Win in a one-on-one situation and always secure victory!

　Sec. 10 of the league will be playing against Nagoya Grampus Eight at home. We will enter the Golden Week consecutive matches and continue with a tough schedule, but we want to turn the momentum gained from the previous match against Yokohama in the Nabisco Cup into a victory and make a comeback. It will be an important match towards breaking the losing streak.

　Nagoya, who is currently in 14th place with 2 wins, 4 draws, and 3 losses, is also struggling to ride the wave. However, they have a strong attacking lineup with FW Tamada, FW Sugimoto, skilled MF Nakamura, Fujita, Yamaguchi, Honda, and others. In addition, although coach Vergoossen will be suspended from the bench for this match, coach Verdenik said, "That doesn't mean the game will be easy," suggesting that it will be a difficult match. The opponent should also be desperate to produce results and come at us.

　To surpass that momentum, it is important to first not lose in one-on-one situations. Then, take the initiative and push the whole team forward to score the first goal. In defense, we want to seal Nagoya's speedy attacking lineup and keep them from scoring. Shigeno also expressed his determination, saying, "The opposing forwards are scary when they face forward, so we want to shut them down early." In the pre-match locker room, Doi and Miura took the lead in encouraging the team. Coach Garo also said, "Today is an important match. Let's concentrate and fight," and sent the players onto the pitch. The match started at Ajinomoto Stadium, which had cleared up after the daytime rain, at 19:04 Tokyo kickoff time.

Lucas takes control and scores 2 goals from an ideal flow!

　From the start, both teams showed their fighting spirit with fast-paced attacks and defenses. In the 3rd minute, Nagoya launched a counterattack, with midfielder Honda sprinting up the left side and crossing the ball. Forward Tamada jumped in with a header, hitting the post with his shot. It was a moment of suspense, but in the next scene, Tokyo quickly turned the tables and Kajiyama took a mid-range shot. In the 10th minute, Nagoya's midfielder Yamaguchi made a through pass and forward Sugimoto made a run, but he was offside. In the 12th minute, Tokyo created an opportunity with Kajiyama's through pass and Imamura making a run, but the ball drifted and went to the opponent.

　Just as Tokyo took the lead in the 14th minute, Lucas sent a long pass to the front, which Akamine firmly received and expanded to the right. Kawaguchi, who had drifted to the side, crossed the ball, and Lucas jumped in and scored with a header! He scored a powerful opening goal. In the following 17th minute, this time Lucas passed to Suzuki on the left from the midfield. Suzuki lifted an early cross, and Lucas, who matched it, shook his head again! The ball skimmed past Nagoya GK Narazaki's fingertips and went into the goal. With Lucas's two goals, they quickly extended their lead in the early stages.

　After that, Lucas, the attacking midfielder, continued to function. Miyazawa and Kajiyama also boldly attacked and initiated movements in coordination with the forward line and the sides. In the 23rd minute, Tokunaga was surrounded in his own half, but Imano provided support and cleanly regained possession, immediately making a through pass to the forward line. Kawaguchi made a run but was caught offside, yet it was a promising attacking play. In the 31st minute, Tokunaga caught up with a deep pass on the right side and boldly made a move inside. He was fouled, resulting in a free kick, and then a left corner kick, but they couldn't convert it into a finish from there.

　On the other hand, Nagoya also strengthened their midfield by pushing up left SB Abe and marking Lucas with MF Kan, changing their formation to a 3-back to counterattack. In the 36th minute, they were attacked by a wave of attacks as FW Sugimoto cut into the area. From there, MF Nakamura crossed from the right, and Doi jumped out to catch it, but it slipped away in a collision with the opponent. FW Tamada, who closed in on the area, had his shot blocked by Tokunaga, who quickly got into position, but the ball ended up in front of MF Yamaguchi, who was free in front of the goal. However, Doi made a sharp save to prevent a decisive shot! He bravely defended the goal and went into the second half with a 2-point lead.

Suppress Nagoya's counterattack to one point and snatch victory

　Nagoya made a substitution in the second half, replacing Abe with MF Yoshimura in the defensive midfield position. They seized an opportunity at the beginning. In the 47th minute, FW Tamada exchanged passes with MF Kin on the left side and cut inside the box to take a shot. Doi made a save, resulting in a corner kick. The kick was initially cleared, but it was picked up again, and Tamada took a sliding shot from a very close distance in front of the goal. However, Doi kicked it away with his foot and prevented the goal from being scored.

　In the midst of a fast-paced exchange of offense and defense, Tokyo created opportunities through Kajiyama's aggressive play. In the 51st minute, Kajiyama intercepted the ball in the opponent's territory and charged towards the goal. He faced the goalkeeper one-on-one, but his shot was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper. In the 59th minute, Miyazawa's sharp left cross found Kajiyama, who was free on the right side of the penalty area. Kajiyama controlled the ball with one touch and volleyed a shot, but once again, goalkeeper Narazaki made the save. In the 60th minute, after Mogi's attacking run, Akamine headed the ball from Kawaguchi's fast cross, but missed the goal and no additional points were scored.

　In the 74th minute, Lucas, who injured his leg, was replaced by Inoha in the defensive midfield position. Kajiyama moved up one row. In the 75th minute, Rychely came in to replace Kawaguchi. The game continued with a quick exchange of attacks and defenses. In the 83rd minute, Nagoya Grampus brought in forward Fujita and defender Koga moved up to the front line, launching a power play. In response, Tokyo brought in Miura to stabilize the flow and aim to neutralize Nagoya's counterattack.

　However, in the 87th minute, Suzuki's left cross reached Akamine in front of the goal, but both of them failed to take a shot and were counterattacked. Although it was cleared once, it was passed to Nagoya MF Yoshimura, who was free in the midfield, and he took a shot from mid-range. The powerful shot grazed Shigeki's head and went into the goal. The deficit was reduced to one. After that, intense attacks and defenses continued, but everyone defended the goal with their bodies and the time was up. They achieved a long-awaited victory by combining the strength of everyone!

　【Player Comments】《Lucas》"In the first half, we were able to play the way we wanted. We had some good opportunities in the second half as well, but couldn't score and it became difficult. Not only in this game, but also in the past, we have received many crosses from Suzuki and Tokunaga. I'm glad that I was able to convert them into goals today. Sometimes in football, even if the performance is good, the results don't come. But we are improving. It's always difficult to adapt to a new system, no matter what team you are. However, we are gradually understanding the new system. We have tough matches and a busy schedule ahead, but we want to play well and get results. Today, I played as a midfielder, but I approach the game with the same mentality as a forward when attacking. In defense, I am supported by Kawaguchi and Akamine who chase after the ball, so I am grateful for their help."《Doi》"Last time, even though we had a good performance, we couldn't get the result, so I'm glad we got the result today. The team is moving in the right direction. This victory gives us confidence. We conceded a goal at the end, but in football, conceding goals is inevitable. We want to accumulate points rather than focus on conceding goals. Before the match, we all talked about 'not losing to ourselves.' Today, we were focused and gave our all. We want to continue this and play the same kind of football even in away matches."

　[Summary of Gallo's press conference] "The Yokohama FM match was also a good game, but unfortunately we didn't get the result. Today, we were able to get the result and it was a good game. The players showed their technique, connected passes, and fought with concentration. However, in the early stages of the first half, we were in a good position, but towards the end, we couldn't keep up with the marking and the rhythm was off. In the second half, Nagoya, who was losing, created a good opportunity by putting pressure from the front line, but we were able to prevent that. In the second half, both Nagoya and us had chances, but if we had scored one more goal, it would have been 3-0 and it would have been easier. However, in the end, Nagoya scored one goal and it became difficult. It was a game where we could have scored more goals. Nagoya was also a good team, but I think we played well too. (Regarding Lucas playing as an attacking midfielder) In response to crosses, I instructed both Kawaguchi and Akamine, the two forwards, plus Lucas, to aim for goals with three players. It was good that Lucas scored for us. The defense was also effective and wonderful."

　[Nagoya Dwight Coach Press Conference Summary] "First of all, I apologize for the absence of Coach Vergoossen here. Today, we planned to counter Tokyo's midfield diamond-shaped 4-4-2 system with our own 4-4-2 system. We aimed to aggressively defend from the front and deny the opponent space. However, we conceded two goals and had to change the situation, switching to a 3-5-2 formation. We created several good chances, but it was too late to score a goal. The problem in the first half was that Tokyo's midfield was diamond-shaped, and Lucas was always left free. We should have pushed up our midfield tightly, but instead, we ended up defending while dropping back, leaving him free. We couldn't handle that situation, so we assigned MF Kan to mark Lucas, moved DF Abe up one line, and placed MF Yamaguchi in the middle to switch to a 3-5-2 formation. I think we gradually improved after that. Today, the 4-4-2 system didn't work, but in the match against C Osaka, we were able to defend from the front with the same formation. Not being able to do that today was the reason for our defeat."