A crucial match that cannot be lost in the pursuit of advancing to the top

　The league match, which was postponed for two weeks due to the Nabisco Cup, will resume. This round will be held one day later than the other matches, and we will face Kobe Univ. Tokyo, who won a decisive victory of 3-1 in the previous match against Shimizu, has risen to 5th place. Depending on the results of the other matches held yesterday, there is a possibility that we can quickly rise in the rankings if we win today. On the other hand, Kobe Univ, currently in 13th place, is still in danger of relegation and is expected to come at us desperately. In the past league matches, we have tasted bitter defeat with 2 wins, 1 draw, and 4 losses against them. It is expected to be a tough battle, but it is an important match that will lead to the future. We want to secure all 3 points and seize a great opportunity to advance to the top.

　Kobe is without FW Hashido due to suspension. Tokyo is missing Yusuke Kondo due to injury, and Amaral starts for the first time in two games. After participating in the U-22 national team's expedition to Hong Kong and Qatar during the league break period, Shigeki Mobata and Ishikawa, who returned on the 5th, are showing their usual form. The match started with Tokyo's kickoff under the cold cloudy sky that makes you feel the arrival of winter.

Kelly takes advantage of the restart and scores the opening goal!

　Shortly after the start, Amaral shoots to take the lead. However, in the 3rd minute, Kagawa steals the pass from Ishikawa and Kobe FW Miura shoots from the counter. In the 6th minute, a FK is given in front of the goal, and MF Shijikurei's powerful shot is saved by Doi and escapes to a CK. In the 8th minute, the ball is taken back in front of the Tokyo goal, and Kobe DF Matsuo crosses. It went over the head of Ozeas, who was preparing in the center, but it caused a pinch. In the 11th minute, Toda breaks through from the left side to the front of the goal, following Amaral's through pass, but he is approached by the DF and unable to shoot. In the 14th minute, Miura breaks out to the left of the goal with a long ball, but Doi catches the cross with a solid save.

　Tokyo had some mistakes and couldn't get into the flow, but in the 16th minute, Miyazawa's free kick was cleared by the opponent's defender, earning a throw-in from the right side. Kaji sent a throw-in to the right corner of the penalty area, where Miyazawa appeared to pass directly to the front of the goal. Kelly jumped in from the left side and hit the ball with his extended foot, deceiving Toda, and scored! Breaking through the Kobe defenders who were trying to solidify their defense from the set play, they scored a valuable opening goal.

　Tokyo, riding on the momentum, launches a fierce attack. In the 19th minute, Ishikawa competes for Toda's pass in front of the goal, and Kelly shoots freely from the right area. The goalkeeper saves it, but Miyazawa picks up the loose ball and takes a well-aimed shot with his right foot. Once again, it is blocked by the goalkeeper, but they quickly win a corner kick. The attack, led by Ishikawa, is blocked by Kobe's midfielder Yabuta and defender Matsuo on the right side, and it seems to be at a deadlock, but they start attacking from the left side instead. In the 21st minute, Kanazawa crosses and Toda receives the return pass from Kelly's post, taking a powerful shot. However, it hits the crossbar and unfortunately does not result in a goal. In the 28th minute, Kanazawa crosses the ball along the ground from Miyazawa's side change. Toda jumps in, but fails to connect with the ball just inches away from the goal. They continue to launch wave-like attacks.

Toda and Miyazawa score with a fierce attack! Leading by 3 points

　At the 30th minute, Miyazawa made a wide run to the right. Kelly dribbled forward and crossed the ball, which was headed in by Toda on the far side, resulting in a goal! They successfully scored an additional point with the planned attack from the side change! In the 31st minute, a free kick was awarded to Kobe in front of the goal, but Bismarck's shot was saved by Doi with one hand. In the 34th minute, Matsuo took a controlled mid-range shot towards the bottom left corner of the goal, but once again Doi made the save. The goal was solidly defended.

　And in the 36th minute. Tokyo earns a free kick just outside the penalty area on the right. The kick taken by Miyazawa is headed over the Tokyo offense, who were trying to connect, and over the Kobe defense, who were trying to clear, and is sucked into the left side of the goal! They scored their third goal. Miyazawa, who has been aggressively pushing forward today, also steals the ball that Miura pressed and distributed a pass to the front line from a low position with a big development. He showed brilliance in both offense and defense.

　The defense also struggled in the development of a 3-point lead. In the 44th minute, Kobe's Matsuo broke through the right side again and passed it into the middle. MF Park's shot from inside the area was saved by Doi. Bismarck picked up the loose ball and took a shot, but Jean cut it off just before the goal. He consecutively repelled the shot that flew into the frame and escaped the pinch. In the first half stoppage time, Toda passed to Kelly, and the pass reached Ishikawa who broke free in the right area. However, he couldn't shoot as he lost his balance. The first half ended with a score of 3-0.

Explosive attacking football! Kobe Univ dominates and rises to 2nd place!!

　In the second half, Kobe substituted the speedy Okano for FW Ozeas. However, Tokyo did not let up on their attack, and Kanazawa, who had run up from the left side, exchanged passes with Amaral and broke through to the front of the goal. The opponent's goalkeeper caught the ball a step ahead, but Tokyo created a chance from the restart. In the 47th minute, Kobe allowed a heading shot from Shijikurei from a corner kick, but it missed the target. In the 52nd minute, Tokyo was given another corner kick from an overlap by DF Tsuchiya, but they turned it into an attack by connecting the loose ball. Kelly dribbled up and Miyazawa connected, then Toda, who had drifted to the right, boldly entered the area and took a shot. Although it was initially blocked by the opponent's defender, Toda followed up on the rebound and the ball floated away from the melee with the opponent's defender, landing in front of Ishikawa in the center. Ishikawa sharply swung his right foot at the falling ball and volleyed it! The ball vibrantly shook the net!

　After scoring the fourth goal, Toda received a through pass from Kelly and this time broke through on the left and took a shot. Amaral headed the ball after the goalkeeper's save, but it rebounded again to Amaral, who connected with Miyazawa after the ball hit the defender, unleashing a storm of shots. In the 59th minute, they launched a quick attack, and Amaral jumped in with a header shot from Kelly's cross on the right side. However, unfortunately, it missed to the left.

　Kobe made substitutions in the 69th minute, replacing Bismarck with MF Nishitani and Park with MF Yamaguchi. Tokyo also made changes, considering the fatigue from consecutive matches in the U-22 national team. In the 70th minute, Suzuki replaced Ishikawa, and in the 78th minute, Fujiyama replaced Shigeki. They tried to hold on in the final stages. In the 73rd minute, Kelly observed the position of Kobe's aggressive goalkeeper and took a long looping shot, just missing the goal. However, Kobe also launched a counterattack with Shijikurei and Nishitani at the center. As they gradually allowed Kobe to attack, they awarded a free kick in the penalty area on the right in the 84th minute. Yamaguchi received Nishitani's kick in the center and took a shot, but it hit Tsuchiya and changed direction, going into the goal. They unfortunately conceded a goal in an unlucky manner.

　However, Tokyo, who continued to attack until the end, launched a counterattack from Toda's cut in the 43rd minute. Kelly ran up the right side and passed to Amaral, who had risen freely in the center. However, Amaral's direct shot went to the left of the goal. In injury time, Kelly dribbled up from a counterattack initiated by Amaral and took a shot, but the opponent's goalkeeper caught it. Although they couldn't score a fifth goal, they welcomed the end of the game and achieved a resounding victory over Kobe. With this victory, Tokyo accumulated 20 points. Verdy, Yokohama F, and Iwata are tied with the same number of points, but Tokyo surpassed them in goal difference and rose to 2nd place for the first time since the 2nd stage, 1st match!

【Player Comments】《Kanazawa》"Scoring from the restart against Kobe, who defended deep, was a major factor in our victory. I think their game plan fell apart with that opening goal. However, the chaotic development towards the end of the game remains a point of reflection. It was fortunate that we had a comfortable lead, but we need to make adjustments for the future."《Miyazawa》"The consciousness of attacking aggressively from the first half led to our victory. The goal was kicked with the usual aim. We have become able to score from set plays and from the flow of the game, so we want to continue this. I think there was good coordination with Mr. (Miura) Bun-san about Bismarck, where I filled in the gaps and put pressure on the opponent's midfield."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "With yesterday's result, Kobe is once again in a difficult situation, so I thought today's match would be tough. I wanted Kobe to take the lead and become more aggressive, so I was thinking of scoring a second goal from a counterattack. The start wasn't great, with sluggish movement and some easy mistakes, but we were able to take the lead at a good time and get into a rhythm. For today's starting lineup, I was torn between using Amaral or Yusuke KONDO. In the Shimizu match, Yusuke KONDO, who started for the first time, made a difference and we won with three goals. Amaral had also been struggling with a cold, so we used him interchangeably in practice matches and intra-squad matches to prepare for either of them to play. However, Yusuke KONDO injured his back in the practice the day before. Despite that situation, Amaral, who started the match, created space up front and drew fouls, which allowed Kelly, Ishikawa, and Toda to shine. We couldn't score a goal, but I think Amaral's strengths were evident. Everyone had the desire to see Amaral score, and his condition will continue to improve. We want to prepare well for the next match against Gamba."

[Summary of Kobe Vice Island Coach's Press Conference] "It was expected that Tokyo would come out attacking from the first half, so the aim today was to hold on in the first half and make a move in the second half. However, being scored against in the 16th minute further increased Tokyo's sharpness in the start. Tokyo's characteristic is their speedy side attacks, and we tried to suppress that, but being scored against ended up boosting their strength. Tokyo had a stiff start and a slow start impression, but the first goal became the key to today's match. However, although we conceded 3 goals in the first half, I think we were able to reset and play a game that leads to the next in the second half. We can't afford to waste a single game, so we want to switch gears and move forward to the next one."