<Match Review>
Tokyo, who will play three games in three days, will face Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, who are in 10th place with a 3-point difference, at home at Ajinomoto Stadium for the second consecutive week. This match will be held as a "voice support operation verification target match", and it will be the first time for fans and supporters to return to Ajinomoto Stadium for Tokyo since the match against Perth Glory FC in the AFC Champions League group stage in the 2020 season. With the big support of "voice" returning after two and a half seasons, Tokyo aims for their first victory in four league matches.
1st HALF - Leading with 2 goals from penalty kicks
At the start, Tokyo immediately faces a scoring opportunity. Leandro, on the right side of the Sapporo goal, controls the ball. Before the opponent can apply pressure, he swings his left foot, but the ball hits the right post and bounces back. After that, the opponent defends by filling the space instead of chasing from the front. While taking positions in the gap between players, they advance the ball and enter the opponent's penalty area. They struggle to make the final play and cannot take a shot, but they keep collecting second balls and launching a strong attack.
When the opponent launches a counterattack, the first marker delays the attack and then presses back from behind to regain possession of the ball with a numerical advantage. In the 19th minute, Kuryu MATSUKI reacted to a looping pass in the middle range and broke through the space between Sapporo's defenders. MATSUKI controlled the ball, turned around, and took a powerful volley shot, but it was blocked by a desperate defender who had rushed back.
Although he was unable to create a decisive situation to hold the ball, he created a chance while pushing the opponent into the goal in the 34th minute of the first half. Kazuya KONNO, who received the ball at the right corner of the penalty area, took a shot from the cut-in and got a penalty kick as it hit the opponent's defender's hand. In the 35th minute of the first half, Leandro successfully scored a penalty kick to the left corner of the goal, giving Tokyo the lead.
Tokyo, who continued to attack with momentum, earned a free kick chance in front of the penalty area in the 45+3 minute of the first half. Leandro took a direct shot that hit the arm of an opponent player, earning the second penalty kick chance of the day. In the 45+4 minute of the first half, Adailton took the kick and although it hit the left post, it was sucked into the goal, extending the lead to 2 points and ending the first half.
2nd HALF - "The city that never sleeps" echoes at Ajinomoto Stadium with a victory
The start of the second half was a chance to see how Sapporo would come out, but in the 6th minute, Adailton intercepted the opponent defender's pass and broke through the center. The opponent goalkeeper came out, but Adailton's looping shot extended the lead. As the opponent pushed forward, Tokyo took advantage of the space behind to create chances. In the 7th minute, Konno broke through on a diagonal pass from Matsuki, but his shot aimed at the goalkeeper's head was caught by the goalkeeper who had come out.
After expanding the lead, there were times when Sapporo held onto the ball, but we did not panic and continued to slide towards the ball side and check the ball at the edge to prevent them from taking a shot. On the other hand, when we had possession of the ball, we avoided losing it easily and built up the play securely, progressing the game in the opponent's half.
In the 26th minute of the second half, a substitute player who came on in the second half was involved in a chance. Leandro's through pass found Diego Oliveira, who then connected with a heel pass to Kensuke Nagai. Nagai received the ball near the goal, attempted a feint to get past the defender, and took a shot, but was unable to find the back of the net.
As the game approached its final stages, Sapporo held onto the ball for longer periods of time. They maintained a compact formation, filling in spaces and shifting towards the ball side. When it came to finishing, they threw themselves into the shot without getting flustered.
After about two and a half seasons, I was pushed by the "voice" and won the league match for the first time in four games.
MATCH DETAILS
＜F.C.Tokyo＞
STARTING Ⅺ
GK Jakub SLOWIK
DF Yuto NAGATOMO/Yasuki KIMOTO/Masato MORISHIGE/Kashif BANGNAGANDE (42nd minute: Junya SUZUKI)
MF Kuryu MATSUKI/Keigo HIGASHI (42nd minute: Manato SHINADA)/Yuki KAJIURA
FW Kazuya KONNO (13th minute: Diego OLIVEIRA)/Adailton (13th minute: Kensuke NAGAI)/Leandro (26th minute: Ryo WATANABE)
SUBS
GK Go HATANO
DF Makoto OKAZAKI
GOAL
35' First Half: Leandro (PK) / 45+4' First Half: Adailton (PK) / 6' Second Half: Adailton
Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo
STARTING XI
GK Koki OTANI
DF Shunta TANAKA/Daihachi OKAMURA/Akito FUKUMORI (46': Hiroki MIYAZAWA)
MF Takuro KANEKO/Takuma ARANO (54': Kazuki FUKAI)/Tomoki TAKAMINE/Daiki SUGA (77': Daigo NISHI)/Ryo AOKI/Yoshiaki KOMAI
FW Gabriel Xavier (15': Shinzo KOROKI) (77': Milan TUCIC)
SUBS
GK Kojiro NAKANO
DF Toya NAKAMURA
GOAL
―
[Albert PUIG ORTONEDA Interview]
Q: please review the game.
First of all, I would like to praise our opponent Sapporo. It is a great honor for me to be able to compete against a great coach. I am delighted to be able to play against a team that has a strong attacking game plan. There will be times when we win and times when the opponent wins. However, a match between two attacking teams is very attractive to the spectators. In that sense, I am happy and very proud to have been able to play against Sapporo, who has a strong attacking game plan.
There is no need to look back on the first half and the second half separately. I think the flow was the same throughout the 90 minutes. We had a game plan and aimed to press the opponent in a good way. The three players in the front line also contributed to the press for the team. If we give Sapporo space and the ball, they will make good plays. Therefore, I think it was the ability to defend well that led to the victory. And the team was also able to defend compactly, not giving the opponent space between the lines.
When we had the ball, we expected Sapporo to come at us with a man-to-man defense. In turn, we aimed to create space and take advantage of it by having players break through from the second row. Today, we were able to achieve the plays we had hoped for and secure a victory.
Today, 18-year-old Kajiwara made his league debut, and I am delighted that he played a fantastic game along with the victory. Today, there were 18-year-old and 19-year-old players in the midfield, and they will be responsible for the future of this club.
Finally, I thought it was beautiful and wonderful to have cheers in the stadium.
Q: It was a verification match for vocal support, but how did you feel about receiving support again?
A, 2 and a half years ago, when I took command of Niigata in the opening game of the 2020 season, I played a game against Gunma with only support from the away game. I hope to continue to receive support in the future. I believe that having support is what soccer and entertainment are all about, so I hope it continues.
I am very happy to be able to hear their cheers directly, and I hope that this will bring back normalcy to our daily lives. I believe they were also shouting my name, and it reached my ears clearly. I am very grateful.
Q: Today was our first victory in a month. We have had many injuries among our defensive players. Do you have any thoughts about the team's formation?
I think of a team as a living organism. Regardless of whether there are injured players or not, I believe that reinforcement is essential to revitalize the team, not only in summer or winter. Naturally, I think that the more successful the reinforcement is, the higher the possibility of victory. I expect the strengthening department to do a good job in that regard.
[Player Interview]
＜Yuki KAJIURA
Q, how was it to have your first starting lineup at Ajinomoto Stadium?
I am happy that we were able to achieve a result of 3-0 in a match where the first starting lineup was announced and the supporters' voices were heard again.
Q, how did you feel when your name was called before the game?
I have watched matches at Ajinomoto Stadium when I was in A, U-15, and U-18, and I think Tokyo's support is the best in Japan. When I received that support, it made me even more determined to do my best and I am grateful for it.
Q, how did you feel when you were called by the supporters and did the "Sha" after the match?
A, from now on, I will do my best to score points and truly become a "shah".
Q, I think it was effective to enter the opponent's box as an inside half in many scenes.
I think it is a play that is required as an inside half, and I was also asked to be involved with the ball behind. There are still some issues with the part of being involved with the ball, but I think I was able to do that part, including the defensive intensity required as an inside half.
Q, East player and Matsuki player played together in the midfield for almost 90 minutes. How was the relationship between the three of them?
A, during the discussion about filling the defense by sliding with three midfielders today, we were able to do that well, and we were able to communicate with Nagatomo and Yoshifuji, the fullbacks, and in particular, in the first half, we had a strong sense of being able to keep a clean sheet.
Q, I don't think there was a scene where all three midfielders were tightly marked by the opposing players and got dispossessed.
When one person left, I think we were able to continue the relationship of covering each other with two people behind, and we made sure not to replace them when they left. It is a simple task, but I think it is the most important, so I think it was significant that we were able to do it properly.
Q, I felt that you were so focused that I couldn't believe it was your first starting lineup in the league.
I didn't think about saving my energy and went full throttle from the beginning, to see how far I could go. So, the last 10 minutes were tough in terms of physical stamina, but I want to get more involved in the game and clear each challenge one by one.
I still think it was a game where I was helped by the players around me. It was very easy to play because everyone gave me support and encouragement.
Q, did you get the first goal from Leandro?
A, in our regular practice, Leandro, Diego, and I practice penalty kicks together. In today's game, Leandro took the first one, so I took the second one. It wasn't so much that he let me have it, but rather it was just like our usual practice, so I was allowed to take it. I'm glad I was able to score.
Q, I think we were able to connect from good defense to attack throughout the game.
A, recently we have been unable to win matches and there have been times when we couldn't play the football we wanted. Since the preseason before the opening, there have been matches where we couldn't express ourselves in our own play, but I think we were able to show a little today, and it was good that we won with multiple goals.
Q: How was the cheer when the point was scored?
In previous matches, even though the fans and supporters were unable to cheer, they still came to the stadium. Today, I felt really supported by their cheers. Also, I was really happy to hear the cheers after scoring a goal.
Q: What kind of dance do you perform after scoring a point?
When I was watching videos at home, my son asked me to do that dance if he scored a goal, so I did that dance.
Q, where is the original source of that dance?
A, it is a dance that is popular in Brazil.
Q, I think Adailton's chant has been sung since the 2020 ACL, but how was it sung again in today's match?
A, it has been quite a long time since the last time I heard your voices, but I felt that being called by my name again with the support and cheers from the fans and supporters would be a great source of strength. We want to do our best and share the joy with all of you, and today's support was a great boost for us. It also became a catalyst for us to move forward, so I'm really glad.
<Kuryu MATSUKI>
Q, how did you feel about the momentum of connecting good attacks from defense?
A, I felt that the defensive positioning was good throughout the first and second halves. Also, the intensity of players like Higashi and Kajiwara in the midfield was high, and I think that contributed to good attacks.
Q, when Leandro came down, I could see the intention of using him well as an inside half player.
As a team tactic, Leandro anticipated that the opponent would follow him when he received the ball, so he thought that if he could shake off the opponent alone, it would become a chance, and he aimed for many runs behind the defense.
Q, there were scenes where we could aim for a goal.
There was a scene where you could hit it directly, right?
Q: Do you want to continue to make going fiercely to the ball a characteristic of yourself in the future?
A, there were scenes where the positions changed several times today, so I felt that I wanted to take them all and connect them to the attack.
Q, it will be the Urawa game in three days after the middle school third grade.
A, I think I want to fight today more than ever, because the next match will definitely not be an easy one and I want to seek results.
<Kashif BANGNAGANDE>
Q: please review the game.
As a team, we had good results, but personally, I couldn't perform well. In the first half, I spent a lot of time defending and didn't have much time to go forward, so I wanted to go further up the field.
Q: Sapporo.D scored two goals in the first half, both of which were penalty kicks. How would you describe the overall performance?
A, in the first half, we were able to score two goals in a lucky way, thanks to that we were able to get into a good flow, and in the second half, we were able to press forward more and more, so it was good.
Q: How was it to play with the support of the fans?
It was my first experience of the atmosphere after scoring a goal, so with the support of the fans, I was able to get fired up on the pitch. There was also encouragement within the team to go out there and give it our all. It felt like we were being pushed forward, and it was a refreshing sensation.
Q, it seemed like we were struggling against the opposing team's attacks at the beginning.
I knew that they would come up with a plan even during the pre-match scouting, so I was prepared for that, and as a result, we didn't concede any goals. However, personally, I feel that I made a slight mistake in the beginning of the first half. Although I was able to recover a bit in the second half, I regret that I was a bit careless. If I can't maintain the defensive performance that I showed in the second half from the beginning, I will rely on my teammates a lot and it would have been understandable to concede goals. I need to improve the way I start the game.
