Enter into a series of battles and come out victorious in tough matches!

　From today until May 10, which marks the start of Golden Week, a total of 6 matches will be played, including the Nabisco Cup. In the meantime, there will also be 2 Olympic qualifying matches for the U-22 Japan national team, making it a truly demanding schedule. It is expected that all of these games will be tough, but we want to focus on each match and accumulate points.

　The opponent for this match is Nagoya Grampus Eight. Nagoya is still undefeated this season with 1 win and 2 draws. They won a close match against Kashima in the previous round, so their spirits must be high. In the past matches, Tokyo has 1 win, 1 draw, and 4 losses against Nagoya, so they are not an easy opponent. However, Tokyo wants to defeat Nagoya at their home stadium, Ajinomoto Stadium, and build momentum for the upcoming consecutive matches.

試合を支配、数多くのチャンスを作るが

　The game that started with the kickoff in Tokyo is progressing in favor of Tokyo from the beginning. In the 1st minute, Kaji receives a foul from a big development from left to center to right and gets a free kick. In the 6th minute, Miyazawa shoots from a distance from the free kick, but Nagoya GK Narazaki catches it. In the 11th minute, Kanazawa challenges the game on the left side and gets a corner kick. Connecting the second right corner kick with a short pass, Amaral heads the ball in from Miyazawa's cross. They quickly take possession with a fast press and continue to overwhelm Nagoya with their attacks.

　In the 24th minute, Kelly exchanged a one-two pass with Amaral inside the opponent's territory and rushed towards the goal. He managed to evade even the defender and faced the goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation, but his slightly floated shot was saved by goalkeeper Narazaki. It was a close chance missed. In the 26th minute, Amaral intercepted the opponent's misplaced pass in the midfield and quickly passed it to the right side. Ishikawa made a run and unleashed a powerful shot just before entering the penalty area. Right after that, Ishikawa attempted a looping and soft shot to aim for the goal, but the goalkeeper made a great save and prevented a goal. In the 28th minute, Miyazawa sent a long pass with excellent timing to Toda, who was running behind the defenders from their own center circle, but the goalkeeper's quick reaction allowed him to catch the ball.

　Tokyo completely dominated the game, helped by the poor coordination of the opponent. However, Nagoya's defensive line, led by tall DF Panaditch, held strong and prevented Tokyo from breaking through with their midfield shots.

Explosive left foot of Ishikawa, first goal of the season to take the lead!

　However, Tokyo did not let up on their attacking moves and in the 35th minute, Ishikawa intercepted a lateral pass from Nagoya's defense line on the right side. He then made a vertical dash and cut into the center just before the penalty area. Despite being pressed by the chasing defenders, he unleashed a powerful shot from the front of the goal! The ball hit the bar with a loud sound but rebounded off goalkeeper Narazaki's save and went into the goal!! Ishikawa's aggressive attitude and left-footed cannon shot broke through Nagoya's defense, which had not conceded a goal in the past two matches, and resulted in the long-awaited opening goal.

　In the 37th minute, Kelly took a free shot from outside the penalty area. Conversely, in the 38th minute, a pass to Toda, who was trying to break through behind the defense, was cleared by the defense one step ahead and fed to the front line, crossing the offside line. This pass reached midfielder Fujimoto, who ran into the goal area and took a free shot. It narrowly missed the goal, avoiding a crisis, but this was the only shot by Nagoya in the first half. They turned the tide and entered the second half with a good atmosphere.

Trailing by a tie, fierce comeback...

　In the second half, Nagoya made substitutions. MF Yamaguchi replaced midfielder Sakai, and FW Hara replaced right-side half Okuyama. With Weslley, Hara, and Fujimoto as the front three, and Vastic as the attacking midfielder, Nagoya found their rhythm. In the 49th minute, Toda vigorously headed the ball from Miyazawa's cross on the left side, but goalkeeper Narazaki made a quick one-handed save. Nagoya gradually pushed Tokyo back and in the 55th minute, Hara broke through the right side and Fujimoto received a pass in the center for a shot. The Tokyo defenders blocked it, but in the 56th minute, Weslley dribbled and took a shot from the left side. Vastic took a shot from the loose ball that the defenders blocked. In the following 57th minute, Fujimoto unleashed a powerful shot from the left side, threatening the goal.

　And in the 59th minute, a pass from Vastic to the front line, Kanazawa clears with a header while retreating. When this ball falls in front of Nagoya MF Nakamura, Nakamura traps it with his chest and takes a powerful shot from outside the penalty area. This shot is sucked into the top left corner, a beautiful goal that Hoi cannot prevent, and the score is equalized.

　Tokyo, who wants to counterattack, substituted Abe for Amarao in the 67th minute. In order to respond to expectations, Abe received a pass from Ishikawa to Kelly's post and took a shot inside the penalty area in the 75th minute. In the 78th minute, Baba was substituted for Toda. In the 79th minute, Abe dropped Miyazawa's long pass and Kelly took a shot. In the 81st minute, Miyazawa took a long shot from the left side Kanazawa's cross. However, both shots missed the target. In the 86th minute, Baba made a sharp through pass from the midfield to the penalty area. Ishikawa, who ran in from the right side, seemed to be fouled, but there was no whistle. They launched a fierce attack, but in the 89th minute, Baba was fouled in front of the goal and won a free kick, but it did not result in a goal. Time's up. They ended up with a frustrating draw following the Cerezo match in the previous round. However, there are still challenges, but the team's condition is improving. Four days later, they will face Kashiwa in the Nabisco Cup, and one week later, they will face Kashima in the league. From here, a tough series of matches begins, but they want to turn their league-leading shooting power into results and start a winning streak.

【Player Comments】《Ishikawa》"I always wanted to aim for a goal, even in a forceful manner or with my left foot, while keeping the image of shooting in mind. However, I couldn't endure where I should have endured in the beginning of the second half. I also reflect on the goal conceded, which was a result of my own pass mistake to Vastic."《Miyazawa》"The opponent's defense had height, so I was using both near and far free kicks. My awareness of shooting has clearly changed compared to last year. I'm starting to want a goal soon."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "In the first half, we were able to create many good opportunities as planned. Ishikawa and Kaji on the right, Toda or Toda moving inside on the left, and Kanazawa going forward, we were able to utilize Amaral and Kelly in the center while using the width of the field. However, we still lacked finishing ability. Even for Ishikawa's goal, it was because he had been practicing left-footed shots every day. I think those efforts are gradually paying off. In the second half, Nagoya made two substitutions and played with a three-forward formation. We were hoping to withstand the period when Vastic dropped back a little longer, but we ended up dropping back too much. Amaral dropped back to receive the ball, and Nagoya took advantage of the situation. Nakamura scored against us last year as well, but his shot was also excellent. Amaral is still not in 100% condition, so we were considering bringing in Abe or Baba at some point. Ideally, we would like to pair Amaral with Abe, but their conditions are not aligned. Abe has the ability to drift to the side and has speed, while Baba has skill. We will combine these factors and strive for more."

"I want to make the team capable of playing better football and earning 3 points."

[Nagoya Verdenik coach's press conference summary] "Neither the content nor the result was satisfactory. If there is any satisfactory part, it is that we had chances and scored points in the last 25 minutes of the second half, and we were able to take control and play our own game. However, it was too short of a time to be satisfied. The first half was passive. The (hot) weather may have affected us more than the opponent, and Tokyo played well with freshness and aggressiveness. In the second half, I think the two substitute players brought the team back to life."