Advance the game at our own pace and aim for consecutive victories!

　Sec. 27 of the J1 League was an away match against Sanfrecce Hiroshima. In the previous match, after 7 games without a win, we were able to overcome a difficult situation and regain some confidence. Konno, who participated in the Indian national team expedition, returned to the team in good spirits, and Fujiyama, who had injured his leg, did not suffer any major setbacks. From here on, we want to aim for consecutive victories in order to improve our form for the final stretch of the season.

　Hiroshima, on the other hand, is in 15th place with a 3-point difference from Tokyo. Depending on the outcome of this match, there could be a significant difference in points, so they will aggressively aim for victory. The forward duo of Weslley and Sato, who form the two-top, are in good form. They connect in the midfield and then Weslley takes advantage of the opponent's vulnerability with direct plays, while Sato jumps out as a combination. Manager Kuramata is devising countermeasures, saying, "It's important to prevent them from entering the two-top, and if they get the ball, covering is necessary." In addition, the side midfielders, Komano and Hattori, have a balanced approach in both offense and defense, and they excel in counterattacks at crucial moments.

　Tokyo, the same starting lineup as the previous match. And Lucas is back on the bench, although his condition is not perfect, he is likely to have a chance when we need goals. In this match, it will be a major point to see how Tokyo's side attacks function against Hiroshima's three-back formation. Ishikawa says, "If we keep staying in a high position, it becomes easier for the opponent to read us. Since Hattori and I understand each other's play well, the timing of when to make a run and the tactics in that area are important. We want to be careful with our positioning and connect good defense to good offense."

　Takanaga also said, "In the Nagoya match, the team as a whole was able to defend well. Today, we want to focus on defense first, exploit the opponent's weaknesses, and create chances." First and foremost, we want to have a good defense and keep a clean sheet, and then proceed with the game at our own pace. The match started at 3:05pm with Hiroshima's kickoff at the sunny Hiroshima Big Arch.

Jean, Kajiyama's goal gives them an advantage, but they concede a goal and the first half ends

　From the start of the first half, Hiroshima has been pulling back and solidifying their defense, playing with a counter-attacking style. On the other hand, Tokyo has been freely keeping possession of the ball in the midfield and taking control of the game from the wings. They earned free kicks on the left side in the 1st and 2nd minutes. Although they couldn't get a shot off, they created a chance by utilizing Hirayama's height. Then, in the 9th minute, once again from a free kick on the left side, Kajiyama put the ball into the goal area, but the ball in the air couldn't be cleared properly in the scramble, and Jean reacted to it and scored with a header, taking the lead.

　After that, for 10 minutes, the play continued on the right side from a quick restart. Tokunaga crossed to the opposite side, and Kajiyama ran in and headed the ball towards the center, but it was cleared. In the 11th minute, Kajiyama on the left side made a big side change. Tokunaga carried the ball forward and broke through with a pass exchange with Ishikawa, but went beyond the end line. Tokyo's wave-like attacks continued even after taking the lead. In the 13th minute, they earned a free kick in the center. Kajiyama → Tokunaga crossed the ball, but the opponent's defender cleared it. Kajiyama picked it up and took a decisive shot, which was sucked into the top left corner of the goal, scoring the second goal.

　Hiroshima has been inconsistent in both offense and defense so far, and they haven't had any real chances. However, they allowed a goal by being caught off guard for a moment. In the 21st minute, starting from midfielder Hattori on the left side, forward Sato Kotobuki jumped out just on the offside line and scored a volley, making it a one-goal difference. Hiroshima, regaining their momentum, has been dominating the ball since then. Tokyo has also been passing the ball to their opponents, but like in the Nagoya game, they have compactly maintained the space between the midfield and the defense line, not allowing any decisive opportunities. However, even when they manage to take the ball and pass it to Hirayama, they are being pushed back, resulting in a delay in support and an inability to connect the ball.

　39 minutes, Hirayama keeps the ball in the front line from a counterattack. He passes the ball behind the defense line, and Ishikawa runs into it and passes it to the front of the goal. However, he fails to shoot, and unable to convert this few chances in the final stage, the first half ends with a 1-0 lead.

Unable to withstand Hiroshima's momentum, lost in a comeback with a score of 2-5

　Tokyo substituted Lucas for Hirayama in the second half. They want to regain momentum with pressing from the front line. Then, in the 47th minute, Inomoto crossed the ball after exchanging passes with Lucas on the left side. Kajiyama headed the ball, but the opponent's goalkeeper saved it. In the 52nd minute, Ishikawa cut inside from the right side to the center. He took a shot after a one-two with Lucas, but it went wide to the right of the goal. In the 55th minute, Tokunaga → Ishikawa quickly restarted the play and crossed from the right side, and Lucas headed the ball, but the goalkeeper caught it.

　The game has been going as planned for Tokyo so far, but gradually Hiroshima is taking control. In particular, MF Lee, who came on as a substitute for DF Komano, is actively attacking on the right side. Also, FW Weslley, who had a poor first half, starts to connect with the ball and has more opportunities to make chances and take shots freely. In the 59th and 62nd minutes, Weslley creates decisive moments, but the defense manages to hold on. However, in the 63rd minute, they finally concede an equalizing goal.

　Using the wide open space on the right side, left MF Hattori crosses the ball from a side change. FW Weslley scores with an overhead kick. With this, Hiroshima completely regains their rhythm and scores a comeback goal 2 minutes later. FW Weslley crosses the ball on the left side. MF Li on the opposite side scores. Tokyo wants to launch a counterattack, but they cannot break through the balanced Hiroshima defense and instead fall into a vicious cycle of conceding counters. In the 71st minute, MF Morisaki Hiroshi scores an additional goal, making it a 2-point difference.

　In the 73rd minute, Miyazawa was substituted for Miura. In the 75th minute, Miyazawa's ball from the right free kick was cleared by the opponent's defender, but Ishikawa picked up the loose ball and crossed from the right side. In the melee, Imakawa took a shot. Blocked by goalkeeper Shimoda, but took another shot. However, it was blocked by the goalkeeper again. In the 77th minute, Kajiyama crossed from the right and Toda scored a volley shot in the center, but it was ruled offside. After that, Kawaguchi was substituted for Ishikawa, but they couldn't create any clear chances to score. On the contrary, in the 89th minute, FW Weslley scored his second goal of the day, sealing the match. In the end, they suffered a comeback defeat of 2-5 and ended up tied with Hiroshima in points and goal difference.

　【Player Comments】≪Miura≫"Despite scoring two goals in the first half, we allowed one and let Hiroshima create a comeback mood. I regret that. I think we started the second half well. We should have scored there, but our defense couldn't hold on before we could score. I wanted to calm the team down, but Hiroshima created a mood and we were thinking about how to respond, and they scored. The flow of the game was bad. I feel responsible for not being able to calm the team down. But there's always the next game. We have to keep working hard."≪Kajiyama≫"In the situation of my goal, I was thinking 'I should shoot first'. I took a chance and it went in. I just wanted to get it on target. After scoring two goals, we started defending and let them pass the ball around. Our defense line was too far away and even when we pressed from the front, they were able to use the space in between. We couldn't defend as a team. Even when Hirayama received the ball, the support was slow because everyone was focused on defending, so there were no passing options."

　[Summary of Manager Kuramata's Press Conference] "It was good to take a 2-0 lead, but when we conceded a goal and the situation became one where the entire team, including the defensive line, started to drop back, it became a slippery slope. Hirayama started dropping back, so I substituted Lucas for him. I wanted Lucas to defend from the front. In the second half, the opponents effectively used their wing-backs and started to break us down with crosses. It was good until it was 2-2, but after they took the lead, our defensive line's marking became disorganized and we conceded 5 goals. (Especially on the left side?) The marking was off, and Toda and Fujiyama were caught in between. I substituted Hirayama because his movement was less than usual and his condition wasn't great. For the next match, we first need to fix our defense and make sure we can defend one-on-one in the backline."

　[Summary of Hiroshima Petrovic's press conference] "I have played 15 games since coming to Hiroshima, but today's game was the first of its kind. Yesterday, Kyoto and C Osaka drew their matches, so if we could have won today and earned 3 points, I thought we could play the remaining 7 games without much pressure. The players were a bit stiff at the start. There were many mistakes and less movement, and we kept conceding goals in succession, which made us afraid to receive the ball. The first half was the worst performance since I came here. However, Shu's goal in such a flow was very lucky for the team. At halftime, I told the players, 'Let's play our own football, without fear of making mistakes.' In the second half, there was more movement and we were able to pass the ball well, it was the best performance since I came here. If we can play games like this all the time, we can win against any opponent. Also, there were injuries to Shu and Komano, but the young players who came in as substitutes did a good job, and I felt a bright future for Hiroshima. I think we saw two faces of Hiroshima in the first and second halves today, but I want the players to genuinely enjoy today's victory."