＜Match Review＞
Tokyo, who played three matches in three days, faced Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, who were 10th with a 3-point difference, at home Ajinomoto Stadium for the second consecutive match. This match was held as a "voice support operation verification match," and it marked the return of fans and supporters' voices to Ajinomoto Stadium for the first time since the match against Perth Glory FC in the group stage of the 2020 AFC Champions League. With the significant support of the "voice" that returned after a two and a half season absence, Tokyo aimed for their first victory in four league matches.
1st HALF - Leading with 2 goals from penalty kicks
At the start, Tokyo immediately creates a scoring opportunity. Leandro controls the ball just outside the right side of the Sapporo goal. 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 focuses on filling the spaces rather than chasing from the front. Tokyo advances the ball while maintaining positions between players, and penetrates into the opponent's penalty area. Despite struggling to create the final play and take a shot, they repeatedly recover second balls and launch a strong attack.
When the opponent launches a counterattack, the first marker delays the attack and presses back from behind to regain possession of the ball with a numerical advantage, returning to the attacking phase. In the 19th minute, Matsuki Kuryu reacted to a loop pass in the middle range and broke free into the space in front of Sapporo's goal. Matsuki controlled the ball, turned around, and unleashed a powerful volley shot, but it was blocked by a desperate defender who had rushed back.
Although they were unable to create decisive opportunities while holding the ball, they created a chance in the 34th minute of the first half by pushing the opponent into the goal area and moving the ball. Koya Konno received the ball at the right corner of the penalty area, cut inside, and took a shot, hitting the hand of the opponent's defender and winning a penalty kick. In the 35th minute of the first half, Leandro scored the penalty kick into the left corner of the goal, and Tokyo took the lead.
Tokyo, who continued their attack with momentum, gained a free kick chance in front of the penalty area in the 45+3rd minute of the first half. Leandro aimed directly at the goal with a shot, but it hit the opponent's arm, resulting in the second penalty kick chance of the day. In the 45+4th 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 two points and ending the first half.
2nd HALF - The "sleepless city" resonates at Ajinomoto Stadium with a victory
The start of the second half was a development to see how Sapporo would come out, but in the 6th minute of the second half, Adailton intercepted the opponent defender's pass and broke through the center. He extended the lead by looping a shot over the advancing goalkeeper. When the opponent becomes aggressive, Tokyo simple exploits the space behind to create chances. In the 7th minute of the second half, Konno broke free on a diagonal pass from Matsuki and aimed for the space above the goalkeeper who had come out, but the shot was caught by the goalkeeper who had returned to the goal.
After widening the lead, there were times when Sapporo had possession of the ball, but we did not panic and did not allow them to bring the ball to the shooting area by sliding to the ball side and checking at the ball. On the other hand, after gaining possession of the ball, we avoided losing it easily and steadily built up the game in the opponent's half by connecting passes.
In the 26th minute of the second half, a substitute player who came on in the middle of the second half had a chance. Diego OLIVEIRA player broke free on a through pass from Leandro player, and Kensuke NAGAI player received the ball that was connected with a heel pass. Kensuke player, who received the ball near the goal, tried to deceive the opponent with a feint before taking a shot, but couldn't find the back of the net.
As the game approached the end, Sapporo started to possess the ball for longer periods of time. They maintained a compact formation, filled the spaces without getting frustrated, shifted towards the ball side, and threw themselves to respond to shots during finishing opportunities.
Inspired by the "voice" that had been absent for about two and a half seasons, they secured a victory in the league match after 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
First half 35th minute: Leandro (PK)/First half 45+4 minutes: Adailton (PK)/Second half 6 minutes: 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)/Ryota Aoki/Yoshiaki Komai
FW Gabriel Xavier (15': Shinzo Koroki) (77': Milan Tucic)
SUBS
GK Kojiro NAKANO
DF Toya NAKAMURA
GOAL
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[Interview with Coach Albert]
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 support 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.
＜Player 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 player＞
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.
