Gamba Osaka fights boldly against a good Gamba

　Sec. 9 of the J1 League was an away match against Gamba Osaka. In the previous match against Chiba, Tokyo's soccer was completely ineffective in the first half and was overwhelmed by Chiba in both attack and defense. In the second half, three substitute players were brought in, and a fierce counterattack was launched after Lucas' penalty kick, but they fell just short of victory. With this loss, they are now on a losing streak including the Nabisco Yokohama match. It is a difficult situation, but this week there is a one-week interval and thorough training is being conducted to prepare for the G Osaka match, so they can hope to be in perfect condition.

　G Osaka is currently in excellent form, with 5 consecutive wins in the league. Although they have a tough schedule with the AFC Champions League running parallel to the league, the combination of new signings FW Magnou Alves and Fernandinho, along with technically skilled MF Endo and the attacking fullbacks DF Kaji and DF Ienaga, can create scoring opportunities from anywhere on the field, and their destructive power cannot be easily stopped. It is necessary to maintain concentration for the full 90 minutes without letting up for even a moment. The match against their former teammate DF Kaji is also attracting attention.

　Tokyo, on the other hand, aims to be more attacking in the midfield, with Imamura playing as a defensive midfielder, and Miyazawa and Kajiyama on the left and right respectively. The defense consists of Shigeno and Jean as center-backs in a 4-4-2 formation. In the forward line, Kawaguchi starts in place of Sasa. The key will be whether they can utilize the space left by the opponent's three-back formation and create opportunities in the front line. Additionally, in place of the injured Abe, Ozawa, who has just returned from the Belinzona International Youth Soccer Tournament, has been included on the bench.

　Tokyo has not yet won away this season. However, Shigeki Mogi vows to fight fair and square, saying "The past results have not been bad at all. We will give it our all and go for the win." Manager Garo also aims to score 2 or 3 goals even away, with an attacking attitude, aiming for 3 points! The match started at 2:03 pm, with a temperature of 15.8℃ and cloudy skies.

Despite losing control in the midfield, they managed to end the first half with only one goal conceded.

　Tokyo seizes the chance at the start. Lucas heads the ball from a right corner kick by Miyazawa. It is deflected by the opponent's goalkeeper, but Tokyo regains possession of the corner kick. This time, Jean attempts a header but misses. In the 4th minute, Miyazawa crosses from the left to Suzuki, who picks up the loose ball from the defense and shoots. It hits a defender, and Kurizawa collects the loose ball in front of the goal, allowing Lucas to snatch a left corner kick. Miyazawa also attempts to score from this corner kick, but fails to shoot. Tokyo launches an attack, and G Osaka completely becomes passive in response to their momentum.

　However, when G Osaka calmly and rhythmically start connecting the ball, they cannot keep up with their passing work, resulting in a one-sided development. In the 8th minute, DF Kaji runs up the right side and crosses, but Jean cuts it off. In the 10th minute, FW Fernandinho runs into the center from a pass by left MF Ienaga on the counter, and shoots. It was a decisive moment, but it missed the target. In the 12th minute, FW Magnol Alves, and in the 14th minute, MF Endo, both take shots, but Doi somehow saves and does not allow a goal.

　The situation continues with the FW Magnouves and Fernandinho's keep power allowing the DF Kaji and Ienaga to freely attack from both sides, and the defensive situation continues. In the 22nd minute, Maeda stole the ball from Shigeki's pass and took a shot. In the 25th minute, Ienaga took a shot from the central breakthrough of FW Magnouves and Fernandinho. It was a dangerous situation, but they didn't let the goal break. Tokyo tries to attack by stealing the opponent's ball, but they either make a pass mistake or get the ball stolen, so they can't bring the ball to the goal.

　Then, in the 35th minute, Tokyo conceded the first goal. Although they initially cleared the ball from a right free kick, FW Tiago ALVES received a pass in the center and scored a beautiful shot from outside the box. After that, they started to create attacking opportunities, feeling more secure with their one-goal lead. In the 39th minute, Tokunaga → Lucas crossed the ball from a counterattack, but it was not converted in the box. In the 44th minute, Imakawa headed a shot from a left free kick by Miyazawa, but the opponent's goalkeeper made a save and it resulted in a corner kick.

　G Osaka's attacking power was overwhelming for most of the game, and it could have been a situation where they conceded 2 or 3 goals. However, with Doi leading the defense, everyone threw themselves in front of the goal and managed to end the first half with the minimum goal difference.

In the second half, we were able to grasp the rhythm of the attack but failed to score and lost the game.

　Tokyo replaced Kurisawa with Akamine from the start of the second half and deployed Lucas in the attacking midfield position. As a result, the team gained momentum from Akamine's strong movements, particularly in winning second balls and increasing their ball possession in the midfield. This allowed them to create attacking opportunities. In the 52nd minute, a quick restart by Miyazawa led to a shot by Akamine, and in the 59th minute, Lucas passed to Kajiyama who then provided a final pass to Akamine inside the penalty area. However, Akamine was unable to finish the shot due to being surrounded by defenders.

　60 minutes, Akamine, who ran into the right side from Miyazawa, kept the ball, and Imakawa, who followed, crossed the ball. Kawaguchi, who received the ball far away, trapped it with his chest and tried to shoot, but it didn't hit. In the 62nd minute, Kajiyama exchanged passes with Lucas in the center and took a shot from outside the area, but it went over the frame. In the 64th minute, Miyazawa took a shot from the middle after a throw-in, but it went over the frame again. Kawaguchi and Akamine became the starting point in the front line and the team advanced to the goal, but they were unable to find the frame of the goal.

　Substitute Miyazawa with Ozawa, who made his first appearance in the league match as a 3-top formation to score. In the 80th minute, Kawaguchi competes for Suzuki's left cross with a header from a counter, but Akamine fails to react to the loose ball. In the 81st minute, Imano dribbles up and attracts the defenders, then passes to Ozawa on the right area. Ozawa bravely takes a shot, but it is cut off by the opponent's defender. In the 85th minute, Tokunaga dribbles up the right side and actively challenges the opponent's defender, but it results in a corner kick.

　In the 89th minute, Tokunaga made a move and crossed before getting past the defender. Although it was cleared once in front of the goal, Imano picked up the loose ball and took a shot, but it went over the frame. In the end, the game ended with a score of 0-1. In the second half, we created many chances and pushed G Osaka to the brink, but we couldn't find the decisive blow and suffered another league defeat.

　【Player Comments】《Suzuki》"It's disappointing that we couldn't secure any points. Personally, I feel like I've been forgetting about my own plays such as breakthroughs and shots towards the goal. It was a game where I realized the difference in individual abilities. I faced Kaji player today, but I will continue to face Japanese national team players and strong opponents in the future. It will be tough if we can't break through there. However, it is necessary to switch our mindset. After the game, we had a meeting with Mr. Toi as the center and discussed switching our mindset."《Ozawa》"Since the team didn't achieve good results, I couldn't evaluate my own performance. We were in a losing state, so I tried to be proactive. The coach also instructed me not to worry about defense. I was only thinking about being aggressive, but looking back now, I might not have been calm. There were situations where two opponents were able to slide and I couldn't finish, but I think if I had stayed calm, I could have turned around and shot. I lacked composure. I wish I could have taken shots in a better way... However, there were spaces available, so it was easy to play. The feeling of wanting to play more intensified and I think it will lead to the future."

　[Summary of Coach Gallo's Press Conference] "Until about the 20th minute of the first half, we were able to create a good shape and had a good start. However, after that, Gamba also improved and it became a 50-50 situation, and we ended up conceding a goal. In the second half, in a tough situation being one goal behind, we made substitutions in the forward line and switched to having four forwards, and we attacked for the remaining 30 minutes. However, we couldn't score a goal. At halftime, I instructed to put more pressure in the midfield, and as a result, we were able to pass the ball well in the opponent's half in the second half. Overall, I think it was a 50-50 situation."

　[Summary of G Osaka Manager Nishino's Press Conference] "It was a very tough game. There were various factors such as it being a daytime game and the team currently being on a winning streak, but the overall performance and movement were unusually heavy. However, there will be many games like this throughout the season, so I think the fact that we were able to win in such situations shows the strength of Gamba at the moment. As for the attack, I think there was a lack of accent. We tried putting MF Ienaga in the attacking midfield position, but we couldn't make much of a change. As for the offensive and defensive play on both sides, it was as evenly matched as we expected. Tokyo's Tokunaga and Suzuki have the ability to break through vertically, and there were times when we were beaten, but Ienaga and Kaji were superior in some aspects. Towards the end of the game, it became quite defensive, which was unsatisfactory for us as well. However, considering that we conceded 3 goals in the previous match, everyone had a high consciousness of 'not conceding today' and we were able to clear that challenge. We knew that it would be this kind of game, and I think we realized that we will struggle if we don't always have a high consciousness. However, it was good to start the upcoming consecutive matches in this way, and I want to maintain a good sense of tension until the break."