Seeking a third consecutive victory, home match against Fukuoka

　After two consecutive wins, Avispa Fukuoka will be welcomed at home Tokyo Stadium. Both teams currently have 4 wins and 5 losses, with the black stars leading the way. In order to improve their rankings and prepare for the one-month break after today, both teams are aiming for a win to bring their record to 5 wins. Tokyo's strategy is to use a formation close to a "front three" and have individual players break through the sides, with Kelly leading the way. As a sudden evening shower intensifies, the kickoff is about to begin.

The aim is clear! Toda scores the opening goal

　Coach Ookuma's aim, and Toda's use, hit the mark. In the 2nd minute, Masamitsu Kobayashi passed the ball to Kelly, who quickly made a decision and went to the left side. Kelly's cross reached Toda, who had run into the goal area from the right side, perfectly. The direct shot with his left foot went straight into the center of the goal! With a flowing attack and Toda's decisiveness, they quickly took the lead.

Tokyo is getting excited. In the 11th minute, just like the scoring scene, Kobayashi broke through from the left side after receiving a pass from Fujiyama, but it narrowly missed Toda who was closing in on the goal. Today, Tokyo is creating numerous chances by Fujiyama aggressively attacking the center from the left side, attracting the opponent's marking, and Kelly moving in all directions to create space, exchanging positions with Amaral and Toda. In the 14th minute, Toda, who had dribbled vertically, passed the ball to Kelly with a negative pass. The shot hit the side net, but it showed a fast and beautiful attack. In the 18th minute, Fukuoka's left corner kick came to the front of FW Yamashita, who was left unmarked, and there were some dangerous moments, but they were not in danger thanks to a mistake.

Tokyo, who defended firmly in their own half, did not allow Fukuoka to find a way to pass the ball even when they held it in their backline. Fukuoka also did not show any movements that would disrupt the opponent with their abundant physicality. Their counterattacks lacked sharpness and instead allowed Tokyo to launch a counterattack once again.

Tokyo continued to dominate the game, and in the 25th minute, Toda narrowly missed connecting with Kelly's free kick. In the 26th minute, Kelly picked up a loose ball and persistently brought it into the penalty area, where Amaral received it and turned to shoot. In the 39th minute, Kobayashi challenged the defenders on the left side of the penalty area and crossed the ball, with Kelly and Toda waiting in the center, but both were blocked by the goalkeeper. In the 44th minute, Kelly managed to heel the ball into the goal from Kobayashi's pass from the left side, despite carrying a defender on his back, but it went over the goal. Despite taking a total of 8 shots, Tokyo couldn't score any additional goals. In the end, not being able to score additional goals here would come back to haunt them later on...

Dominating in a relaxed mood...?

　In the first half, it seemed like a matter of time before an additional goal would be scored. It's not that the players were careless, but there was a somewhat "easy victory atmosphere" floating around the stadium.

　However, in the second half, Fukuoka made precise adjustments and actively aimed for goals from the beginning. Tokyo, whose energy level had dropped, fell behind in defense and gave away frequent free kicks. In the 51st minute, Fukuoka showed a tricky free kick that disrupted Tokyo's concentration, and in the 52nd minute, MF Nakaharai attacked from the left and passed the ball to FW Matsubara, who shot it into the goal. Then, in the 53rd minute, Tokyo's defense couldn't resist MF Hisanaga's breakthrough and committed a foul. MF Hisanaga headed the ball into the goal from FK by Badea from the right side of the penalty area. This equalized the score, as instructed by Coach Okuma, who had said to "be careful" about that set play.

Disappointing come-from-behind loss...

　Fukuoka, who heads to the Tokyo goal with fighting spirit exposed. Tokyo's energy level drops sharply and the line becomes stretched. In contrast, Tokyo tries to overcome the situation with member substitutions. In the 60th minute, Shimohira is substituted for Toda, who has been fighting with all his might until now. Miura puts in Shimohira on the right side, saying, "I wanted to place him in a high position to bet on the possibility of creating a decisive situation," but the attack cannot be organized easily in front of Fukuoka, whose press has become tougher, unlike the first half.

　Still not giving up, in the 67th minute Amaral pressed the opponent's goalkeeper and stole the loose ball, but Kelly and Kobayashi were slow to react and couldn't make a shot. They tried to break through the defense line, but Fukuoka's high press was fast, and they repeatedly fell into offside positions, creating a frustrated atmosphere. In the 72nd minute, they counterattacked from the opponent's shot, with Kelly passing to Amaral, then to Miura, showing a quick attack, but the defense cut it off. In the 76th minute, Shimodaira took a solo run and took a shot, which was the first shot of the second half. In the 78th minute, Masuda replaced Miura. However, just when they were trying to recover, in the 80th minute, Sandro's back pass was carelessly cleared by Doi and passed to Fukuoka's Badé. FW Yamashita didn't miss this chance, reacted quickly, and scored a goal. They were quickly conceded a second goal.

　Tokyo, which still held on, had a chance in the 82nd minute when Fujiyama took a sharp and fast free kick and the ball bounced off. In the 83rd minute, Kaburagi was substituted for Asari. By making it a one-man midfield and increasing the number of players in the front line, in the 83rd minute, Kobayashi took a shot at the ball dropped by Kaburagi. Against Fukuoka, who quickly reinforced their defense by using substitution slots one after another, in the 88th minute, Kaburagi dropped a ball from the back and Amaral took a shot. However, neither of them scored a goal, and the counterattack was in vain as the time was up. Despite taking the lead, they ended up losing the game in a comeback.

Keep your spirits up!

　Not only Doi, but also the combination with Sandro who caused it... The defensive weakness that led to the first goal. The attack that couldn't score additional points... If the victory against Kashiwa in the previous match was achieved by everyone, it can be said that today's "weakness" of everyone was the cause of the defeat. It is a frustrating loss, but instead of just rejoicing or worrying about the result, we have no choice but to recognize what is lacking and start over. Raise your head, switch your feelings "forward", and face the Nabisco Cup and the resumption of the league one month later.

[PICCOLI Coach's Comment] "Before the match, I instructed not to give a big space behind the backline, but in the first half, the whole team misunderstood the meaning and dropped back from the midfield. Also, there was hardly any movement from the two forwards and both fullbacks. I judged that we couldn't break through like this, so I improved it at halftime by asking them to move more. Specifically, we weren't able to make various patterned movements such as moving from the midfield to the center. In the second half, we were able to do that, and taking advantage of it, the forwards were able to run diagonally into the opponent's defensive line and move towards their goal. In the first half, we had no choice but to receive the ball with our backs turned."

"But I think this difference is the biggest."

[Manager Okuma's Comment] "In the first half, we were able to do what we wanted as a team. It wasn't that we didn't have chances, so I think it was most necessary to score another goal in the first half if possible. However, due to the decrease in movement and accuracy in the forward line, our attacks from the sides also decreased. In the condition where stamina is consumed in high humidity, it becomes fatal in J1 to make self-destructive mistakes when both teams are in the "from now on" phase. We want to use the break period to switch again and prepare for the next match."