Sapporo.D must not allow a 3-game losing streak, confront Sapporo!

　1st Stage Sec. 11 will welcome Sapporo to the home Japan National Stadium. Sapporo, currently in last place, put up a good fight in the previous match against F.Marinos. They cannot be underestimated, but it is a crucial match where they want to demonstrate "Tokyo's soccer" and secure a victory by any means necessary. Jean will be absent due to accumulated warnings, but Moino will be included as CB, and the other starting members will remain the same as the previous match.

　Sapporo, on the other hand, has approached the match with the same formation as Tokyo, placing FW Ogura as the lone striker, and changing from their previous 3-back system to a 4-back system by dropping left MF Kazunami (Coach Ivancevic).

Beat Consadole! Stop The Slump!

The 11th game of the J-League first stage saw F.C.TOKYO take on Consadole Sapporo at the National Stadium. Despite their lowly position Consadole played well in a narrow 2-3 loss to League leading F Marinos last week; manager Ivanovich switched from his regular three back formation to 4-2-3-1, the same as TOKYO, with Ogura as lone striker. Moniwa replaced the suspended Jean but otherwise TOKYO were unchanged from the previous game.

Kelly scores the opening goal with a perfectly executed attack through the space!

　From the start, Toda receives the ball from behind and runs behind the DF from the left side, creating a chance. Immediately after, Sapporo also aims for a goal as Ogura takes a middle shot. Both teams maintain a compact formation and press each other, continuing to fight for the ball.

　However, Tokyo gradually strengthens its dominance. In the 5th minute, a pass from Shimodaira to Toda, who broke through behind the DF, but the opposing GK came out and caught it. After that, they repeatedly tried to exploit the space between the DF line and the GK, but they couldn't create any decisive scenes. In the 10th minute, Toda, who received a pass from Shimodaira, entered a shooting position but was blocked by the leaping GK.

　However, this aim came to life afterwards. In the 11th minute, Amaral slipped behind the defender and aimed for the goal, earning a corner kick. The first attempt was cleared by the defender, but the second attempt followed. The ball kicked by Miyazawa was initially deflected by the goalkeeper, but Miyazawa picked it up again and brought it to the front of the goal. Mochizuki, who was waiting, headed the ball down, and Toda jumped out as if aiming for it. Toda's consecutive two shots were blocked by goalkeeper Sato's fine play, but Kelly, who was following up on the loose ball, pushed it in with a header, and it's a goal! They unsettled the Sapporo defenders with a set piece and created the opening goal.

Kelly Strikes

Straight from the kick off Toda latched on to a long ball down the left and infiltrated behind the Consadole backline; the chance came to naught and Consadole countered immediately through Ogura. With both teams employing the same system the game began as a tight, compact midfield battle. Slowly, however, TOKYO began to gain the upper hand. In the 5th. minute a through 
ball from Shimotaira saw the keeper race out to foil Toda; five minutes later the same combination were again foiled by the keeper. TOKYO were aiming for the space between the Consadole backline and the keeper but couldn't find the decisive ball until the 11th. minute when Amaral won a corner on the left. Miyazawa swung it in only for the ball to come back to him from a defender; he tried again and the keeper punched the ball straight to Moniwa who headed back into the danger area. The ball fell to Toda unmarked in front of goal. He shot and the keeper saved it. He shot again and again the keeper saved it. As Toda contemplated a third attempt Kelly burst into the six yard area and imperiously headed the ball into the back of the net to give TOKYO the lead. 

Ishikawa and Toda's delightful goal taking advantage of the chance

　Sapporo challenged Atsubetsu in the 19th minute, as MF Yamase dribbled from the left side and took a shot against his U-21 Japan national team teammate, Shigemori, in a one-on-one battle, but the shot went wide left of the goal.

　In the 21st minute immediately after that, Kelly boldly shoots from outside the penalty area. Connecting with this loose ball, Ishikawa passes to Kaji, who has moved up to the right side. Kaji receives the pass and returns it to Ishikawa, who came to support him against the defense. Ishikawa, receiving the ball, swings his right foot with a no-step shot from outside the penalty area, and the ball floats over the goalkeeper's hands and is sucked into the goal!! Although this shot is not a free kick, it has the same trajectory as the super shot shown by Brazil's Ronaldinho in the previous World Cup quarterfinals against England. With Ishikawa's excellent control, Tokyo scored an additional goal with his first goal after transferring.

　After that, Tokyo pressed Sapporo by using the width and length of the field for fast passing and side attacks, as well as making runs from the midfield to the front line. In the 29th minute, Sapporo FW Jadiu Son's powerful free kick was saved by Toi with a fine save and turned into a corner kick. Then, in the 33rd minute, Kelly connected passes from a quick restart and played a long pass to the front line. Toda timed his run perfectly to meet the ball and faced the goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation, remaining calm and taking the shot. It went in, and Tokyo already got their third goal! Ishikawa and Toda, players who have been creating chances throughout the match, converted them into goals and overwhelmed Sapporo.

　Tokyo is also focused on defense and ends Sapporo's attacks with tough pressing. Sapporo FW Bayack frequently shows movements to break through behind Tokyo's defense, but the line is raised and all are called offside. In the 44th minute, Ogura breaks free in front of the left goal area from Yamase's through pass, but Tsuchiho catches the ball one step faster with a brave dive. They maintain a 3-point lead and end the first half.

Ishikawa, Toda Extend The Lead

Consadole produced their best chance in the 19th. minute as midfielder Yamase took on his Japan Under 21 colleague Minowa and fired in a shot that flew narrowly wide. Two minutes later a long range blast from Kelly was deflected to Ishikawa on the edge of the area. He rolled the ball to Kaji out on the right; finding his path to goal blocked Kaji passed back inside to Ishikawa who struck a stunning first time shot that curled over the keeper in an identical fashion to Ronaldinho's free kick for Brazil in the World Cup quarter final against England. The crowd erupted as Ishikawa joyfully celebrated his first goal for the club. 
Doi made a fine save from Jadilson's free kick in the 29th. minute but F.C.TOKYO were dominating the game and it was no suprise to see them extend the lead in the 33rd. minute. A quickly taken free kick reached Kelly who looked up and launched a glorious long ball over the defence and into the path of Toda who deftly deceived the keeper and finished in style. 
The TOKYO defence line dealt comfortably with the Consadole attack, repeatedly pushing up and catching Baljak offside. Doi dived bravely at the feet of Ogura in the 44th. minute and the first half finished 3-0. 

Despite conceding a goal, they held on and secured 3 points

　In the second half, Sapporo.D made a substitution, bringing in Takumi SAKAI as the right midfielder instead of Wana, and switched to a 3-back formation to launch a counterattack. At the beginning, SAKAI picked up a clearance ball from the defender and took a powerful shot.

　In the 49th minute, Kaji, who advanced forward, crossed the ball and the goalkeeper punched it. Miyazawa picked up the ball and took a middle shot, but the goalkeeper caught it. In the 54th minute, Amaral headed a shot from a free kick, but it missed above the bar.

　It was right after that. Tokyo DF cut Sakai's cross and Sapporo got a corner kick. Bayack passed the right corner kick to Sakai at the short corner, and he ran into the right corner of the penalty area to receive the return pass, then took a shot. The clean shot hit the top left corner of the goal, and Tokyo conceded a goal unexpectedly.

　After that, Sapporo took control of the rhythm by aggressively checking the ball. They surpassed Tokyo in the midfield and launched counterattacks. In the 59th minute, Jadielson headed the corner kick taken by Bayack. The ball narrowly missed the goal. In the 60th minute, Bayack broke through the defense on the left side and passed to Sakai, who was free on the right side. However, Bayack was caught offside, and Tokyo escaped the danger.

　At the 70th minute, Tokyo substituted Hoshi for Ishikawa, who was injured in a fierce foul. However, Sapporo relentlessly launched a wave-like attack from the counter. In the 72nd minute, Sakai, Yamase, Ogura, and others threatened the Tokyo goal one after another, but the Tokyo defense responded firmly at the last line and launched a swift counterattack.

　In the 77th minute, Fukuda was substituted for Toda, and in the 88th minute, Kina was substituted for Miyazawa. Tokyo wants to keep the ball and create chances, but there are also mistakes and intense battles for ball possession. However, in injury time, Ogura's header shot from Sakai's cross from the left was saved by Doi just barely to the bottom right of the goal. They managed to withstand Sapporo's counterattack and the game ended. They protected their first-half lead and earned 3 points.

[Summary of the press conference by Coach Hara] "Just like the Verdy match in the previous round, the team was completely different in the first half and the second half. In the first half, things went as planned, the ball was moving well, and we were able to effectively target the opponent's backline. I think we had more chances than just scoring three goals. However, in the second half, Sapporo switched to a three-back formation and came out aggressively. Even though there was no need to panic, we made mistakes, got caught on the counter, and things became chaotic. Honestly, we were lucky to only concede one goal. When the opponent's tactics and players change, we suddenly become flustered. I think we should have attacked by connecting passes among ourselves and exploiting the weaknesses of players like Sakai today. Instead, we were led by Sakai and made mistakes even when launching counterattacks. That's disappointing. It's good that we won one game after a losing streak, but there is a difference between good times and bad times, so the biggest challenge now is to consistently raise the level above a certain threshold."

[Sapporo - Coach Ivancevic's Press Conference Summary] "It felt like two completely different games. The first half was very poor. In the second half, I think we played good football, but we couldn't change the result of the match. In the first half, our movement was bad, we couldn't play as a team, our passes didn't connect, and we didn't show aggressive play. We conceded a goal from a corner kick and felt psychologically pressured. We made adjustments at halftime, and at that point, we were trailing by three goals, but we tried our best to improve the performance. I want to congratulate FC Tokyo."

TOKYO Weather Fightback For Valuable Win 

Consadole replaced Wanami with Sakai at half time and reverted to their customary three back formation. Sakai looked lively and tested Doi with a powerful effort soon after the restart. TOKYO were not content to sit on their lead: Miyazawa forced a fine save from the Consadole keeper in the 49th. minute and five minutes later Amaral powered a trademark header just over the bar. The game changed unexpectedly in the 54th. minute as Sakai picked up a short corner from Baljak on the right, advanced to the corner of the area and curled a shot over Doi and into the far corner, to make the score 3-1. 
Suddenly Consadole found their rhythm and TOKYO were backpedalling as the visitors upped the tempo in midfield. Jadilson headed a corner from Baljak over the bar when it seemed easier to score and an offside decision against Sakai saved a certain goal. Hoshi replaced Ishikawa, the recipient of a heavy tackle, after 70 minutes but the addition of a defender failed to stem the tide as Consadole continued to pour forward. The TOKYO backline held firm though and Doi was rarely troubled. Fukuda replaced Toda after 77 minutes as TOKYO looked to hold the ball up in advanced positions; Kina came on for Miyazawa in the 88th. minute to add some energy to the TOKYO midfield. Ogura must have thought he had scored as the game entered injury time but Doi produced a superb full length finger tip save to steer his header around the post. TOKYO hung on and thanks to a stirring first half performance earned a valuable 3 points. 

TOKYO manager Hara :
" As in the Verdy game we played like a completely different team in the second half. The first half went entirely according to plan: we scored three and created a lot of chances. Consadole changed to an attacking three back formation at half time and Sakai caused us a lot of problems-frankly we were lucky to concede only one in the second half. Even so, we had opportunities to counter attack but couldn't string the passes together which was disappointing. We are pleased with the win, of course, but our biggest problem at the moment is consistency ".

Consadole manager Ivancevic :
"A game of two halves. We were dreadful in the first half and the first goal had a profound psychological effect on the team. We fell apart but regrouped at half time and played very well in the second half. Unfortunately the three goals we conceded in the first half were too many to overcome. I want to congratulate FC Tokyo on a good win ".