GAME RESULTMatch Results

Sec. 7 1999/4/23 (Fri)
Audience 784 people 
Weather: Rain, Temperature: 18.3 degrees Celsius, Humidity: 66% 
Referee: Toru KAMIKAWA Assistant Referee: Hiroshi TEZUKA / Yuki NODA Fourth Official: Akihito TOYAMA

J2 Sec. 7

Kose

HOME

Ventforet Kofu

0-3

Match ended

First Half0-1

Second half0-2

AWAY

FC Tokyo

Ventforet Kofu FC Tokyo
Scorer 36' Sandro
75' Almir
78' Masamitsu KOBAYASHI
72' Hiroki Dobashi → Kenji Nakada
73' Makoto Kaneko → Masahiro Shinmei
82' Atsuto Oishi → Michiharu Otagiri
Player substitution 67' Hayato OKAMOTO → Jun WADA
87' Takayuki KOMINE → Yoshinori FURUBE
89' Almir → Kensuke KAGAMI
5 Shoot 19
3 CK 7
27 FK 20
45' Hiroki Dobashi
68' Takeya Hori
Warning 60' Almir
Expulsion
Ventforet Kofu Starting
GK 1 Sakamoto Takehisa
DF 2 Tetsumasa KIMURA
DF 5 Ishihara Daisuke
DF 12 Tsuchihashi Hiroyuki
MF 4 Makoto Kaneko
MF 7 Saiki Kusuo
MF 8 Tatsuya AI
MF 10 Katsutomo Oshiba
MF 19 Atsuto OISHI
FW 3 Susumu WATANABE
FW 14 Hori Takaya
Ventforet Kofu Substitute
GK 22 Yuhiko Ito
DF 6 Kenji NAKADA
DF 28 Michiharu OTAGIRI
MF 11 Shinmei Masahiro
MF 13 Akao Yoshinobu
FC Tokyo Starting
GK 1 Hiromitsu HORIIKE
DF 12 Osamu UMEYAMA
DF 26 Takayuki KOMINE
DF 3 Sandro
DF 8 Ryuji FUJIYAMA
MF 6 Shinjo Hiroki
MF 15 Almir
MF 24 Masamitsu KOBAYASHI
MF 14 Yukihiko SATO
MF 18 Hayato OKAMOTO
FW 17 Toru KABURAGI
FC Tokyo Substitute
GK 22 Takayuki SUZUKI
DF 5 Yoshinori FURUBE
MF 16 Toshiki KOIKE
MF 13 Kensuke KAGAMI
FW 9 Jun WADA

[Player and Coach Comments]

A crucial match that cannot be lost


At the end of the 6th round of J2 League, Kofu, who still hasn't won a single game and remains at the bottom with 0 points, cannot escape from the last place. On the other hand, Tokyo, who has 2 wins, 2 losses, and 2 draws, has been stuck in 6th place without being able to ride the wave. The match between the two teams, who cannot afford to lose any more, kicked off on a rainy day on the best pitch that turned into a "green carpet". Tokyo, who has been missing their attacking core, "KING OF TOKYO" Amalao, due to injury, gathers the ball to the "midfield dynamo" Almir, and tries to create a rhythm by carefully connecting passes and sending the ball behind the opponent's defense. However, Kofu's defensive focus and deep defense leave no space, and although the passes connect, they cannot break through and create decisive opportunities. On the other hand, Kofu plays defensively as a whole and launches a quick counterattack using the fullbacks after winning the ball. They try to create chances by combining early crosses from the sides with tall forward Watanabe, but the accuracy of the passes is lacking, and they cannot create decisive opportunities. The back and forth battle continues, but gradually, Fujiyama's sharp dribbles start to break through the Kofu defense line and take control of the game.

Sandro, a powerful shot!


In the 36th minute of the first half, the game finally started to move. Sandro scored a spectacular diving header from Yukihiko's corner kick. With this, the momentum completely shifted to Tokyo. As Kofu began to attack in a hurry, spaces opened up behind the previously stable defensive line, and Kagamiki and Okamoto made chances by running into those spaces. In defense, Sandro completely contained Kofu's tall forward Watanabe, and Komine consistently won against the speedy forward Hori with solid and aggressive play. In the midfield, Niijou showed his commitment with tackles and effectively shut down the source of the ball. In the second half, the game was completely dominated by Tokyo. On the left side, Fujiyama created chances with his dribbling and final passes to Okamoto, while on the right side, Yukihiko's accurate passes and Kobayashi's flexible dribbling created decisive chances. In the 30th minute of the second half, a perfect pass from Yukihiko to Kobayashi was timed perfectly on the right side, and Kobayashi directly crossed the ball. Almir, who had been closing in on the ball, scored the second goal with a powerful right-footed shot. It was a goal in the best possible way.

Tokyo's "secret weapon" that raises expectations


In the 22nd minute of the second half, Wada, Tokyo's "secret weapon," returned to the pitch after a break of about seven weeks. The man who suffered a left ankle fracture just before the start of this season in a practice match and has been forced to endure a difficult rehabilitation life made his J2 debut with great anticipation. Although he is not yet in perfect condition, his speed in bursting behind the opponent and his fearless diving into the goal area, which were not seen in Tokyo this season, have definitely increased the threat to the opponent. In the 44th minute of the end of the second half, he showed a play that responded to expectations by heading a corner kick from the left with a powerful dive, but unfortunately it bounced off the goal post. In addition to Wada, another player, Furukoshi, who made his debut with great anticipation, showed his strength and veteran-like stability in just about 4 minutes of playing time, fully demonstrating his presence. The addition of these reliable forces to Tokyo in the future can be considered a bright topic. In the end, in the 33rd minute of the second half, Yukihiko, who had moved to the left side, forcefully crossed the ball while being surrounded by the opponent, and Kobayashi decisively scored with a diving header while competing with the defender. The "must-win match" was won with the best three goals of the season, giving a definite sense of accomplishment and a fruitful game.