Aiming for victory in a difficult away match!

　Sec. 11 of the J1 League is an away match against Ventforet Kofu. They will be heading to the Kose Sports Park Athletics Stadium for the first time since April 18, 2001 (Nabisco Cup Kofu match). In the previous match against Nagoya Grampus, Tokyo dominated the game from start to finish, with Lucas scoring two goals from side attacks, which was an ideal development. With this momentum, they aim to achieve their first away victory of the season.

　Kofu is currently in 13th place with 3 wins, 2 draws, and 5 losses. Although they are a team that has been promoted to J1 this season, they are not an easy opponent, as they have defeated top teams like Kawasaki and Yokohama FM. Ace forward Vale, who was absent in the previous match, returns to the starting lineup, and the team lines up in a 4-3-3 formation with forwards Ishihara and Uruno. They will press from the front with unified intentions to win the ball and launch counterattacks. They also have strong attacks from the midfield and sides, with depth. Coach Garo is cautious, saying, "Kofu is strong both physically and in pressing. They will come at us aggressively, especially fueled by the energy of their home stadium."

　Tokyo, on the other hand, needs to switch quickly between offense and defense and gain an advantage in the midfield in order to win. From there, they want to bring about side attacks like they showed in the Nagoya game. It is important to challenge with even more determination rather than just defending against Kofu's aggressive approach. Although there are concerns about their condition due to consecutive matches, Kajiyama confidently says, "We have been able to take the initiative here recently. We can also initiate attacks from our defense, so we are not tired. It's okay."

　The starting members are the same as the Nagoya game. Makoto IMANO, who injured his left knee during practice on Jan 1 (Mon), had a separate menu but it was not serious. We want to achieve consecutive victories before the break in order to advance to the top. Let's seize 3 points away this time! The temperature is 22.4℃, the sunlight is strong, and it feels hot at the Kose Athletics Stadium. The game started at 2:04pm with the kickoff in Tokyo.

Although we took control of the pace in the early stages, we ended the first half while allowing the opponent to take the lead.

　From coach Garo: "Even on a holiday, so many fans came to the away game. We cannot afford to have a shameful match." Tokyo gains momentum from the start of the game. In the 1st minute, Suzuki attacks from the left side and wins a corner kick. The kick he takes himself is saved by the opponent's goalkeeper, but Kajiyama picks up the rebound and takes a powerful shot, which is also saved by the goalkeeper. Then, they suffer a counterattack from Kofu, but they steal the ball and Kawaguchi enters the shooting position on the left side of the area, only to be called offside.

　7 minutes, chance for a free kick from the right side of the opponent's field. Miyazawa's kick is blocked by the wall. In the 12th minute, Lucas sends a lobbed through pass in front of the goal. Miyazawa jumps out, but the opponent's goalkeeper catches it one step ahead. In the 15th minute, a free kick from the right side. Miyazawa aims directly but is blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper's great save, resulting in a left corner kick. From that corner kick, Kawaguchi takes a direct shot from the right side of the area. However, it is blocked by the Kofu defender.

　23 minutes, right corner kick is taken. Kawaguchi picks up the loose ball and Miyazawa initiates a left corner kick. Kajiyama picks up Miyazawa's kick clearance, evades the opponent's defender, and takes a middle shot! It flew perfectly into the bottom left corner of the goal, but once again, it was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper's excellent play and did not result in a goal... In the 26th minute, Suzuki breaks through to the middle and Akamine drops the ball, Lucas takes advantage of his speed and shoots. However, it goes over the bar. Despite completely dominating, they fail to make a decisive strike.

　And in the 29th minute, Tokyo was caught off guard and allowed the opening goal from Kofu FW Uruno on a counterattack. After that, the momentum shifted to Kofu's pace as if it was all a lie. In the 31st minute, FW Vale made a shot, and in the 32nd minute, FW Hosaka also took a shot. The marking in the midfield became lax, and Tokyo was pushed back by Kofu's strong attack.

　Tokyo also tries to counterattack, albeit few. In the 39th minute, Miyazawa shoots from the right side of the area with an overhead style, but the goalkeeper catches it. In the 42nd minute, Kawaguchi's shot from the right side after a quick attack goes over the goal. Despite that, Tokyo couldn't score against Kofu's resilient defense and went into the second half trailing by one goal.

Kawaguchi, Lucas's goal leads to a comeback! Achieving the first away victory of the season

　In the second half, Rychely was substituted for Akamine. "The coach Gallo instructed to aim for the space behind the opponent's defense," but Kofu continued to dominate the game with the same momentum as the first half. In the 49th minute, Kofu's midfielder Yasuhisa dropped a pass from the right side, and forward Ishihara took a powerful shot. In the 54th minute, the loose ball was picked up in the midfield, and Kofu's left full-back Yamamoto passed to midfielder Yasuhisa in the front line, but Doi caught it quickly. In the 57th minute, Kofu launched a counterattack, and the right side forward volleyed to the center forward Ishihara, who took a shot but it went to the right.

　In the 61st minute, Kofu quickly passed the ball and FW Uruno broke free on the front line. Doi also came out and a decisive shot was taken, but the ball hit the bar! It was a development that could have allowed an additional point at any time, but they managed to hold on, centered around Doi. Tokyo also brought in Ozawa to replace Miyazawa, and he aggressively moved around in both attack and defense, starting to connect passes to Kawaguchi and Rychely on the front line. Gradually, they began to regain their rhythm, possibly due to fatigue on Kofu's side.

　Then in the 62nd minute, Lucas skillfully evaded the opponent's defender on the left side and connected with Rychely. Rychely played a strong ground pass in front of the goal. The ball flowed to the far side and Kawaguchi scored, equalizing the game. With this equalizing goal, Tokyo completely took control of the game. In the 63rd minute, Ozawa missed a diving volley from Tokunaga's cross on the right side, going wide to the right of the goal. In the 73rd minute, Shigeno fed the ball to the left front line. Kawaguchi attempted to break through, cut back the opponent's defender, and took a shot from inside the box! The ball narrowly missed the goal frame. In the 75th minute, Kajiyama dribbled from Suzuki's corner kick to the left side. Lucas in front of the goal perfectly headed the ball from Suzuki's kick, finally scoring the winning goal.

　Kofu also attacks from the starting point of FW Valley. In the 78th minute, a shot from the right area is spilled and passed to FW Yamazaki in the left area, but Tokunaga prevents him from shooting by getting close to his body. In the 80th minute, a through pass is passed to FW Valley, who ran through the area, and it was a decisive scene, but the shot does not meet. In the 82nd minute, Inoha is substituted for Kajiyama, forming a double defensive midfielder with Imakawa, and tries to stop the momentum by picking off the buds of Kofu's attack in the midfield.

　Supported by the home crowd's loud cheers, Kofu launched a counterattack. However, in the 89th minute, Tokyo countered from the right side with a ball played behind the opponent's defense by Ozawa. Kawaguchi caught up with the ball and sent a cross to the far side. Lucas, who was unmarked, received the ball and aimed for the goal with a shot. The ball, which drew a beautiful arc, was sucked into the right side of the goal, sealing the victory. The match ended like this, and Tokyo celebrated their first away win of the season.

　【Player Comments】《Lucas》"My first goal was a good ball from Norio from a corner kick. It was a different positioning than usual, but I was able to score by swapping with Jean. For the second goal, I was unsure whether to shoot or keep the ball at that time. But since there was an open path to the goal, I decided to take the shot. Both the team and myself are in a very good condition right now. I can play with confidence. It's tough to play as an attacking midfielder for 90 minutes and with consecutive matches, but I need to improve my physicality to be able to do that. On the other hand, I think I can improve that by continuously playing in matches. I may not be able to score in every game, but I definitely feel that the team is leveling up."《Miyazawa》"After conceding a goal, the atmosphere of Kofu became more intense and intimidating. It would have been good if we could have scored before that. There was a moment in the first half where I made a run towards the goal following Lucas' pass, but I wanted to score there. If I can continue to make movements that surpass the opposing forwards, spaces will open up and I will also be able to contribute. Today, we continued to launch fast attacks targeting the space behind the opposing defenders until the end, but maybe we could have been a bit more composed. However, since Kofu maintained a high defensive line throughout the match, I think our approach today was okay."

　[Summary of Manager Garo's Press Conference] "We played a very good game. Looking back at the first half, until around the 30th minute, we were passing the ball well, dominating the game, creating chances, and even had scoring opportunities. However, we couldn't convert them into goals and conceded, which allowed the opponent to gain momentum. Our marking in the midfield became lax, and we ended up being controlled by the opponent. In the second half, we brought in Rychely to utilize his speed in our attacks, and it worked very well. Also, Ozawa did a good job marking the opponent and connecting passes. In the previous match against Nagoya, although we didn't get the result, we played well, just like in the previous Nabisco Yokohama match, making it three consecutive matches with good performances. I'm happy that we were able to win. (What was the strategy against Kofu?) We considered Kofu to be a tough opponent, especially with the support of their home fans. However, during the consecutive matches, we didn't specifically prepare for that. Instead, we focused on our own way of playing. We made sure to connect passes and play our own style of soccer. (Regarding the substitution of Ozawa) We were in a losing situation, so we brought in Ozawa to connect passes and play more aggressively. Kofu's player number 31 (Lins) was their key player, so our first priority was to mark him. While marking him, we instructed the players to connect passes to Kawaguchi and Rychely. As a result, we were able to score after Ozawa came on, and I think we were able to contain Kofu's chances."

　[Summary of Manager Ogi's Press Conference at Kofu] "Right from the start, we were caught up in the opponent's flow and felt like we were going to be defeated. However, we were able to score a goal from a counterattack and take control of the pace. From the point where the game was tied in the second half, it gradually turned into a physical battle and we started to be pushed back. The last goal conceded was unavoidable. It is true that there is a one-day difference between the matches, but it is not because of that. We just couldn't hold on. The opponent didn't have many scoring opportunities, and we also created chances but couldn't convert them. In other words, the difference in finishing ability. It feels like we were defeated even though we didn't lose control of the pace. The strength of Tokyo is coming forward. Instead of responding to the ball that comes out, it is important to control the source, so we played without lowering the defensive line. We have been unable to score goals and conceding in games where we have a certain level of control over the pace, and the quality of our performance has been gradually declining. In the midst of a two-game losing streak, the team's toughness is being tested, including the mental aspect."