Seeking revenge against the 1st stage champion!

　The 3rd match of the 2nd stage will be played at home against Yokohama F.Marinos, the winner of the 1st stage. This season, we have faced F.Marinos twice in the 1st stage and once in the Nabisco Cup qualifying league, suffering 2 losses and 1 draw. Today will be the 4th match, and we cannot afford to lose to the same opponent anymore. We want to achieve victory without being weighed down by the comeback loss in the 2nd match against Nagoya and the defeat in the Nabisco Cup match against Urawa (Quarterfinals, 2nd leg) and dispel the bad mood.

　However, Amaral was absent from the Urawa game due to injury. Abe took on the role of the top striker, and on the right side back, Kaji started for the first time since August 13th (first leg of the Nabisco Cup quarterfinals). On the other hand, Yokohama F.Marinos has been plagued by injuries in the 2nd stage. It has been a difficult situation so far, with only 2 minutes. Today, FW Kubo, MF Oku, DF Hato, and GK Enomoto Tatsu are also absent, and FW Marcinhos and Sakata form the top two, with Kohara on the right side back and Yanagi Soh on the left MF.

　On this Saturday, which was the last day of summer vacation, the match started with a kickoff in Tokyo, gathering a record-breaking 35,109 spectators in the stands.

Abe and Kanazawa score from Ishikawa's intended cross!

　Both teams pressed each other intensely and the game started with a fast pace. In the 1st minute, F.Marinos connected passes and Marcinhos took a shot from a distant position. In the 3rd minute, Jahn stopped F.Marinos' breakthrough from the right side with a foul and received a warning. Then, Marcinhos attacked the right penalty area and Yagi took a volley shot from a negative cross, but it didn't hit the mark. In the 4th minute, Tokyo's Abe received Kelly's pass on the right side and tried to score a goal with a dribble, but was blocked by the defender. In the 6th minute, Toda broke through with a lofted pass aimed at Miyazawa's behind the defense, but his jumping volley shot didn't hit. In the 9th minute, Miyazawa stole the ball from F.Marinos' territory during a throw-in and took a long shot.

　Today in Tokyo, the press from the front line is functioning, stealing the ball and launching fast attacks, repeatedly penetrating the defense from the sides and the center. Then, in the 16th minute, F.Marinos' Yanagi receives a pass near the center circle and is fiercely surrounded by Miura and Ishikawa. Miura steals the ball and dribbles up, passing to Ishikawa on the right. Ishikawa, from inside the penalty area, delivers a sharp ground cross between the goalkeeper and the defenders, following the theory. Abe jumps in and slides to score a goal! As planned by Coach Hara, who said before the match, "Beautiful crosses will be blocked. Let's put in low and fast crosses," the team quickly took the lead with a side attack.

　Tokyo, who gained confidence with this goal, continued for 20 minutes, with Kelly quickly restarting and sending a throw-in from the right side to Ishikawa. Ishikawa carefully ran up and crossed the ball again to the center. Abe was running near, but Kanazawa ran freely into the open space in the center and scored with a shot. The powerful shot changed course, grazing the opponent's defender, and went into the goal! From Ishikawa's precise cross, they quickly scored two consecutive goals.

Kaji and Toda team up to score the third goal!

　F.Marinos, who conceded 2 goals, had an accident during this time. The condition of DF Matsuda, who played through injury, was not good, and he was replaced by DF Kawai in the 21st minute. However, Tokyo's aggressive press by Miura and effective passing from Miyazawa, both short and long, threatened the F.Marinos goal. In the 28th minute, Miyazawa took a direct shot from the clear ball of the right corner kick taken by Ishikawa. The goalkeeper caught it, but it was on target. In the 29th minute, a through pass reached Kelly, who had run behind the defense from the left side. Although it did not result in a goal, F.Marinos' midfielder Endo was injured in the contact play during this time and went off the field.

　At the 30th minute, Tokyo picked up the opponent's clearance in the midfield, and passed to Kaji on the right side for a side change. Kaji ran up the center and passed to Ishikawa on the right side. Ishikawa dribbled past the defenders with high speed and cut inside. Although initially blocked and knocked down by a defender, he tenaciously regained possession and returned the ball to Kaji, who was providing support. Kaji then delivered a powerful cross from the right corner of the penalty area, and Toda jumped in with perfect timing on the far side for a header shot! The ball was sucked into the goal, and Tokyo scored their third goal in the best possible way!

　F.Marinos were forced to make a substitution with Endo, and brought in FW Abe. Abe and Marquinhos were positioned at the top, Sakata on the left MF, and Yanagi in the defensive midfield, as they prepared for a counterattack. Then, in the 44th minute just before the end of the first half, Miyazawa fouled Abe who was charging towards the Tokyo goal, resulting in a free kick being awarded.

　The FK kicked by Dutra from near the penalty arc in front of the goal went past the wall and into the bottom left corner. F.Marinos had not created any decisive opportunities up to this point, so they allowed a frustrating goal from a set piece and went into the second half.

Masashi Miyazawa's right foot explodes! Scoring 4 goals, Yokohama F.Marinos dominate

　The situation of conceding a goal just before the end of the first half reminded us of the Nagoya game and brought a slight sense of unease. F.Marinos changed their formation to have MF Nasu as a lone defensive midfielder and tried to attack. Starting from right MF Sato, they threatened the Tokyo goal with a free kick and corner kick in the 48th minute, and in the 54th minute, Sakata jumped in to meet Sato's cross. However, the timing was off and Marcinhos' header, who was in the right place, went over the goal line. On the other hand, Tokyo continued to intercept and pick up second balls well in the second half, and they controlled the game advantageously. In the 58th minute, Toda took a shot from Kelly's cross that had drifted to the left side and won a corner kick. However, Miura got injured during this corner kick play, allowing F.Marinos to counterattack, but Sakata's fast attacking run was cut off by Shigetaka Mogi's brave defense. They also defended firmly against consecutive corner kicks with concentrated defense.

　In the 60th minute, Asari replaced Miura. In the 62nd minute, the defender cleared Ikeda's speedy early cross, but Kelly picked up the loose ball and ran up to the goal to take a free shot. However, he missed the goal by a wide margin and missed the chance for an additional point. But in the 65th minute, Ikeda took a corner kick and passed it to Miyazawa in the right area with a short corner. Miyazawa, "Yuki Sato tried to block with her left foot," cut back the approaching defender to the outside and swung his right foot! The powerful shot blew away the opposing defender and went into the goal. Miyazawa himself was surprised by his first right-footed goal, which secured a valuable fourth goal and pushed F.Marinos ahead.

　Afterwards, F.Marinos, who placed DF Nakazawa in front, stubbornly tried to return one point. Against Tokyo, who aimed to exploit the space behind the DF, they raised their defensive line even higher and repeatedly caught them offside. In the final stages, they showed a desperate counterattack from Sato's cross, but Sakata's header shot in injury time missed the goal and the time was up. Tokyo's attacking soccer exploded as planned. They celebrated their 50th victory in J1 with a resounding victory over Champion F.Marinos, with goals from Abe, Kanazawa, Toda, and Miyazawa.

【Player Comment】《Jo Kanazawa》"The pressing from the front was effective, and I was able to attack aggressively. Until now, we have been playing defensively, but today we were able to take a more offensive approach."

I have been able to differentiate between defending and attacking, and today I felt confident from the beginning and was able to continue in a good way. (Following the 1st stage, I scored a goal in the F.Marinos match) It happened by chance, but I am really happy to be able to score a goal at home because I have only scored away goals before. The game has been improving, so I want to continue to translate this into results." "Toda" "(We didn't want to lose any more after losing in the 2nd round and the Nabisco Cup) We talked about it together and our mindset and approach to the game were different. Without Amaral, we can't rely on him as the starting point in the front line, but we were thinking of chasing from the front and using our own strengths to fight together with player Abe."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "After conceding a goal from a back pass in the Nagoya match, we had a bad rhythm, but in the Nabisco Cup Urawa match, although we lost, the performance was not bad and we had a good feeling. Instead of playing defensively like in the 1st stage, we were able to go forward and quickly launch attacks. However, in this world, results matter, so we wanted to break the unpleasant streak of losing to Nagoya and Urawa and approach the game with a new mindset. Many fans came during the summer break, and the opponent was the champion of the 1st stage, so we wanted to show our attacking football. Amaral got injured, but I told Abe not to expect the same play as Amaral, but to flow into space and show his own strengths. It was as planned to exploit the space behind Dutra, but Matsuda's condition was worse than expected, so I instructed Abe to attack the space. There were some accidents for Yokohama, including Endo's substitution, which was lucky for Tokyo. The team so far has had some naivety, and we felt uncomfortable when we conceded a goal just before halftime. That's why at halftime, I said, 'Let's not defend, let's go for another goal.' I think we settled down with Miyazawa's fourth goal. We were helped by Yokohama's condition, but it was good to be able to give the victory to many fans. We want to continue playing the Tokyo-style football and compete with the top teams."

[Summary of Yokohama Okada's press conference] "I apologize to all the supporters for playing such a sloppy game. It was my mistake to field Matsuda, who couldn't play at 100% in today's match. That's all there is to it. I judged based on Thursday's practice that he could play, but I realized something was wrong within the first 5 minutes. He said he was fine, but I should have substituted him earlier. We easily conceded 2 goals in that state. Although we managed to score 1 goal afterwards, I still thought there was a possibility. However, Marquinhos is also in poor condition and it's difficult for the team to score in the current situation. The attitude of going towards the ball that they had initially is no longer visible. We have fallen this far, so from now on, we can only crawl back up. I want to throw away the pride of a championship team and start over with a beginner's mindset."