I want to take the lead in the opening of the Emperor's Cup and show the difference in class

　The Emperor's Cup is being held. The 4th Round, which is the first match for J1 clubs, was played. Tokyo faced Bandeionce Kobe, the top team in the Kansai Amateur League, at Ajinomoto Stadium. They approach this season's final tournament with renewed determination. In the past, they have struggled against "lower-ranked" teams in the first match of the Emperor's Cup. Therefore, Coach Kuramata said that he wants to "fight with fresh players" in today's match, and he started with GK Shiota, left MF Abe, and right MF Kawaguchi. "They have shown results in their regular practice and training matches. It's not to give the previous starting players a rest," he explained the intention. In addition, Ikegami made the bench for the first time since the Nabisco Urawa match on May 17th. The defensive line will be composed of Masunaga and Inoha as center-backs, as Mone and Jean are injured.

　B Kobe, who won the Kansai Amateur League this season, will participate in the Emperor's Cup from the 1st Round and have successively defeated V-Varen Nagasaki, Aichi Gakuin University, and J2 Yokohama FC. There is no doubt that the team is in good form. We should be cautious of the two top forwards, Wada and Mori, who have speed and ample experience in the J-League. Morioka on the left side also used to play for G Osaka and has been showing his presence. We need to be careful of their attacking style, which gathers the ball from a solid defense and launches quick counterattacks. Above all, they have nothing to lose, so we want to fight without losing to their fighting spirit.

　Tokyo's point is how to break down Kobe's defensive strategy. They want to challenge using the speed of Kawaguchi and Abe, and connect to a wave-like attack without rushing from the combination of Lucas and Baba. It is also a match where they want to show the difference in class by not losing in spirit and taking control with their own soccer. The match started at exactly 13:00 with Kobe's kickoff at Ajinomoto Stadium, which is sunny and gives a sense of winter.

Starting with Masushima's goal, Lucas and Baba make the most of their chances!

　The game progressed at a Tokyo pace from the first half. However, B Kobe also pressed with a 4-4-2 formation, quickly transitioning to attack, and the start was not an easy development. In the 2nd minute, B Kobe MF Kawasaki took a middle shot. In the 5th minute, B Kobe FW Mori crossed from the right side and FW Wada took a heading shot. However, Tokyo dealt with it calmly without panicking. They also aggressively attacked after winning the ball, creating many chances from both sides. In the 11th minute, from a one-two between Kajiyama and Baba, Kajiyama floated a pass to the front line. Abe, who received it, shot overhead but slightly missed to the right of the goal. In the 14th minute, from Tokunaga who entered the right area, side change to Lucas on the left side of the area. From here, Lucas aimed for a shot, but it went outside the frame.

　17 minutes have passed. When we got a left corner kick, Baba's kick was hit by Masuzaki with a header and it's a goal! Tokyo, who scored the opening goal at the "desired time," calms down and shows a stable game by avoiding the opponent's press. In the 19th minute, Baba's shot hits the bar directly. In the 23rd minute, B Kobe FW Mori enters the area and collides with Inoha, falling down, but this is a foul by FW Mori. In the 31st minute, a perfect through pass is sent from Baba to Abe, but the trap is too big and it crosses the goal line.

　The additional point was born in the 33rd minute. Inomata cut the ball in the midfield and passed it to Abe, who dribbled into the open space. As soon as he was marked by the opponent's DF, he made a good decision and passed it to Lucas, who was also moving up at the same time. Lucas scored this goal perfectly and got the second point! In the 41st minute, the pass rotation in the DF line was cut off by B Kobe MF Morioka, and they received a counterattack. The last pass from MF Tsuyama to FW Wada was caught by Shioda. Then, in the 43rd minute, Lucas, who had drifted to the right side, tenaciously kept the ball. Abe, who received a pass in the center, boldly attacked and Baba, who followed up on the loose ball, scored a goal! From Lucas on the side, Baba in the second row scored a goal, expanding the lead to a 3-point difference and turning to the second half.

Kei SUZUKI also scored 2 goals, leading the team to a dominant 7-0 victory in their first match, which they struggled with in the past!

　The second half also progressed within the B Kobe team's territory. Immediately after the start, Konno aggressively dribbled up and passed to Kawaguchi on the right side of the area. Kawaguchi shot with speed, but it was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper. In the 48th minute, B Kobe was awarded two corner kicks, and Kamata shot a mid-range shot from the loose ball, but it missed the target. In the 50th minute, Baba received a lofted pass from Kajiyama and found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper in the forward line. He aimed carefully and shot from the left area, and the ball went into the right side of the goal! This goal shattered B Kobe's counterattack morale, securing the fourth goal.

　In the 53rd minute, Miyazawa was substituted for Kajiyama. In the 60th minute, Miyazawa made a big side change from the left side of his own field. Received by Tokunaga, he dribbled up and Baba cleared the cross with a shot... showing a dynamic attack, but the shot hit the bar. Immediately after this, Suzuki replaced Kawaguchi as the left MF. Abe moved to the right. In the 62nd minute, from Tokunaga's right throw-in, Abe and Lucas connected with a header in the crowded area, and Suzuki, who followed up on the loose ball, calmly kicked it in and scored!

　B Kobe, the midfield is stretched and there is no pressure, and the initiative is completely in Tokyo's hands. In the 66th minute, Ikegami, who made his first appearance in an official match, was substituted for Baba. Ikegami entered as a defensive midfielder, and Miyazawa moved up one row, creating a calm passing game that threatened the goal multiple times. In the 69th minute, B Kobe's MF Morioka aimed for a shot from a counterattack, but Shioda caught it. Immediately after, Tokyo quickly connected the ball, and Suzuki advanced to the left side of the penalty arc and swung his left foot. The ball bounced in front of the goalkeeper and went in! Suzuki also scored two goals.

　Still not letting up on the attack, in the 72nd minute, Tokunaga cut inside and from the chaos in front of the goal, Ikeda took a bold shot just outside the area. In the 76th minute, Abe quickly broke through the front line and took a shot from a free kick in their own half. Although neither shot found the target, they actively continued to push the game forward. In the 81st minute, Tsuzuki from B Kobe played a through pass to Shibasaki, but Inoha and Shioda combined to defend without any danger. Immediately after, Tsuzuki had a shot from outside the box, but Shioda saved it and it resulted in a corner kick.

　When shutting out B Kobe's attack, in the 85th minute, Lucas received a pass from Suzuki on the left and, seeing no pressure in front of him, took a middle shot from outside the area. The ball drew a beautiful arc and was sucked into the net, scoring the 7th goal. With Lucas' beautiful goal, they sealed the victory with a massive 7 goals, a first for the team. They safely advanced to the 5th round. In the next Emperor's Cup match, they will face Shimizu S-Pulse at the Momotaro Stadium in Okayama Prefecture on December 9th (Saturday).

　[Player Comments]《Shiota》"The score gap widened, but it wasn't an easy match. I thought Tokyo would have more opportunities to attack today, so I focused on taking care of the counterattacks and balancing the gaps left by the attacking players. We were able to finish without conceding a goal, but it was thanks to not only my efforts but also the hard work of the defensive line and the chasing of the forwards. I have often struggled in the first round of the Emperor's Cup, so I was only thinking about securing a solid result. In the league and the Nabisco Cup, my form hasn't been great, and with the Emperor's Cup being the only title left, I want to go all out to win it."《Matsushima》"In matches like this, there are often patterns where the opponent defends and scores from a counterattack. I had a long injury, but I finally got a chance, so I wanted to deliver results. Inonami and I communicated with each other, trying to cover for one another when one of us was involved. (The opening goal) came from a good ball, so I just had to connect with it. I think scoring there allowed us to relax and fight better. But the goal feels like a bonus; I'm happy that we won without conceding a goal."

　[Summary of Coach Kuramata's Press Conference] "I told the players that they must enter the match firmly, regardless of the opponent. I wanted to score early in the first half and proceed at our own pace. To be honest, there were chances to score a bit earlier, and I wanted to take those opportunities to establish our rhythm. However, we scored three goals in the first half, which made it easier mentally. In the second half, the opponent would be somewhat aggressive in trying to score, so I thought if we could get the fourth goal, we would secure the victory. In the past, the first match of the Emperor's Cup has always been a tough game. Ultimately, we scored seven goals, and there has never been a game won by such a large margin, so I am satisfied. (Regarding substitutions) I intended to bring in Suzuki from the beginning of the second half. He has the ability to make an impact, so I gave him some time before sending him on. As a result, he scored two goals. Kajiyama has a slight injury to the front of his thigh, so I didn't want to push him. Baba also has an injury and is suffering from a groin issue, so I brought in Ikegami and moved Miyazawa forward. We had anticipated such situations and have been practicing since last week. (Were you spreading wide?) I wanted to create an attacking shape starting with Lucas, making him run into the spaces on the left and right, and have players break through from the second line. The third goal was exactly that shape. We were able to score in the form we have been practicing all season. Of course, we are aiming for victory in the Emperor's Cup. In that sense, the next match against Shimizu will be a crucial test. After losing to Shimizu in the league, we have suffered six consecutive losses, which is frustrating. We want to win against Shimizu at all costs and aim higher."

　[Summary of the press conference by Bandionce Kobe's Coach Hashimoto] "We were shown the reality. Both myself and the players have no excuses; we were clearly shown the level difference, and I want to sincerely accept the results. The initial plan was to see how long we could go without conceding, similar to the previous match against Yokohama FC. However, we conceded due to mistakes, and we couldn't recover. I mentioned that if we make mistakes, it will definitely lead to conceding at the J1 level, and we approached the match hoping to execute our plan, but it ended in this result. We created several decisive scenes in our attacking shape, but it is still thin. We need more depth, so I want to make that a future challenge. In defense, there were unclear parts regarding whether the full-backs or wide midfielders would go against players entering or opening up from FC Tokyo. There was also a lack of communication and slow movements, which caused confusion when the opponent came at that speed. I instructed them to remain calm, including the quality and precision of play. The lack of communication is also a challenge for the team up to this point. We have a corporate tournament in two weeks, so I want to make corrections. The team's plan is based on the improvement of individual skills, mentality, and condition. I believe that organizational strength comes from individual level-ups. There were many mistakes today. The quality difference in stopping the ball, kicking, running, and making judgments became apparent. In the match against Yokohama FC, we managed to compete in terms of play quality and precision. However, we have a plan to reach the JFL stage. Today's game made me realize that we need to work harder. I want to take this as a good experience and make corrections so that we can think of today's match as a good game in the future."