ACL 2nd match to be played 2 days after the league game

Entering March, the second match of the ACL group stage will be held. We will face Vietnam's Bin Zoun just two days after the league match.
In a tough schedule, Tokyo made changes to the lineup, with Sandaza in the center of the front line, Mizunuma on the right, and Nathan Burns on the left. In the midfield, Takahashi is the anchor, with Hanyu and Tanabe as inside halves. Tokunaga is deployed as the right fullback, and Ogawa, making his first appearance as a professional, is on the left. The formation is 4-3-3.
Bin Zuong is a 30-year-old defender, with Hans Ooft as the DF registration, and Nguyen Cong Phuong as the number 11. They serve as the two top players in a 4-4-2 formation.

The match started at 19:30 with a kickoff by Vinh Zung, even though the cold weather was still harsh in March.

ACL Home Opener Just Two Days After J.League Begins

Becamex Binh Duong of Vietnam were the visitors for the second match of the 2016 Asia Champions League group stage. With the fixture coming just two days after the J.League opening game Tokyo made wholesale changes to their line up: Sandaza played in the middle of a front three with Mizunuma on his right and Nathan Burns on the left. In midfield Takahashi played as the anchor with Hanyu and Tanabe as inside halves. Tokunaga played at right back while Ogawa made his professional debut on the left of the defence in a 4-3-3 formation. Despite being the first day of March it was bitterly cold inside the stadium as Binh Duong kicked off at 7:30 pm.

Although they take the initiative from the beginning... they concede the first goal

1 minute: Tokyo dominated the ball from the start. They quickly moved forward with a fast tempo, and Burns dribbled the ball forward from Sandaza's play, delivering a ground cross in front of the goal. Tanabe made a run into the box, but was blocked by the opposing defender.

6 minutes: From Takahashi's feed, Burns advances to the left area. The shot is blocked and the ball falls to Tanabe in front of the area, but it also hits the opponent's defender. After that, Ogawa creates a set-piece chance from his cross and threatens the goal, while Mizunuma actively aims for a shot from the middle. However, Bin Zong also firmly organizes the defense in a 4-4-2 formation. Without creating any clear scoring opportunities, time passes.

23 minutes: From the clearance of the corner kick, a central free kick is awarded. It is also cleared, and Mizunuma on the right tries to counterattack. However, it is intercepted by Bin Zuong and Hansung Yop dribbles through the center. Takahashi was marking him, but he is shaken off to the left. Henry Kiseka brings the ball into the left area and takes a powerful shot. Akimoto makes the save, but Hansung Yop reacts to the rebound. The Tokyo defenders fail to clear it. The ball heading towards the goal is once again cleared by Akimoto with his right hand, but it falls to the right, where Nguyen Induk heads it in... conceding the opening goal. Despite pushing forward, they concede a goal and the situation becomes difficult.

27 minutes: Tanabe in the center reacts to Ogawa's left cross clearance. He controls it with one touch and takes a direct shot, but it is blocked by the left post.
34 minutes: The ball is passed around in the opponent's area, and Mizunuma in the right area assesses the situation and sends a lobbed pass to the left area. Julian, who is free, unleashes a powerful volley, but... it is blocked by the goalkeeper's save.

36 minutes: Hanyu -> Sandaza carries the ball forward, dribbles past the opponent's defender, and shoots from the left area, but the ball hits the goalkeeper's hand and hits the post.
Ogawa, Hanyu, Tanabe, and others also aggressively attacked and gradually increased the number of decisive moments, but still couldn't score a goal, ending the first half with a one-point deficit.

Tokyo Seize Initiative But Fall Behind

1st minute: Tokyo dominated possession from the kick-off. They moved the ball forward quickly, Sandaza developed the play and Nathan Burns dribbled down the channel before sliding a low cross into the danger area. Tanabe attempted to make contact at the near post but a defender blocked the effort. 6th minute: Takahashi fed the ball to Burns down the left. Burns dribbled into the area and shot but his effort struck a defender and rebounded to Tanabe on the edge of the penalty box. Tanabe's shot also hit a defender and rolled harmlessly through to the goalkeeper. After that, an Ogawa cross led to a chance from a set play and Mizunuma also struck a powerful drive from middle range. Binh Duong maintained their compact 4-4-2 formation and denied Tokyo a clear sight of goal. 23rd minute: Binh Duong cleared a Tokyo corner from the right and attempted to break. Tokyo conceded a free kick in the middle of their half but cleared the ball comfortably when it was played into the box. Mizunuma raced forward down the right in an attempt to counter-attack but overran the ball and lost possession near the halfway line. Midfielder Han Seungyop dribbled forward, shoulder to shoulder with Takahashi, before slipping a pass to Henry Kisekka on his right, on the edge of the penalty box. Kisekka took the ball neatly then lashed a fierce drive across goal. Akimoto saved, pushing the ball out straight into the path of an onrushing opposition player who attempted to flick it over the keeper. Akimoto palmed the ball away to the right as he fell, where Nguyen Anh Duc was on hand to nod it into the empty goal. Tokyo found themselves behind, very much against the run of play. 27th minute: Binh Duong cleared an Ogawa cross from the left towards Tanabe just outside the penalty area. He took a touch to control the ball then fired a volley that clipped the left post. 34th minute: Mizunuma held the ball just outside the Binh Duong area on the right, spotted Tanabe free on the left inside the area and lifted a delicate ball over the crowd of players in the center. Tanabe watched the ball all the way and connected with a sweet volley that drew a fine save from Bui Tan Truong. 36th minute: Hanyu won the ball in midfield and moved it on to Sandaza who stormed forward into the Binh Duong area on the left. His pace took him past two defenders before he smashed a fierce drive towards the near post. Bui Tan Truong made another vital save, finger-tipping the ball onto the post. Ogawa, Hanyu, and Tanabe all lent their weight to the attack as Tokyo steadily increased their pressure on the visitors' goal. Despite creating several good openings they failed to make a breakthrough and the first half finished 0-1.

Burns grabs the equalizer and scores 2 goals from Ogawa's assist!

Second half start: Tokyo substituted Abe for Mizunuma. A goal was created from Abe's cross.
50 minutes: Takahashi advances and passes to Abe on the left. Abe crosses from outside the left area. Sandaza in the right area heads the ball down, and Barnes in front of the goal strikes a right-footed volley, finally equalizing the score. We wanted to build momentum with this goal, but Bin Zuong, who was equalized, also showed a fighting spirit and the ball continues to go back and forth.

62 minutes: East replaces Burns with In. Changing to a 4-4-2 formation with Sandaza and Takahashi as the two top players, and Tanabe and Aben as the double defensive midfielders.
65 minutes: Sandaza in the area passes the ball back, Abbe receives it with a skillful trap, but is fouled while trying to turn around and earns a penalty kick. However, Sandaza's penalty kick is saved by the opponent's goalkeeper...
68 minutes: After continuously earning right corner kicks, the opponent's goalkeeper, who was competing with Higashi, scored an own goal from Ogawa's kick. They secured the go-ahead goal from a set piece.

81 minutes: Atsushi MAEDA replaces Sandaza.
83 minutes: Hanyu tenaciously connects with the second, and finally earns a right corner kick.
84 minutes: Ogawa kicks a corner kick, and Maeda from near the goal perfectly heads it in for a goal!
Scored again from a set piece opportunity. Showed strong determination to win and defeated Bin Zuong 3-1, earning the first 3 points in the group stage.

Burns Breaks The Deadlock; Ogawa Grabs Two Assists

Tokyo replaced Mizunuma with Abe for the second half and it was a cross from the substitute that led to the equaliser. 50th.minute: Takahashi moved the ball forward to Abe down the left. Abe checked back then hoisted a deep cross to the far post where Sandaza outjumped a defender and nodded the ball back to Nathan Burns in the middle. Burns fired a bounding volley past the helpless goalkeeper and Tokyo were back on level terms. Although Tokyo had wanted to seize the momentum Binh Duong still carried an attacking threat and the play moved from end to end. 62nd.minute: Higashi replaced Burns and played alongside Sandaza in a 4-4-2 formation with Takahashi and Tanabe in central midfield. 65th.minute: Tokyo produced some neat short passing on the edge of the Binh Duong box and when Abe attempted to spin past a defender his quickness of movement drew a foul. The referee pointed to the spot. Sandaza drove the spot kick low to the goalkeeper's left; Bui Tan Truong guessed correctly and made the save. 68th.minute: Ogawa whipped in the resulting corner to the near post where Higashi and the goalkeeper both jumped for the ball. It struck Bui Tan Truong and went over the line for an own goal. Tokyo were ahead for the first time in the match. 81st.minute: Maeda replaced Sandaza. 83rd.minute: Hanyu battled hard to win the ball and earned a corner on the right. 84th.minute: Ogawa whipped the ball in to the near post and Maeda got in front of the Binh Duong defence to glance a header into the net. Tokyo had scored a second goal from a near-identical set play. The fight back was complete. Tokyo ran down the remaining time comfortably and earned a 3-1 win that brought their first points of the group stage.

【Player Comments】

"Nathan Burns"
"I was conscious of getting into a position where I could finish when the cross came from Abe. As I imagined, the pass came from Sandaza there. I think I was able to score in a good way. There were some difficult parts because we played with a different lineup today, but I want to continue to make use of each other's strengths and make the combination work well, no matter who plays in the future. I want to make efforts to try a little by little with everyone and improve with each game."

"Ogawa"
"It was my first appearance, but I had the desire to leave a result somehow and connect it to the next opportunity. I'm really happy that I was able to produce two assists. However, it was also thanks to Maeda who scored the goals and my teammates who entrusted me with taking the corner kicks. I still feel that there are areas for improvement, but I want to continue to showcase my play and make it lead to something in the future."

Players' Comments

Nathan Burns:
"When Abe hit the cross I tried to get into a shooting position and, just as I had anticipated, Sandaza won the header and knocked the ball down to me. We scored from a really good move. Although the team was different than usual and some aspects were demanding, we have to develop our game to play to our strengths regardless of who is in the side. We all have to give it our best to improve the team game by game".

Ogawa:
"It was my first game and I was determined to take the opportunity offered. I hoped to make a mark and do something to build on in the future. I'm delighted that I could contribute two assists. That's thanks to Maeda, who put the ball in the net, and my teammates who allowed me to take the corners. Although there are many issues to deal with I want to show the best of my ability for the future".

[Summary of Manager Hiroshi JOFUKU's Press Conference]

"Today was a game that we absolutely had to win. The start of the game was good, but it became a difficult situation as the game progressed. We conceded the first goal when the opponent entered our area for the first time, which made us a little nervous. It turned out to be a difficult situation that we didn't expect. However, everyone continued to play our style of soccer without getting flustered, and it was significant that we didn't give the opponent any chances after conceding the goal. Although we are not satisfied with the score, we managed to come from behind and win. We want to take this difficult situation as a positive and move forward. We want to carry this team spirit that we fought with into the J-League and the AFC Champions League."

[Summary of Coach Nguyen Cong Phuong's Press Conference]
"Although it resulted in a defeat, I think we were able to progress the game in a positive way. Despite the absence of several key players due to suspensions and other circumstances, the players gave their all."

F.C.TOKYO manager Hiroshi Jofuku

"This was a game we absolutely had to win. We started well but then it became tricky after the opposition scored the very first time they managed to get the ball into our box. We became a little nervous. We hadn't expected the game to develop along such difficult lines. However, we continued to play our own game and never gave them another chance after the goal. I'm not happy with the score but I'm pleased with the way that we fought back. We can take it as a positive. We want to connect this positive mood between the ACL and the J.League".

Becamex Binh Duong manager Nguyen Thanh Son

"We may have lost but I felt that we played a good game. Although we were missing some regular starters due to suspension and other reasons, the players gave their best tonight."