Battle for consecutive victories

　Sec. 10 will face Hiroshima, currently in 10th place, at home. This round is held on Sunday with a one-week interval since the previous round. Depending on the results of the other matches played yesterday, if we can earn 3 points today, we can expect to move up in the rankings. It is also a crucial match where we aim for a 3rd consecutive victory and aggressively attack at home.

　Kelly, who had been absent due to injury, finally returned to this battle. Although he is not yet in top form, Manager Hara said, "Even if he can play for 45 minutes," and he will start the game and bet on the victory from the first half. In addition, Kajiyama will be in the left MF position, and Tokunaga, a specially designated player, will be in the right SB position.

　Hiroshima, who will face Tokyo, has been in good form without a loss since the 5th round. They have been extending their points with attacks utilizing the sides and solid defense, and are currently on a winning streak after 3 draws. This round will be a battle to aim for a 3rd consecutive victory. The match started with Hiroshima's kickoff in the midst of drizzling rain that began from the cloudy sky.

Both teams have a strong defensive awareness, and the game is unfolding with a back-and-forth rhythm.

　Pressing each other from the start, the game unfolds with both teams trying to steal the ball. The ball stays in play and the attacking and defending goes back and forth. In the 4th minute, Tokyo's persistent player Ishikawa wins a corner kick on the right side. In the 5th minute, Hiroshima connects the ball from a goal kick and midfielder Morisaki Hiroshi takes a shot after moving up to the front line. In the 12th minute, Tokyo connects with Ishikawa, Kelly, and Imano, and Imano sends a ball with shooting potential from the middle range to the front line, but it is offside.

　In the 16th minute, Ishikawa, who had drifted to the left area from a free kick, took the first shot for Tokyo. In the 20th minute, Asari sent a long ground pass to the right space, and Ishikawa, who had come out, won a right corner kick. In the 21st minute, after winning the ball on the right side, Lucas -> Asari in the center -> Kajiyama on the left used the field widely, and in the end, Ishikawa jumped freely into the right area from Fujiyama's cross, but due to the slippery pitch, the timing was off and he couldn't take the shot.

　Ishikawa often becomes the starting point and Tokyo attacks with accents, but they cannot create decisive scenes as time goes on. In the 22nd minute, Jean heads the ball after a free kick. In the 31st minute, Kelly competes for a header in front of the goal from Konno's right early cross, but both shots go over the goal. In the 32nd minute, Ishikawa boldly heads towards the goal from a fast break, but the cross goes out. They couldn't break through Hiroshima's thick midfield and the defense that could sometimes be reinforced with a 5-back formation.

Revival! First goal with Kelly's header...

　Hiroshima, in the 33rd minute, midfielder Komano dribbles up the midfield and passes to Hiroshi Morisaki. Morisaki, who was keeping the ball in the right area, delivers a strong cross with a sudden shot, but Doi saves it. The momentary lapse in concentration leads to a goal, so they can't let their guard down.

　However, Tokyo cut the ball in the opponent's territory in the 37th minute and attacked Hiroshima's goal. Although it was initially repelled by the defender, Asari calmly picked it up and passed it to Ishikawa on the right. Ishikawa cut back to the center and crossed with his left foot. Kelly shook off his head in front of the goal and scored! With Ishikawa's beautiful trajectory pinpoint cross and Kelly's goal that left an impression of a comeback, they took the lead from the flow of the game!!

　Tokyo, who wanted to ride the momentum, couldn't grasp the rhythm. Immediately after taking the lead, Lucas injured his right foot. In the 43rd and 44th minutes, Hiroshima, who tried to counterattack by taking corners from crosses and shots in succession, pushed Tokyo's defensive line. And it was during injury time. Hiroshima connected with MF Hattori from FW Tiago in the left area from a throw-in and crossed. Tokyo's defense cleared it, but the loose ball was picked up and passed to Komano in front of the right area. Fujiyama checked Komano who was trying to make a move, but the play turned into a collision and was judged as a foul. A penalty kick was given, which FW Tiago scored to equalize. Tokyo was caught up in a regrettable period of time.

Before Hiroshima's organized play, it is brought to a draw

　The game returned to square one, and in the second half, Hiroshima put their hopes on Morisaki Kazu entering the defensive midfield and Li taking care of the sides, forming a formation similar to a 4-back line, and they have been able to shut down Tokyo's attacks. They have clear targeted plays, pressing to win the ball and quickly hitting it to Tiago in the front line, creating a formation where both sides move up and players come out from the back. In the 48th minute, Morisaki Hiroshi received a side change from the right on the left side, passed it back, and Hattori, who had run up the center, took a shot. The final accuracy was not quite there, and Tokyo did not find themselves in an absolute pinch, but on the contrary, they were unable to create the desired form of attack.

　In the 50th minute, ABE was substituted for LUCAS. However, in the 54th minute, Hiroshima had a chance. Receiving Morisaki Hiroshi's through pass, TIAGO took a shot from in front of the goal that hit the crossbar. In the 57th minute, Tokyo's Ishikawa, who had previously escaped to the right from the combination of Ishikawa and Kelly, made a fast ground cross. ABE tried to connect in front of the goal, but was blocked by the defender. In the 58th minute, ABE, who attacked from the left side, created a chance from a sharp cross, and immediately after, ABE headed Kajiyama's cross. However, it hit the goalkeeper's face. Tokyo began to gain momentum, but their final touch was lacking and they did not score a goal.

　Hiroshima substituted FW Ogi for Li in the 68th minute. Tokyo substituted Kaji for Ishikawa in the 75th minute, and Baba for Kelly in the 80th minute. Tokunaga moved up to MF, with Baba on the left and Kajiyama in the center, aiming to score a winning goal. However, in the 82nd minute, Kaji's cross was blocked by Abe and Kajiyama in front of the goal, and they couldn't take a shot. In the 88th minute, Kajiyama narrowly missed diving into the far post from Inoue's left cross. In the 89th minute, Inoue's shot from the left side, after a pass from Kaji to Baba, was caught by the goalkeeper. Despite a fierce attack towards the end, they couldn't convert it into a goal. The match ended in a draw, earning 1 point.

【Player Comments】《Kelly》"I'm happy to score a goal in the game I came back to, but it's unfortunate that we couldn't win. I still have a long way to go in terms of physicality, and there were also moments where I couldn't get into the rhythm of the game. (There were also many scenes where I was marked in front of the goal), but on the other hand, there may have been issues with my condition, and it might have been difficult to move around in the midfield."《Tokunaga》"I wanted to achieve the (victory) result. Throughout the 90 minutes, I tried to create opportunities from the side spaces, but I also hesitated with combinations after moving up to the midfield. I wanted to move the ball and change the side while crossing from the outside..."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "I was booed from the stands, but the problem was that we had very few shots. The rain made it slippery, and overall our ball control was not good. We wanted to break down the sides more simply, like when we scored, but Hiroshima was solid and stable. They can tighten their defense if we take too much time, so we wanted to attack earlier. Kelly is not yet in top form, but we decided to use him because the team aims to go higher. Considering his achievements and skills, we wanted to let him play from the start and he scored for us. However, we had little time to practice together this season, so the rhythm of the ball reaching him was delayed. I think this goal will be a catalyst for the team's improvement. Regarding the conceded goal, if we had played a bit more clearly after the corner kick and throw-in, that penalty kick wouldn't have happened. Kajiyama is originally a central player, but today, despite the rain affecting his touches, he made movements like passing to Abe and cutting into the penalty area, so I don't think he can only play on the left side. I want the ball to settle between him and Kelly and create a situation where the surrounding players can get involved. Today, Lucas was substituted due to a bruise, but he was involved and the right side was supported by Ishikawa, Kaji, and Tokunaga. We still need to value the ball more and thoroughly execute simple side attacks, and we want to improve the quality of that. It is important to continue working towards scoring in a good manner. I believe it is crucial to combine our combinations."

[Summary of Hiroshima Ono's press conference] "We wanted to secure 3 points somehow, but unfortunately we couldn't. It may have been a disappointing result for both FC Tokyo and us, but I think it was a great game today. That's because the opponents we have faced so far have been more focused on defense and have tried to counterattack with 2-3 players. Of course, they have the ability to score with that, but Tokyo is different and they have also attacked from the defensive line. We also attacked with numbers, but both teams kept attacking and attacking with a fast-paced style until the end. In that sense, the result was disappointing, but the players did well until the end."