Stop the Júbilo

　Sec. 6 will challenge Júbilo Iwata away. Júbilo is currently in first place with 5 consecutive wins. Their strength in matches stands out, giving them a clear advantage. However, they cannot continue to dominate like this. And for Tokyo, Júbilo has been an opponent without a victory since the 1st stage of 2000. It is a big obstacle that must be overcome.

　Tokyo's starting lineup saw Fujiyama make his first appearance at right back this season. Miura and Konno formed a double pivot in midfield. Kajiyama played as an attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Manager Hara, who often emphasizes the use of players in good condition, made the bold decision to rest Kaji and Miyazawa. Regarding Kajiyama, he said, "He is originally a midfielder, but we have been trying him in this position during training camp. We hope to see him play freely and excel in the forward role."

　Will each member's high motivation and fresh players be the key to stopping Júbilo's winning streak? The temperature is relatively high at 22.4 degrees, but the humidity is 43% and it's a perfect sunny day for soccer. The match started with Júbilo's kickoff.

Despite starting with a mistake, they quickly fall behind

　1 minute, Toda, who received a long pass from Konno, aims for a shot from the right area. He was contested by the opponent's defender and missed to the right, but he showed great determination early in the game. However, in the 3rd minute, Júbilo launched a quick attack and Nishi, the midfielder, took a free shot from the right side. In the 4th minute, they aimed for a middle shot from a quick restart, but Doi escaped with a corner kick. In the 5th minute, when midfielder Fujita took this right corner kick, Doi, who had jumped out to the far side, made a catching mistake. The loose ball was picked up by defender Tanaka, who sent a floating pass to the front of the goal, and Grau's shot grazed the right post and bounced back into the goal. From a regrettable mistake, they were already burdened with being behind.

　Júbilo, who has a strong presence in the ball and fast passing, but after that Tokyo also often regained possession and created chances. In the 7th minute, Toda crossed from the right corner kick, and Shigeyuki Mogi shot from the left goal area. However, the goal was not scored. In the 9th minute, Toda connected the loose ball from the corner kick, escaped between the defenders with Lucas' looping pass, and faced the goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation. However, the shot was blocked by goalkeeper Sato's foot, and they missed a decisive chance to score.

　The game progresses with a back-and-forth exchange of press, and the offense and defense switch quickly. However, Jubilo's passing accuracy is not quite good, and there are scenes where the play is interrupted. But there is a clear contrast between attacking and defending, and in the 13th minute, Fukunishi connects a clear ball from Nishi's shot and Fukunishi heads for a shot. In the 14th minute, Lucas receives Kajiyama's pass and sends it to the right side, and Lucas jumps into the center of the goal again from Ishikawa's cross, aiming for a header, but it goes over the goal due to the opponent's DF's tight marking. In the 17th minute, Imano runs up the right side from Kajiyama's development, and Toda, who receives the cross, shoots freely but misses wide to the right. In the 27th minute, Imano aimed for a goal with a middle shot as soon as he saw the front was open.

There is a great chance for a counterattack

　At 30 minutes, Imakano attacked the left area from a pass cut, and when Lucas passed to the center and swung to Kajiyama on the right, Miura volleyed the ball from the center. Despite being troubled by Jubilo's passing play, they regained possession with focused defense and aimed for the goal from the side. The flow is more than even. The highlight was at 39 minutes, when Imakano received Lucas' pass with a wedge and directly passed it to Kajiyama. Kajiyama's sharp through pass with a floating ball on his right foot. Ishikawa jumped and received the ball with a chest trap in front of the goal area and took a shot, but was contested by the opponent's defender and hit the side net. At 40 minutes, Kajiyama jumped into the goal from Toda's ground cross, but was blocked by the defender just one step away. Kajiyama was often the starting point of the attack and there were consecutive decisive scenes, but in the end they couldn't score and entered the second half.

　In the second half, Júbilo tried to break the bad flow and attacked, attempting to end with a shot, but did not create any decisive chances. In the 47th minute, Tokyo won a right corner kick. In the 49th minute, Kanazawa made a big side change to Ishikawa, heading towards the goal. In the 50th minute, Mochida, who was waiting in the far post for a loose ball from a left corner kick, took a free shot! However, his left-footed strike hit the crossbar. Once again, it was a decisive moment, but they missed the goal opportunity.

　In the 52nd minute, Júbilo launched a quick attack, with FW Maeda receiving a pass from Grau that flowed to the left and taking a shot from a very close distance in front of the goal, but Doi threw himself and made a save! In the 53rd minute, the defense was caught off guard for a moment, allowing Grau, who received a long pass, to be left free in the center of the goal and take a header shot. Doi caught it and avoided any danger, but Júbilo showed their threat as they headed towards the goal whenever there was an opportunity.

Before Júbilo's strength in matches...

　At 60 minutes, Toda received Kajiyama's through pass and took a shot, but the goalkeeper caught it without much power. Tokyo is waiting for a chance to counterattack, but the overall push forward is slow, and they end up relying on Lucas, Ishikawa, Toda, and Kajiyama in the front line for attacking. At 61 minutes, Baba was substituted for Miura. Baba played as an attacking midfielder, and Kajiyama dropped back in the formation. However, right after that, at 62 minutes, Tokyo's defense cleared Júbilo's corner kick. But they lost the ball after connecting it to the front line, and a long ball was sent into the goal area. At the left side of the penalty area, near the end line, Fujita caught up with it and passed it with a minus to the left penalty area. Jean leaned his body against Grau, who was free, but Grau aimed without hesitation and his skillful shot drew a powerful curved trajectory, being sucked into the right side of the goal.

　Unable to grasp the flow, Tokyo fell behind by two goals. In the 64th minute, Abe was substituted for Toda. However, in the 68th minute, Júbilo's Maeda's mid-range shot was deflected by Doi and resulted in a corner kick. In the 70th minute, Kanazawa advanced and received a pass from Lucas, but his ground shot was caught by the goalkeeper. After the 73rd minute, Júbilo continuously attacked from corner kicks. In the 75th minute, Wu was substituted for Lucas. Abe, Baba, Wu formed the front three, with Kajiyama as the attacking midfielder and Imamura as the lone defensive midfielder, attempting a final counterattack. However, the overall movement decreased, and Tokyo spent more time defending.

　Júbilo Iwata defended well against the pinch and did not allow any additional goals, but in the 80th minute, Jean's FK from the front of the goal was blocked by the defender, and Kanazawa's shot from Kajiyama's pass in the 42nd minute also went over the goal. In the end, they couldn't create any decisive opportunities and the time was up. As a result, they showed Júbilo's strength of moving the ball and not letting chances slip away, and ended up with a frustrating defeat with no goals.

【Player Comments】《Imano》"(Miura) Fumi-san and I talked, and I went forward aggressively, thinking that if I press up front, it will create opportunities. I believe our combination play with the teammates has improved. Today, we approached the game with the mindset of just winning, without specifically focusing on Júbilo, but unfortunately we conceded two goals and lost. It's disappointing."《Kajiyama》"At first, I couldn't get a touch on the ball and couldn't establish a rhythm, but when I faced forward and had the ball, I was able to do what I wanted to do. It would have been better if I could have delivered more accurate final passes... Júbilo is skilled at controlling the game, and personally, I want to learn from them. I will continue to work hard to be able to play in future matches."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "It is true that the game against Júbilo became tougher after conceding a goal early due to a mistake. However, after conceding, we actually had chances in the first half. We were able to create opportunities through counters and building from the right side, allowing Toda to break through. The difference lies in whether we can convert those chances into goals. Despite having several one-on-one situations with the goalkeeper and clear-cut opportunities in the first half, we couldn't finish them, which is our current challenge. Júbilo, on the other hand, converted their chances well. However, we also made some discoveries. Kajiyama has had some short substitute appearances before, and I thought he could handle it to some extent, but I didn't expect him to perform this well. I believe he still has the ability to contribute more, and the fact that he was able to compete against Júbilo for the full 90 minutes is a significant asset for the team. I think he can continue to grow. We have been able to create shooting opportunities, so we need to make further adjustments and improve our technique and composure. Additionally, we need to increase our options and variations, including support in the box when the ball enters. So far, in the six matches we have played, despite Kelly's injury and the absence of national team players, we have tried various players like Kajiyama and utilized players in good condition. Our defense is not bad, so we want to organize our challenges before the next match. We want to pursue scoring goals and break through one more time."

[Summary of Jubilo KAWAHARA's press conference] "I am always worried because things don't go as planned in scouting, but we were attacked while scouting how FC Tokyo plays at the beginning. However, I think we were able to stabilize the game from the middle. The final line was confused by FC Tokyo's second row and their movement from the outside to the inside, so I gave instructions regarding balance and positioning. I told Suzuki to watch Toda outside rather than Lucas inside. I gave Fujita instructions on defending Ishikawa, and he worked hard with great stamina. Kikuchi was too cautious in the first half and relied too much on Ishikawa and Kajiyama, so I told him to show more strength in one-on-one situations. Well, I tried to start the final attack by using Nishi and Fujita as a starting point. However, the players' determination was strong. I think they showed concentration and a strong desire to win for the full 90 minutes, expressing it well with their bodies. They have the desire to keep winning and a strong spirit."