A match against Cerezo, who wants to accumulate points and rise up in the rankings

　The 4th round, which will be played two days after the previous round, will be a night game at Ajinomoto Stadium against Cerezo Osaka. This week has been tough with three matches, including today's Wednesday match, but this can be considered as a crucial moment in the first stage of the season. It is important to accumulate points and break into the top positions. Kelly, who has recovered from injury, will start for the first time. Expectations are also high for the combination with Lucas. On the bench, in addition to Shioda, Fujiyama, Miura, and Abe, special designated player Kurisawa is also listed.

　Cerezo, on the other hand, is currently in last place with 0 wins and 4 losses in the 1st stage. However, already at the end of the 2nd round, the coach was replaced and under the new coach, Albert Pobor, they will surely come forward with a strong desire for results. In the midfield, Hamada and Shimomura are starting for the first time. In the lineup, Tokuguchi is listed as a defender and Tokushige as a midfielder, but they are actually positioned as a left fullback and a left midfielder, respectively. In the chilly rain, the match started with Cerezo's kickoff.

Missed the chance and fell behind

　FW Okubo, Nishizawa, and MF Morishima are all talented players in Cerezo's attacking lineup, but they started the game by pressing firmly and solidifying their defense. In the meantime, Tokyo had a chance in the 5th minute when Miyazawa took a shot from Ishikawa's cross. In the 7th minute, Kelly received a pass from Imano's interception inside the area, but was blocked by the defender. In the 11th minute, Cerezo's Okubo attempted a long-range shot. However, until the 15th minute, both teams struggled to find their footing on the rainy pitch... resulting in an evenly matched game.

　Tokyo's Toda, who received a pass from the back 16 minutes into the game in the left penalty area, turned around and headed towards the goal, but shot from an angleless position slightly to the right. Immediately after that, Cerezo launched a quick attack and Nishizawa took a shot, but Doi made a save. In the 20th minute, Tokyo repeatedly made persistent throw-ins from the right side towards the Cerezo goal, but Miyazawa's shot went to the top left of the goal. In the 26th minute, Tokyo cut off the opponent's free kick and launched a quick attack, with Ishikawa dribbling and sprinting from the right side of the area. He shot from the right side of the area while being challenged by the defender, but it went to the left.

　Neither team was able to create a decisive opportunity, and in the 28th minute, a through pass was played from Cerezo's midfield to the penalty area, and Jo Kanazawa escaped with a corner kick. In the 30th minute, when Chiba's defender headed the ball in from this right corner kick, it went into the goal. Kanazawa was competing with him, but they quickly conceded a goal.

　Tokyo, who took advantage of one chance and fell behind, but in the 32nd minute, Lucas received a pass from Kanazawa and broke through the area with a one-two with Kelly. However, the trap was big and he couldn't take a shot. In the 37th minute, Lucas took a volley shot from a throw-in, but it went straight to the goalkeeper. In the 42nd minute, Ishikawa went inside and took a shot, but it didn't reach the goal. The attack was sporadic and the coordination was disjointed, with noticeable mistakes. Kaji and Kanazawa did not participate in the attack, and they were unable to create opportunities on the side, ending the first half without fully igniting.

Lucas's first league goal raises the mood for a comeback

　The halftime instructions from Coach Hara were "Don't panic, let's first score a goal with our own style of soccer. There is a good opening with Kelly to Lucas. Let's use the wings again. Let's keep attacking quickly from the outside." However, it was Cerezo who took the first shot of the second half. In the 47th minute, Tokyo allowed Koke to dribble past their right side and Nishizawa headed the cross. It was a dangerous situation, but the shot missed the target. In the 48th minute, Tokyo earned a left corner kick from Ishikawa and Jean headed the shot. However, it was cleared by the Cerezo defense. In the 54th minute, Tokyo earned a free kick from Jean's attacking play, but they couldn't take a shot due to a foul in front of the goal. Tokyo dominated the ball and pushed towards the Cerezo goal, but Lucas, Miyazawa, and Kaji missed their kicks and couldn't create scoring opportunities.

　In the 55th minute, ABE was substituted for Miyazawa. With Lucas and ABE as the two top players and Imakawa as the defensive midfielder, the rhythm started to develop. In the 58th minute, ABE reacted to a long through pass to Kanazawa's front line and ran into the left area from the right side, then passed to Toda in the center with a heel pass. Unfortunately, it was cleared by the defender just before reaching Toda, but they showed a good combination. In the 61st minute, Toda turned into a post with a through pass from Ishikawa just outside the penalty area, and ABE forcefully brought it into the area and took a powerful shot. However, it was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper Ito's nice save. In the 63rd minute, Kanazawa boldly attacked from the left side and crossed deeply. Kelly's trap in the center didn't lead to a shot, but they gradually started to show "Tokyo's soccer".

　And in the 64th minute, Lucas, who received a pass from behind, turned forward and made a move, and was fouled just before the penalty arc, earning a free kick. In the 65th minute, Lucas himself swung his right foot to take the free kick from about 20 meters in front of the goal, using Jean as a decoy. The ground ball bounced off the pitch and grazed the goalkeeper's hand, resulting in a goal! Lucas, who had been eagerly waiting, scored his first goal in the league and equalized the score!!

However, the goal is far away...

　There was no fear in Cerezo's attack, and both the forward line and the defensive line were stretched. All that was left was to go for "another goal". In the 68th minute, Lucas received Jean's long ball and Kelly shot to the right side. However, it missed to the left. In the 71st minute, Ishikawa passed the ball to the front of the goal after dribbling past the defender on the right side. Toda, who received the ball near the end line, passed it back, and Lucas shot freely from the right side of the area, but the goalkeeper saved it. Kelly picked up the loose ball and his shot also narrowly missed the target. They missed the chance to score an additional goal.

　In the 74th minute, Kurisawa replaced Ishikawa. In the 76th minute, Kurisawa boldly aimed for a direct shot at the opponent's defender's clearance ball. However, the shot missed the goal narrowly, but Kurisawa's composed play became the starting point for several chances. In the 79th minute, Abe, Inano, and Lucas connected from Inano's tenacious interception, and the ball was passed to Kaji, who had moved up to the right side space. However, the final play missed the goal by a wide margin. Then, in the 81st minute, Cerezo repeated wave attacks in front of the goal, and Kurisawa picked up the loose ball from the opponent's defender and quickly passed it to Kelly on the right side of the area. Despite being blocked by the defender, Kelly sent a cross, and Toda scored in front of the goal, shaking the net!... However, this beautiful goal was judged offside and became a phantom goal.

　In the 83rd minute, Miura was substituted for Lucas as the right midfielder. Abe and Kelly formed a two-top formation, with Kurisawa positioned in the center, for the final attack. However, in the 88th minute, the opponent's defender cut off Kelly's breakthrough on the right side. Then, Okubo, who was chasing from behind, delivered a powerful body charge, causing Kelly to lose balance and handle the ball. Kelly received a red card and was sent off as a result of this play. It became a situation where fighting spirit backfired. However, even with 10 players, the team did not ease their attacking efforts. Immediately after, Jean headed Kurisawa's corner kick. Kanazawa aimed for the loose ball from the opponent's block. Similar scenes were repeated in injury time, with the goalkeeper saving Jean's header and Kanazawa picking up the loose ball and shooting from close range, only to be saved again. The team launched a fierce attack that kept Cerezo Osaka's defense pinned down in front of the goal, but they were unable to score. The match ended in a draw, earning only 1 point. It is regrettable that the engine took a long time to start, but we must switch our mindset and prepare for the next match against Iwata.

【Player Comments】《Imano》"Rather than trying to steal the ball and get involved in the attack, I am currently thinking of assisting by simply passing the ball forward. I want to contribute with plays that are more reliable and mistake-free, so I will continue to practice."《Mobata》"I think Tokyo's way of playing has been studied, and the opponents have also changed their approach. At that time, it is necessary to have a unified consciousness as a team on how to fight. I think we need options that surpass the opponents who come at us by changing our own style."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "We couldn't fully attack because there were tired players and Kelly started in the starting lineup for the first time, causing a disconnect in ball movement and missed trapping opportunities. I thought if we could score one goal in the second half, it would be our pace, but I wanted to break through with a faster tempo in ball circulation. The final precision was lacking, for example, even Kaji made a mistake at the most crucial moment, perhaps due to fatigue. The team's challenge is not being able to score in the late attacks, such as the shot from Kanazawa's loose ball. Kaji, who returned from the national team, clearly has poor condition, but every team is playing with this schedule. We want to switch our focus to the next Júbilo match and somehow get 3 points. (Regarding Lucas' substitution) He has been playing continuously and may be tired. I thought that having Kelly and Abe as a two-top with Kurisawa in the middle would allow Kelly to keep the ball well and create chances... In the first half, there was a scene where Lucas made a trapping mistake and self-destructed, but he was creating good opportunities with his presence. We want to take advantage of that and improve the variety and precision of our attacks."

[Cerezo Osaka, Coach Albert's Press Conference Summary] "We naturally went for the win in today's match. However, I am somewhat satisfied with the draw. I feel that our team is improving step by step every day. We conceded a goal from a set piece in the previous match and we have been practicing to correct that. The goal we conceded from a free kick today was a different case and I don't think it was a bad situation... (Did you feel rushed after taking the lead and ended up being caught up again today?) We haven't become a team that can run physically for 90 minutes yet, so we want to aim for that. We also want to become a team that can score a second goal immediately after scoring the first. We are making progress every day, so I think we will gradually get better from now on."