or where the top three should apply pressure. However, there are also areas for improvement. In the first half, the accuracy of short counters was lacking, resulting in a back-and-forth of counters and a bit of chaos. That's something to reflect on. I think it's necessary to not only rely on the front three for attacking, but also have support from the back. It's important to push up as a team and be able to finish with shots or deliver crosses from the sides. That's something we want to work on."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"I think we played a really good game without a doubt. The performance against Hiroshima was also very good, so I think we were able to have a very good game against a strong Kobe team while maintaining that performance. In today's match, the forwards applied strong pressure, and I think it was very good that the midfield and defense worked together as a unit. I believe that was the secret to our success."

[Kobe Ryo Adachi Coach Press Conference Summary]
"The goal conceded in the first half was not due to a breakdown, but the two goals conceded in the second half were clearly due to mistakes, making it a very regrettable three goals. In terms of attack, I think we couldn't break through in the final part and had few good combinations."