Facing a tough opponent away in the first stage of the season

　Sec. 8, Yokohama F.Marinos will play away. It is a crucial match as it is the midpoint of the 1st stage and a turning point for the future. This will be the third match against F.Marinos this season, but the results were not favorable with 1 draw and 1 loss in the Nabisco Cup match in March. However, we want to ride the momentum of consecutive victories and defeat F.Marinos, who are currently in 4th place, and join the top battle.

　Winning Team Never Change - Following the principle of "not changing the winning team," Tokyo will face the match with the same starting lineup for the third consecutive round. In place of the injured Shigetani, Tokunaga is on the bench and they have entered the Yokohama International Stadium. On the other hand, F.Marinos, who won with a hat-trick by FW Kubo against Kashima in the previous round, is in good form. In addition to Kubo, FW Yasunaga has replaced the injured Marquinhos as the other forward.

FC Tokyo

　Under clear skies, the match begins with F.Marinos' kickoff. In the 3rd minute, Nasu, the defensive midfielder, picks up a loose ball inside the Tokyo team's territory and takes a shot from the middle. In the 4th minute, Kubo connects with midfielder Oku, and Endo, another midfielder, runs in from behind and takes a shot. It seemed like F.Marinos had the upper hand in the early stages. However, in the following 5th minute, F.Marinos' Sato delivers an early cross from the right side. Kubo breaks through between Jean and Kaji in the center and scores with his left foot. Tokyo's Kaji fails to mark him and they concede a goal without doing anything.

　Tokyo, who had been forced into a difficult situation by the tough defense of F.Marinos, struggled to keep the ball in the front line. However, in the 25th minute, Amaral intercepted the ball just as F.Marinos were trying to build an attack in the enemy's territory. He checked the goalkeeper's position and unleashed a looping shot from mid-range, but unfortunately it went over the goal. However, this play served as a catalyst for gradually creating chances.

　30 minutes, Kelly passes to the right side space from a counter. Kaji crosses but the opponent's defender cuts it. Then Kelly receives the pass from F.Marinos and makes the last pass in front of the goal. Toda receives it near the penalty arc and shoots. In the 33rd minute, Abe shoots after picking up a loose ball in the enemy's territory. In the 34th minute, Abe drops a long pass from Jahn, who was in the top position, and Amaral cuts in from the left and shoots towards the center. The game was played in F.Marinos' territory.

Equalized with Miura's passionate goal! But...

　In the 38th minute, F.Marinos Oku took a direct shot from a far position with a free kick. Hoi couldn't catch it and it spilled to Anno, who tried to follow up but missed the ball due to excessive momentum, escaping a decisive pinch. On the contrary, Tokyo immediately started a counterattack. Abe, who had drifted to the right side, received a long feed from Hoi and passed it to Kelly, who was coming up. Kelly went directly to the front line. Miura, who had run straight towards the goal from behind, jumped in with a header and scored! Miura's characteristic play pushed the ball into the goal and equalized the score.

　Tokyo, which gained momentum with this, in the 41st minute, Kanazawa, who went up the side, connected with Amaral in the center, and Kanazawa, who entered the middle, took a shot. Tokyo is attacking, but ultimately this attitude backfires. In the 42nd minute, F.Marinos took the ball in their own half, and Endo, Oku, and Kubo passed twice to the front line. They launched a counterattack, and Kubo rushed towards the goal from the right side with a dribble. As he entered the shooting range, he used Sato in the center as a decoy and floated a soft last pass with his left foot outside to Anno, who had attacked from the outside. The Tokyo defenders couldn't catch Anno's attack in this 3-3 situation and were pushed into the goal, conceding the second goal.

　And in the 44th minute, Endo, who had passed Sato on the right side of the midfield with a one-two, rushed towards the goal. Amaral chased after him, and it should have been possible to steal the ball with Asari and Jean surrounding him. However, the three defenders were easily bypassed, and Endo faced Doi in a one-on-one situation. And he scored a shot from directly in front of the goal, making it 3-1 in no time. They allowed themselves to be put in a difficult situation and conceded the lead, heading into the second half.

F.Marinos, who became 10 players, return one point with Kanazawa's goal

　In the second half, Ishikawa replaced Miura and Miyazawa replaced Toda. They attempted a counterattack, and in the 49th minute, Miyazawa passed to the left and Abe sent a cross to the center, and Ishikawa forcefully shot. In the 54th minute, Abe persisted on the left side and won a corner kick. In the 57th minute, Ishikawa intercepted a pass from Kelly and won a corner kick on the right. However, it was difficult to connect the ball against the fast pressure from Yokohama F.Marinos, and the game gradually became intense. Then, in the 64th minute, Yokohama F.Marinos' Nado received his second yellow card and was sent off. Tokyo had to play with a numerical advantage for less than 30 minutes.

　Tokyo, which regained its rhythm with the advantage, started to move the ball. However, they couldn't create any decisive scenes against the solid defense of F.Marinos. In the 73rd minute, Baba was substituted for Kaji. Abe and Amaral formed the two top players, with Kelly and Baba in the second row. They switched to a three-back formation and launched a fierce counterattack. In the 74th minute, Amaral headed Miyazawa's free kick from the right, but it narrowly missed the goal. In the 77th minute, Ishikawa dribbled past Dutra on the right side and entered the penalty area. However, his shot missed the target. In the 79th minute, Miyazawa aimed for a direct goal from a free kick outside the penalty arc, but the goalkeeper caught the ground shot.

　However, in the 85th minute, Kanazawa pushed forward in a scramble in front of the goal from a left corner kick and scored!! Tokyo showed perseverance and finally scored a goal. After that, Tokyo fiercely attacked the goal, but faced the relentless defense of Yokohama F.Marinos' defenders who put in a lot of effort, and unfortunately, the game ended. The determination to equalize the score by one goal was evident, but the goals conceded in the first half had a significant impact, resulting in a devastating defeat.

【Player Comments】《Miura》"In the first half, we went into halftime with a 1-1 tie. We tried to regroup in the second half. I also talked with Jean, but we couldn't fully commit as a team and ended up conceding a goal while we were attacking. It's frustrating that we failed to control the game."《Abe》"The ball was unsettled and we couldn't connect it to our own play. We switched to a two-striker formation in the middle of the first half, and we were able to create chances, but..."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "We were slow to start. We had been able to concentrate in the past two games without conceding any goals, but today our defensive response was delayed and we couldn't catch Kubo, Oku, and Yasunaga. If we had marked them properly, we could have avoided conceding a goal even after receiving Sato's cross. In the second half, we brought in Miyazawa and Ishikawa, but we couldn't pass the ball as usual and ended up feeling rushed. We couldn't execute our usual attacking style that utilizes the entire field. The ball couldn't be controlled by Kelly and Amaral either. We wanted to score another goal and equalize. It would have been better if we could have scored one goal earlier."

【Summary of F.Marinos Okada's Press Conference】"Wasn't it not just the first and last 10 minutes that we played well? We became passive after scoring the opening goal early. The game plan for the second half was to be more attacking, but we had to defend because of the player sent off. The two center-backs concentrated until the end, so we were able to hold on to the lead somehow. Tokyo has Amaral and Kelly, so I instructed the stopper not to drop back and let them face forward. However, in terms of defense, I think we are thorough in covering and awareness, and we are stable. Even under a little pressure, I want us to develop aggressively by passing the ball and gaining real strength."