A top battle against Cerezo, approaching with all our might

Tokyo, who finished in 4th place after the 11th section. This section is a top battle against Cerezo Osaka, who is in 3rd place. Cerezo, with their explosive attacking power from Nishizawa and Morishima, is a threatening team that has maintained good form this season. However, neither team can afford to lose here, so it will be a showdown of determination.

Tokyo, with the same starting lineup as the previous match, had TUTO and Kanno as the two top players. Without Amaral and with Kina not in top form due to injury, they faced the match with Kagami, who made his J1 debut, on the substitute bench.

Kamino's opening goal! However, an accident happened...

Both teams have been evenly matched since the first half. Cerezo Osaka, with midfielder Tasaka using his energy to contribute defensively, steals the ball and supplies fast passes to forwards Nishizawa and Morishima, starting from midfielder Yoon. However, they are unable to penetrate Tokyo's tough defensive line and cannot finish. In the 9th minute, Tokyo's Yuki shoots the first shot of the day, following a cross from Naito attacking from the right side, but it goes left of the goal. After that, they try to develop attacks from Godoy's post to TUTO and attacks from the side, but they are forced to rely on forced breakthroughs and pass exchanges in tight spaces, and they cannot effectively attack. The opponent also reads their side changes and they cannot find a way out. However, in the 22nd minute, when Cerezo was slightly ahead in the game, Koike saw space ahead and dribbled, making an exquisite pass to the backside where Cerezo's defenders were retreating. Godoy, competing with the defender, manages to break free and shoot! Although the goalkeeper initially saves it, he pushes the rebounded ball into the goal while hitting the crossbar! They have obtained a valuable opening goal.

Tokyo, which seemed to be gaining momentum here, was hit by an accident when Kanno injured his leg. As a result, Kashiwa had to be substituted in. Immediately after that, in the 29th minute, Cerezo connected a clearance ball from Tokyo's defense and Mori shima met it with a header. GK Doi cleared it with his left hand, and Nishizawa followed up but it wasn't a goal. In the 38th minute, Tokyo was being pressed as Nishizawa unleashed a powerful shot from a through pass by MF Lu. After that, there was also a scene where TUTO connected a cross from Naito, but they couldn't score an additional point and ended the first half.

Overwhelmed by Cerezo's powerful attack

Overwhelmed by Cerezo's powerful attack

Cerezo Vice-Island Coach said, "Tokyo puts the ball vertically as soon as it is cut, but the source of that is not being grasped. We haven't been able to show our attacking style of going towards our goal. Let's try with more courage and make adjustments," and went into the second half.

As instructed, Cerezo Osaka took advantage of Tokyo's pass miss immediately after the start of the second half, and Morishima took a free shot. Although Doi made a fine save, Tokyo continued to be bewildered by Morishima's quick movements as he ran diagonally into the goal. In the 47th minute, they lost the loose ball and connected a fast pass, and Nishiya scored from the cross lifted by Yin, equalizing the score in no time. Then, in the 58th minute, the play was interrupted and there was a momentary lack of concentration, allowing a pass to be played from a free kick and Morishima to run behind the Tokyo defense. Asari chased after him and stopped him with a sliding tackle, but this play resulted in a penalty kick. Nishizawa confidently converted it, giving Cerezo a 2-1 lead.

From here, Tokyo replaces Koike with Kina. They try to hold on to the ball and somehow make a shot, but Yukihiko's well-judged middle shot and heading shot miss the target. In the 76th minute, Kagami is brought in for Masamitsu Kobayashi and placed in the attacking midfield position. Sandro is also brought up, setting up an ultra-attacking formation. On the other hand, Tokyo is often counterattacked by exploiting the spaces left by the weakened defense, and it becomes a risky pursuit, but Tokyo continues to show an attacking attitude. However, in the end, they fail to score a goal. It results in a defeat against Cerezo's attacking power.

"Coach Fukushima's comment"

"Today's game was a very important match in terms of staying in the top rankings. The players were aware of this, but in the first half, their movements were very poor, and there were loose areas in terms of marking TUTO, which should have been paid attention to, and preparing for counterattacks. We pointed out the areas that needed improvement at halftime, and the players responded very well to them. It was a great achievement to win a tough game. However, although we were able to create opportunities from the counterattacks we aimed for and fast attacks, we couldn't finish them. Not being able to score additional points is a challenge for the next game."

"Coach Okuma's comment"

"Due to Kamiya's unexpected injury, we were unable to fill his void both as a team and individually. As a result, the balance between offense and defense was disrupted. In the future, Kamiya may not be able to participate immediately, and with Amaral also absent, we must somehow cover the remaining matches with other members and restore the balance between offense and defense as before."