Defeat tough opponent Kobe and escape from the lower ranks!

　Sec. 6 of the league match is against the tough opponent Kobe. Tokyo has a significantly disadvantageous record against Kobe in past league matches, with 1 win, 1 draw, and 4 losses. Although Tokyo achieved their first victory in the league match last year with a dramatic V goal by Miyazawa in the 2nd stage, they have never won against Kobe in a full 90 minutes. Tokyo is currently in 12th place with 1 win, 2 draws, and 2 losses at the end of the previous match (=Sec. 5), and they desperately want to win here to escape from the lower ranks and gain a foothold for advancing to the upper ranks.

　The Tokyo members, DF Shigenoba and MF Ishikawa, who are participating in the U-22 Japan national team that is fighting in the second round of the Athens Olympics Asian qualifiers, are absent, and MF Miyazawa, who is the axis of the midfield, is also absent due to a left foot injury. It was an emergency situation where three key players were missing at the same time, but the starting lineup consisted of FW Amaral as the lone striker, Kelly as the attacking midfielder, Abe as the right midfielder, Toda as the left midfielder, Asari as the defensive midfielder, Miura, who made his first start in 14 months, as the central midfielder, Kaji on the right defense, Kanazawa on the left defense, and Jean and Fujiyama, who made their first appearance in the league this season, as the center backs. In addition, the substitutes include MF Sako and MF Kajiyama, and DF Tokunaga, a specially designated player from Waseda University, who is making his first appearance in the squad.

　On the other hand, Kobe has not been performing well so far with 2 wins and 3 losses, and they are also struggling with the fact that they have not won a home game yet. Furthermore, there is a bitter jinx of being winless since the opening at Kobe Wing Stadium, the venue for today's match. They should be determined to win today's match, aiming for their first home victory of the season and the first victory at Kobe Wing Stadium. This important match, which will determine the future for both teams, started with a fierce battle at 2:04 PM.

Tokyo's "attacking football" overwhelms Kobe

　The "attacking football" showdown between Tokyo, currently leading in shots, and Kobe, in second place, started with Tokyo dominating the game in the early stages. In the 3rd minute, Toda broke through from Kelly's vertical pass in the midfield and rushed towards the goal. Although the goalkeeper cleared it a moment earlier, Toda's agile movement was enough to threaten the opponent. In the following 8th minute, Kelly passed through the space on the left side from the melee in front of Kobe's goal, and Toda broke through again, delivering a decisive ground pass from just near the goal line, but it was cleared by the defender, missing the chance. Tokyo continued their relentless attack with Amaral's shot in the 10th minute and Kelly's long-range shot in the 12th minute. In the 14th minute, Abe dribbled past Kobe's defenders with speed after receiving a vertical pass on the right side, and from a difficult angle near the goal line, he unleashed a powerful left-footed shot, but it was saved by the goalkeeper and did not result in a goal.

　Kobe has taken an attacking style in which DF Shijikurei and MF Allison serve as the starting point, collecting the ball to the tall and bulky FW Ozeas, and then MF Yamaguchi and FW Haruto jump out and get involved when the ball is dropped to the post. However, Jean marked Ozeas tightly and didn't let him work. Kobe also struggled to create attacking opportunities as there were many instances where Ozeas was isolated on the front line due to the slow support after passing the ball to him. Additionally, Fujiyama prevented Kobe FW Haruto from working with sharp defensive movements, quickly reacting and clearing the ball after competing with Jean, and didn't give Kobe any real chances despite making his first appearance in the league this season.

　The Tokyo pace continued after that. In the 29th minute, Miura, who received a pass in the space on the left side, dribbled and sent a perfect cross to the center, where Kelly ran in and shook the goal net, but unfortunately it was offside. In the following 33rd minute, Kanazawa sent a long pass from the left side to the right side, and Abe directly returned the ball to the center, where Miura ran in and volleyed it perfectly, but he couldn't shoot due to the play of the defender who sacrificed his body. In the 34th minute, Amalao headed a free header from the cross by DF Kaji, but it went over the bar.

　On the other hand, Kobe, who couldn't create attacking opportunities, started to adopt a style of simple crosses from the sides towards the end of the first half. The aerial battles between Jean and Ozeas, which occurred repeatedly, became a highlight of the match with their impressive intensity. However, Jean, who had become a father just three days ago, consistently repelled them with determined headers. The only dangerous moment came in the 39th minute when Hato unleashed a powerful shot from the chaos in front of Tokyo's goal, but GK Doi blocked it directly and Fujiyama cleared it away. This was the only major threat, as Tokyo's attacks were unable to break through the strong and stable play of Kobe's key defender, Shijikurei, and the first half ended with a 0-0 scoreline despite Kobe's one-sided dominance.

Finally out! Abe's beautiful goal takes the lead!

　"In front of the goal, let's keep it simple and shoot," said Coach Hara during halftime, but this would later result in a valuable opening goal. Tokyo continued their aggressive attack in the second half, with Kelly taking shots in the 5th, 6th, and 11th minutes, but none found the back of the net.

　On the other hand, Kobe also learned from the first half and not only hit the ball forward aimlessly, but also created a rhythm by having Yabuta in the midfield play on the left side and having Alison and Yamaguchi support and assemble there. In the 55th minute, a pass was made to Hato, who was positioned in front of the goal from Yabuta on the left side, and he sharply turned around, evading the mark and took a shot, but it went over the bar. In the following 59th minute, Tokyo's defender passed the ball back to Hato, who was then able to take a powerful shot from the right side of the goal, but it missed to the left after crossing in front of the goal. After that, shots were continuously taken in the 61st, 65th, 66th, and 68th minutes, but the defense, led by Jean, showed great determination and did not allow any goals.

　When Kobe's attacking rhythm improves and the balance becomes more forward-leaning overall, a large space opens up behind Kobe's shallow defensive line. Tokyo becomes effective in counterattacks after defending, and in the 69th minute, Kaji picked up the opponent's clearance mistake and sprinted towards the goal, but unfortunately, his shot missed to the right of the goal.

　In the 73rd minute, Kelly picked up the opponent's pass miss on the front line and quickly passed it to Amaral, who had moved to the right side. Amaral dribbled up and passed it to Abe, who momentarily became free in front of the central penalty area. Abe controlled the ball with one touch and floated it, then shot with a powerful impact as the ball dropped. The ball was driven with great force and sucked into the Kobe goal. After scoring the goal, Abe expressed his joy with a victory pose and a backflip performance. Although they were somewhat pushed back by Kobe during that time, Abe successfully scored a valuable opening goal in the league match.

Kobe Univ shut out tough opponent Kobe with a spirited team defense in the end!

　Kobe, who was trailing by one point, not only did not feel down but also launched a fierce attack in order to achieve their first home victory of the season and their first victory at Kobe Wing Stadium. In the 31st minute, a ball rolled to the front of the penalty area from a scramble and was shot powerfully, but Kanazawa threw himself in front of it and blocked it. In the following 35th minute, Ozeas and Jahn competed for a long pass, and Ozeas fell in the penalty area, but this was a fair play and no foul was given.

　In the meantime, Tokyo, aiming for an additional point, broke through with a delicate passwork flowing from Kaji on the right side to Kelly and Miura at the 36th minute. Miura took a powerful shot from the right inside the penalty area, but unfortunately, it missed the goal by 50cm to the left.

　Tokyo made substitutions in the 89th minute, bringing on 19-year-old Tokunaga and 17-year-old Kajiyama. In stoppage time, they responded to Kobe's fierce attack by involving defender Shijikurei in the attack and defending with their characteristic "all-out defense". Tokunaga cleared numerous crosses with his impressive heading ability, and in a scene where a shot was taken from the left side of the penalty area, Fujiyama threw himself like a goalkeeper to block it, showing great determination against Kobe's fierce attack. In the end, Shijikurei was left unmarked for a header from close range, but Doi reacted sharply and made a "miracle save" to protect the goal. And finally, time was up. It was a joyful victory with many firsts, including Abe's first goal in the league, Tokyo's first win in the 90th minute against Kobe, Tokunaga and Kajiyama's first appearance in the league, and Kobe Wing Stadium's first game and first victory. With this, Tokyo finished the 6th round of the league with 2 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses, returning to 5th place and rising to 10th position. The stage is set for the next match against G Osaka on May 5th.

【Player Comments】《Takumi ABE》"I was frustrated that I couldn't score in the opening game, even though I felt like I could. So, I was happy to score a goal in the league match somehow. In that situation, I was able to shoot with a drive shot as practiced. My foot condition is still about 80%, but I can do it at this level. I was planning to do a "backflip" after my foot fully recovered, but I couldn't help but do it because I was so happy."《Igor GABRIEL》"Even though the performance has been good lately, we have been drawing or losing. So, today we really wanted to win and wanted to get 3 points. I'm really happy that we won."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "In the midst of consecutive matches, Shigeki and Ishikawa are not available for the Olympic qualifiers, and Miyazawa is also absent due to injury, so the game development was slightly different from usual. However, even though these three players were missing, Fujiyama played very well, and Miura, who started for the first time in 14 months, showed veteran-like game control and helped us overcome difficult situations. Abe also scored a goal as practiced, which is great. Honestly, I'm relieved. Although we won with a 4-0 victory in the Levain Cup, we have been unable to win in the league matches and have been experiencing a series of losses. We didn't want to continue losing, so today the team fought together and it's great that we won. I think this one victory is significant."

[Kobe Vice Island Coach's Press Conference Summary] "I struggled with ball control on a rough pitch. However, this is not a reason because it is the same condition as the opponent. In the first half, the connection in the midfield was bad, so I instructed the MF players at halftime to become a cushion between the DF and FW, and it improved a little in the second half, but we cannot win if we cannot score. The game will continue after this, so I want to prepare well while considering the situation of injured players for the next match."