Maintain good form and aim for a 3-game winning streak!

　Sec. 12 will welcome Omiya Ardija at home. It is a crucial match that we want to end the last league game before the break with a victory, taking advantage of the momentum of two consecutive wins. On the other hand, Omiya is currently in 12th place. After winning against Yokohama FM in Sec. 7, they have been struggling with 3 consecutive losses, with a draw in between. However, in the last match against Hiroshima, they dominated the game but suffered a defeat by conceding a single chance. Coach Garro also analyzed that they are a team with technique, good passing, and the ability to control the game, even among J-League teams.

　Especially with the highly accurate MF Kobayashi Da at the center of the kick, it's scary when they ride the momentum with the keep power of MF Fujimoto and Kobayashi Yoshiyuki. Attention is also needed for the set plays that they initiate. On the other hand, Tokyo wants to take control in the midfield by utilizing the mobility of the front line, including Lucas and the two top players. They aim to take the lead and proceed with the game in their favor to achieve victory.

　Manager Garo spoke about the factors behind the team's good form, saying, "In the four months since I took office, the players have understood my tactics very well." Literally, Garo's soccer has begun to permeate the team, but when it comes to achieving a "three-game winning streak," they haven't been able to do it in the past. If we only look at league matches, we have to go back to the 2nd stage of 2002 (from the 8th round against Sapporo to the 11th round against Sendai, including a victory with a V goal in the 9th round against Kobe) to find a four-game winning streak. Today, taking advantage of the home advantage, we aim for a three-game winning streak in the league for the first time since 2002.

　The starting lineup is the same as the previous match against Kofu. Additionally, Toda, who has been absent from the team since the preseason, has returned and made his first appearance on the bench this season. Omiya has set up a 4-4-2 formation with FW Grau and tall FW Morita as the two forwards, and a box-shaped midfield. Before the match, a ceremony was held to celebrate Miyazawa's 100th appearance in J1 league matches this season. The match kicked off at Ajinomoto Stadium under clear skies at 15:04 with Omiya's kickoff.

Lucas scores with a penalty kick to take the lead! However, Omiya is still being overwhelmed...

　Omiya took a shot at the start. In the 1st minute, FW Grau cut in from the left side and swung his right foot. In the 3rd minute, midfielder Davidson Jun Marcus aimed from the middle. However, both attempts were single shots and lacked threat. Tokyo created a decisive chance in the 4th minute. Tokunaga dribbled up the right side, evaded Kawaguchi with a one-two pass, and received a return pass inside the box. From there, he sent a fast ground cross directly in front of the goal. However, just before Akamine and Lucas could connect, the Omiya defender cleared the ball and it resulted in a corner kick.

　At 6 minutes, we got a free kick on the left side of the opponent's field. Jean jumped in from the area to meet Miyazawa's long kick. The shot hit the right post and bounced back, and the opponent's defender tripped Jean, who was trying to get up quickly and follow up, resulting in a penalty kick. At 8 minutes, Lucas scored it perfectly and took the lead already! With Lucas scoring in three consecutive games, the team's morale is high, and Tokyo has completely taken control of the game. They took control in the midfield, attacked from both sides in high positions, and created numerous chances.

　13 minutes, Kawaguchi connects from Akamine's post, Miyazawa takes a middle shot. In the 15th minute, Lucas -> Akamine on the left side -> Kajiyama in the center expands to the right. Tokunaga runs into the goal and takes a powerful shot directly, creating a decisive opportunity from a wide attack, but it was blocked by the good save of the opponent's goalkeeper Aratani. In the 16th minute, Konno, who advanced into the area, receives a pass and crosses it back in front of the goal. Akamine meets the sharp cross, but it goes just outside the frame.

　23 minutes, Omiya launches a counterattack from a free kick. Kawaguchi, who broke through the front line, keeps the ball after receiving a precise long feed from Miyazawa and passes it to Suzuki who came up from the left. Suzuki takes a shot from just outside the area with speed, but once again the opposing goalkeeper makes a save. Kawaguchi follows up with a shot, but it goes over the bar. In the 29th minute, Kawaguchi drifts to the right from a free kick and sends a ground cross to the front of the goal. Jean swings his leg in front of the goal, but the goalkeeper catches it. The team continues to create chances but struggles to convert them.

　At 34 minutes, Shigeki Shigeno, who was chasing the opponent, injured the back of his right thigh and was substituted. Masushima was brought in. However, without being shaken by this incident, they firmly held back Omiya's attacks in defense. At 38 minutes, they launched a counterattack from Omiya's corner kick. At 42 minutes, Omiya's midfielder Fujimoto entered the area and connected with forward Grau and midfielder Yoshiyuki KOBAYASHI, but Jean cut it off and launched a quick attack. However, they were ultimately unable to score an additional goal, and the first half ended with a score of 1-0.

Conceded a goal from a set piece and suffered a heartbreaking comeback defeat

　In the second half, Omiya substituted FW Sakurai and MF Saito. Sakurai was placed as an attacking midfielder, forming a lineup with FW Grau + FW Morita + MF Kobayashi as the front three. Tokyo was unable to respond to this change and started to be pushed back. In the 54th minute, Omiya launched a wave of attacks. Crosses were continuously sent in from the right and left, and finally FW Morita headed a shot. However, the ball was caught firmly by goalkeeper Toi with his body in front.

　In the 55th minute, Tokyo substituted Rychely for Akamine, and in the 60th minute, Inoha was substituted for Kawaguchi in the defensive midfield. Kajiyama moved up one line to try to regroup with player substitutions. Immediately after each substitution, in the 55th minute, Mashima had a heading shot from the left corner kick. In the 60th minute, Imakano -> Jean scored with a header from the right corner kick, but both shots narrowly missed the target. On the other hand, Tokyo increasingly prevented Omiya's aggressive attacks by committing fouls, resulting in many free kicks and corner kick opportunities.

　However, the final line held firm and defended well. In the 76th minute, Omiya's right throw-in led to a powerful shot from MF Kobayashi Daiki, who received a through pass from FW Grau and entered the penalty area. The shot was saved by Doi, resulting in a corner kick. From this corner kick, Omiya's DF Tomita scored a header, equalizing the score. After that, Omiya continued to attack, while Tokyo tried to counter using Rychely's speed to exploit spaces.

　In the 89th minute, Suzuki, who was attempting a breakthrough, was fouled and earned a free kick from about 20 meters outside the left area. Kajiyama aimed directly but couldn't find the target. Nevertheless, Omiya's attack didn't stop, and as the game approached the 3-minute stoppage time, a free kick was awarded to Omiya outside the left area. It was a tense moment, but MF Kobayashi took this free kick and his sharp shot trajectory went into the top left corner of the goal... They conceded a goal just before the end and the time was up. They suffered a regrettable comeback defeat. As a result, they enter the break period in the league with 5 wins, 2 draws, and 5 losses in 12 matches, leaving the Nabisco Cup remaining.

　【Player Comments】《Imano》"There were a lot of Omiya players in the midfield, so we couldn't go for the ball. I also had to drop back to the defensive line, and Kajiyama, Miyazawa, and Tokunaga had no choice but to drop back as well. We were focused on defending and couldn't threaten the opponent. Each of us needs to be more proactive in shouting and aggressively going for the ball, and then connect it to the attack. We couldn't make that adjustment during the game."《Tokunaga》"In the first half, we couldn't score when we had to, and we lost our pace. We tried to score the second goal, but couldn't finish it and lost the momentum. I had a chance too, but if I had scored there... In the second half, the opponent's passing was good, and we had no choice but to defend. We need to avoid making the same mistakes next time. Switching focus is important, so I want to make solid adjustments during this week."

　[Summary of Manager Garo's Press Conference] "In the first half, we were able to create the shape we wanted and took the lead with one goal. We also had many chances. However, despite creating so many chances, we needed to score additional goals. We talked about it at halftime. In the second half, Omiya, who was behind, came out aggressively and disrupted our rhythm. We couldn't mark as tightly in the midfield as we did in the first half and ended up giving them space. So we brought in Inoha and tried to press firmly. At the same time, we also brought in Rychely to utilize his speed. Unfortunately, we couldn't change the rhythm. We had a great fight in the first half, but we fell in the second half. However, it was a game that we could at least bring to a draw. It's unfortunate that we couldn't do that. (How is Moino's injury? Did his substitution have an impact?) We won't know until we conduct an examination at this point. Moino is an important player for the team, but his absence, including not being able to keep up with the marking, was not the reason for our loss. Masushima, who came on as a substitute, also played well. (After completing one-third of the league matches, what needs to be corrected during the break?) The Nabisco Cup is still remaining. The conditions are tough, but as long as there is a chance, we will not give up on advancing in the qualifiers. As for the corrections during the break, we would like to consider them after it is over."

　[Summary of Omiya Miura's Press Conference] "FC Tokyo changed their coach and their style started to permeate. We confirmed their defensive and offensive strategies and entered the game. However, we became passive. Especially in the defensive aspect, it's not about who is at fault, but there was a lack of aggressiveness. Even aside from conceding a penalty kick, Tokyo completely controlled the pace of the game. It was fair to lose 0-1 in the first half, and if we had conceded a second goal, it would have been a very difficult situation. Since the performance was poor, I decided to make two substitutions and change the players. I brought in FW Sakurai and MF Saito, and placed Sakurai as an attacking midfielder. In the first half, the support from FW Morita and FW Grau was too far away, so I thought we should have one player in the attacking midfield position. Also, I brought in MF Saito, who can control the defense, because I thought the game would be over if we conceded a second goal. I think the flow dramatically changed thanks to these two players. Even after equalizing, we didn't have the intention to defend and didn't want to disrupt the good flow. It was significant that the players didn't lose their attitude of "let's go for a goal". (There were many crosses?) When we have tall players in the front line, we always try to play simply. From there, we wanted FW Morita and FW Wakabayashi to enter the penalty area and intimidate the opponents. After all, we can't score unless we enter the penalty area. In the previous match, we completely lacked that, so I instructed the players on the wings to put in crosses early. (In the end, were you helped by Daisuke KObayashi?) Both teams had chances from set pieces. The result depends on whether there are players who can convert them or not. Not only him, but in other teams as well, there are games where they are helped by strikers with finishing ability even if the performance is poor. Indeed, in soccer, players who can score goals are valuable. Recently, we have been playing evenly matched games in terms of performance, but the results haven't come and we tended to become negative. FC Tokyo is a valuable victory because we knew that if we take the lead, they won't easily lose. I am satisfied with the performance in the second half."