Pratama Arhan played a total of 110 minutes as his Tokyo Verdy side were knocked out on penalties by city rivals FC Tokyo in Wednesday’s Emperor’s Cup third round match.
The first Tokyo Derby in over 10 years saw J.League 1 side FC Tokyo taking on J.League 2 side Verdy at the Ajinomoto Stadium, with not only a ticket to the Emperor’s Cup fourth round being at stake but also the reputation as the number one football team in all of Tokyo.
Indonesia international Arhan, who was sparingly used by Verdy throughout their league campaign, was entrusted to start in left-back by head coach Hiroshi Jofuku, while former Inter Milan man Yuto Nagatomo was named in the FC Tokyo starting lineup by the Gasmen’s new head coach Peter Cklamovski.
Despite being one tier lower than their city rivals, Verdy had FC Tokyo pinned from the get-go, with goalkeeper Jakub Slowik being forced to be called into action as early as the 5th minute to deny Ryuji Sugimoto’s effort.
Arhan’s famous long throws, which had the likes of reigning world champions Argentina on the ropes, proved to be quite troublesome for the FC Tokyo defense as such throws led to several opportunities for Verdy to open the scoring.
However, despite Verdy taking most of the attacking initiative, it was FC Tokyo who took the lead in the 20th minute, courtesy of a Koki Tsukagawa cannonball from distance.
With the lead theirs, FC Tokyo slowly grew themselves into the game, with the Gasmen gradually snuffing out their city rivals’ attacking efforts whilst carving their own chances.
Verdy refused to throw the towel just yet, however, and the men in green equalized in the 70th minute after substitute Ryosuke Shirai headed home a corner beyond Slowik’s reaches.
Arhan then attempted to cross the ball towards Shirai as Verdy chased for a late winner, however the latter saw his effort being saved.
With the scoreline tied at 1-1 after 90 minutes, extra time was played, which saw another Arhan long throw opening up an opportunity for Ryo Nishitani to score, only for his shot to be blocked by the FC Tokyo defense.
After a heroic performance throughout the match, Arhan suffered a thigh injury in the 110th minute, forcing him to come off with Junki Koike replacing him.
No further goals were scored throughout extra time, as the match was then settled through penalties. At the end of the day, it was Toyofumi Sakano’s failure to score his spot-kick that sealed FC Tokyo’s progression to the next round, with the Gasmen triumphing 9-8 in the shootout.
Wednesday’s third round matches saw a number of shocks happening across the Japanese archipelago. J1 leaders Yokohama F. Marinos were thrashed 4-1 by J2 leaders Machida Zelvia, while another J2 side in defending champions Ventforet Kofu managed to book their fourth round ticket after edging out J1 giants Kashima Antlers on penalties.
J1 strugglers Yokohama FC were stunned 1-0 by 4th tier side Kochi United, while J1 sides Sagan Tosu and Sanfrecce Hiroshima were sent packing by their J2 opponents, with the former losing a Kyushu Derby 4-3 at the hands of Roasso Kumamoto and the latter being beaten 2-0 by Tochigi SC.
There were no surprises in the other third round matches, with Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo thrashing 4th tier outfit Verspah Oita 5-2 and Vissel Kobe triumphing with the same scoreline over J2 side Jubilo Iwata. Nagoya Grampus barely edged out J2’s Vegalta Sendai on penalties, while J1 basement dwellers Shonan Bellmare recorded a straightforward 2-0 win over J2 mid-table denizens Fagiano Okayama. Cerezo Osaka, Urawa Red Diamonds, Kawasaki Frontale and Kashiwa Reysol saw off J2 opposition in Omiya Ardija, Montedio Yamagata, Mito HollyHock and Tokushima Vortis respectively, while Avispa Fukuoka kept Kyushu’s hopes of winning the Emperor’s Cup alive by beating J.League 3 side FC Gifu 2-1.
Wednesday’s final third round match, between J3’s Kataller Toyama and J1’s Albirex Niigata, was suspended with the scoreline tied at 2-2 due to poor weather.