Will it be a crucial match to keep our hopes of winning alive? Match against the strong Kobe

Tokyo, who stands in 3rd place at the end of Sec. 13 and still has hopes for the championship. In this section, they will face Vissel Kobe at the rain-soaked Japan National Stadium. Kobe, who defeated Shimizu in the previous section, is in good form. However, for Tokyo to remain a contender until the end, this is a crucial match that they definitely want to win.

The starting lineup consists of TUTO and Kensuke KAGAMI as forwards, just like the previous match. In place of Naito, who is suspended due to accumulated warnings, Umayama makes his first appearance of the season as the right-sided back. On the bench, Amaral, who has recovered from his injury after a month, is included. Expectations are high for what kind of battle he will show in the last home game of the 1st stage.

In front of the fast and tough Kobe defense in the rainy National Stadium...

However, Tokyo is forced to struggle due to the slippery field caused by the continuous rain before the match, and above all, the strong defense of Kobe stands in their way. Despite being on the defensive, the fast-starting defensive midfielder Sugawara, along with the two tall and strong center-backs Tsuchiya and Umemoto, are constantly snuffing out the attacking opportunities.

TUTO, Tokyo cannot create opportunities as TUTO and Kagami are being marked tightly. And in the midfield, both teams are applying tough checks on each other, canceling out spaces and making it difficult for the ball to settle.

Kobe had been trying to break the situation by shooting two middle shots, but in the 18th minute, when a pass was passed to FW Hotei waiting on the left side, he passed through the marking of Komine and passed it to attacking side back Yoshida. Yabuta, the central MF, hit the cross that Yoshida raised directly, and MF Yoshimura aimed for a precise middle shot from outside the penalty area. It became a goal that took advantage of the gap in the delayed check of the Tokyo DF for a moment.

Tokyo, in the 25th minute, TUTO's shot was the first shot of the day. In the 31st minute, TUTO and Kagami connected directly, and it seemed that Yukihiko Sato had slipped behind the defense, but unfortunately it was offside. Tokyo, who wants to change the flow somehow, substituted Amaral for Kagami in the 36th minute, but the two forwards often became isolated and the attacks from the sides were surrounded by Kobe's defense and couldn't be effectively launched. In the first half, both teams had 3 shots. However, Kobe, who made the most of their chances, took a 1-0 lead and turned it around in the second half.

Kina's functionality, Amaral's TUTO launches a fierce counterattack...

After the heavy rain in the second half, Tokyo brought in Kina from the start. In the 1st minute, from a free kick, Sandro passed to TUTO who took a direct shot! Unfortunately, it was blocked by the goalkeeper, but Tokyo gained momentum. Kina functioned as a support role for the two forwards and launched an aggressive attack. In the 2nd minute, Amaral headed from a corner kick. In the 4th minute, Amaral had another free shot from Fujiyama's intercept. In the 9th minute, Kobayashi dropped a pass from Kina in front of the goal with a heel, and Amaral took a cool shot, but it was slightly offside. However, with the flow completely different from the first half, it seemed like only a matter of time before a goal would be scored.

However, it was Kobe who scored the next chance. In the 56th minute, Tokyo connected a clear ball and Yoshimura crossed it to the right in front of the goal, where FW Wada was waiting. Taking advantage of a momentary lapse in concentration from the Tokyo DF, Wada scored a goal, making it his fourth consecutive goal. Despite their continuous attacks, this one goal weighed heavily.

In the 68th minute, Tokyo substituted Toda for Kobayashi. In the 77th minute, Toda boldly aimed for a middle shot, but it was offside as it passed to a teammate in front of the goal. Immediately after, Yabuta from Kobe broke through behind the Tokyo DF, who had become aggressive, and took a shot. It was narrowly saved by the post, but the offensive and defensive battle continued with chances and dangers side by side. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Tokyo launched a fierce attack by bringing on Fujiyama and Sandro. Each player, including Kina with a middle shot and TUTO with a shot, never gave up until the end and aimed for victory by all means. And in injury time, Sandro dropped a cross from Amaral with a header, and TUTO ran in and scored with his left foot. Finally, they showed their determination. However, it was already too late. They could only reduce the deficit to one goal and suffered their sixth loss of the season.

Learn from defeat

In the end, there were 8 offside calls. Tokyo received double the fouls with 34. Tokyo was unable to score from 8 corner kicks. It was a defeat that made the difference in strength felt, as Kobe thoroughly analyzed Tokyo's way of playing. Up until now, Tokyo has been able to eliminate the opponent's strengths and fight well, but today, it can be said that Kobe did equal or more than that.

The hope of winning is gone, but we will never give up the "fight". "Stir up the Tokyo whirlwind" - Let's go back to the beginning and make sure to use this defeat as a stepping stone for the final round and the 2nd stage.

[This day's Kobe match is "TEDDY BEAR DAY". This event, which has been well received by many customers every time, was able to celebrate its third anniversary this year. Unfortunately, the original teddy bear presentation ceremony to the hero could not be realized because we lost the game, but we believe that the customers who came to the venue were satisfied, such as winning cute teddy bear goods. We hope to hold it again next year, so please look forward to it.]