Aiming for a 4-game winning streak with the momentum!

　Sec. 31 of the J1 League will be an away match against Júbilo Iwata. In the previous match, we achieved a great come-from-behind victory, overturning a 3-goal deficit, and the team is riding high on momentum. Although we are concerned about the number of goals conceded, Coach Kuramata said, "We are aware of the issues, so there is no need to worry." While making adjustments to the defensive side, we aim to maintain our current momentum and achieve a 4th consecutive victory, which we haven't accomplished since 2002 (Sec. 8-11 of the 2nd stage).

　Iwata, who is currently in 5th place with 49 points, has welcomed new coach ADILSON in the middle of the season, and the content of their soccer has changed from the first half. They connect the ball firmly and frequently change positions with FW Maeda at the forefront, FW Ota, MF Fukunishi, and Funaya. They come to break the defense from intense movements, so it is important to clearly communicate the marking in defense and respond accordingly. The tactics against Iwata's attacking lineup can be considered as one of the highlights.

　Tokyo, with Kawaguchi starting in place of Ishikawa, who injured his right foot, on the right MF. It should be burning with fighting spirit against "former club Iwata" as it is the first away game at Yamaha after the transfer. Jean and Kurisawa also returned to the bench. Jean said, "Regardless of the content, it is important to continue winning now. I want to do my best to contribute to victory even as a substitute," and Kurisawa, who is known as a "Júbilo killer" against Iwata, is expected to perform well in crucial moments. We are prepared to be somewhat defensive away from home and want to launch quick counters. It will be crucial to bypass the tough marking in Iwata's midfield and see how much we can break through from the second line to the front line.

　Although it is true that there has never been a victory at Yamaha Stadium in the past, Kajiyama confidently says, "I have never lost to Iwata since I joined the team. I don't have any weaknesses." Currently, Iwata is in a higher position, but Tokyo has the upper hand in momentum. We will fight without hesitation and aim for victory! The match started with a kickoff in Tokyo at 2:04 pm under cloudy skies.

Despite finding their rhythm towards the end, they ended the first half with a score of 0-2.

　1 minute into the game, Lucas attempts to dribble past the defenders in the penalty area. In the 2nd minute, Kajiyama sends a final pass to Kawaguchi in front of the left area, but the trap fails. Tokyo didn't start off badly, but afterwards, the defensive line dropped back against Iwata's passing play, making it difficult to win the ball in the front line. As expected, FW Ota, Maeda, and MF Fukunishi freely change positions, causing delays in marking, and Iwata takes advantage of that to launch attacks. Then, in the 7th minute, FW Ota crosses from the left side, and FW Maeda heads the ball into the goal, conceding the first goal.

　Tokyo will counterattack from here. In the 10th minute, Tokunaga overlapped and drifted to the right side, and passed it to Kawaguchi. He shot from an angleless position, but it went just above the goal. In the 11th minute, Lucas, who had escaped behind the defense, entered the left area and aimed for a shot, but it was saved by the goalkeeper. In the 13th minute, Toda passed to Lucas after intercepting a pass, but the shot went wide. In the 15th minute, Kajiyama kept the ball on the right side and passed it through to Kawaguchi who was running in from behind. He rushed towards the goal, but the opponent's defender cut him off and he couldn't take a shot. They started attacking from the right side, but in turn, in the 16th minute, Iwata MF Fukunishi took a shot in front of the central area and hit the left post. The rebounded ball was again pushed in by FW Maeda, widening the lead to 2 points.

　Tokyo wanted to regain the flow of the game, but it didn't go as planned. Iwata further widened their lead and started passing the ball comfortably, taking advantage of Tokyo's forward-leaning position and launching counter-attacks towards the goal. Tokyo also tried to seize the ball from the opponent's mistakes and go on the offensive, but they continued to be caught in a vicious cycle of having the ball taken away in a half-hearted manner. However, after the 35th minute, the opponent seemed to tire out, and their defense from the front line began to stabilize, allowing Tokyo to dominate the ball and create decisive opportunities.

　In the 37th minute, Lucas on the left side escaped from a pass exchange with Toda and aimed a shot that cut to the right of the goal. In the 38th minute, Masushima dropped a header from Baba's right corner kick, and Lucas took a shot at the loose ball. It seemed like a goal, but Iwata MF Fukunishi cleared it with a heel at the goal line. A great scoring opportunity was blocked... In the 41st minute, Tokunaga crossed into the area from the right side with Konno, Kawaguchi, and Tokunaga. Toda ran in and took a shot from just in front of the left goal, but the GK made a save. In injury time, Kawaguchi, Kajiyama, and Lucas on the left side made a direct last pass that turned into a post. Toda broke free and took a shot, which was decisive, but once again it was blocked by the GK and not a goal. In the end, the first half ended 0-2 like this.

Only Lucas' goal in the second half comeback. Not a fourth consecutive league win.

　In an attempt to counterattack with the momentum shown towards the end of the first half, they easily allowed an additional goal. In the 49th minute, Iwata entered the right area from a counterattack, and although two defenders tried to steal the ball, it was crossed back to the center and freely scored by forward Ota. In the 52nd minute, Tokyo substituted Suzuki for Mashima and moved Fujiyama to center back. Four minutes later, they also substituted Hirayama for Kawaguchi and launched an attack. In the 61st minute, Suzuki from the left side entered the area and passed to Hirayama. He then passed it to Toda on the right for a shot, but it was blocked by the opposing defender. In the 62nd minute, Toda received a cross from Inoha and attempted a one-touch shot, but this time it went wide of the goal.

　In the 64th minute, Lucas -> Baba shoots a looping shot but the goalkeeper catches it. In the 68th minute, Suzuki forcefully dribbles from the left side to the middle and takes a shot, but it is saved by goalkeeper Kawaguchi and goes out for a corner kick. In the 69th minute, Inomoto drops a cross and it reaches Lucas in front of the goal. While carrying a defender on his back, Lucas turns and shoots, but it goes wide to the right of the goal. Tokyo tried to score by putting numbers forward, but in turn, in the 70th minute, from a counterattack, Iwata midfielder Kikuchi dribbles past and faces Doi in a one-on-one situation. Kikuchi calmly evades Doi and passes the ball into the empty goal. Tokyo concedes the fourth goal.

　Without getting discouraged, Tokyo attacks to score a goal. In the 74th minute, Miyazawa is substituted for Baba after conceding a goal. Miyazawa takes a middle shot in the center after Tokunaga -> Hirayama drops the ball. It goes above the bar. In the 78th minute, Suzuki -> Lucas drops the ball to Kajiyama on the left side and shoots, but it misses the target. In the 85th minute, Hirayama drops a cross from the left with his head and Toda takes a sliding shot. However, it also goes to the right of the target...

　Then, in the 87th minute, Hirayama connected with a cross from the left side by Miyazawa with his head, and Toda, who reacted to the ball, was crushed, but Lucas kicked the loose ball into the goal! Finally, we scored a goal. We continued to attack in order to score more goals, but the time was up. In the end, although the number of shots was almost the same at 20 to 21, the inability to score when it mattered had an impact, and we couldn't maintain our rhythm until the end, resulting in a score difference of 3 points.

　【Player Comments】《Doi》"The opponents were more active today. In the first half, we left the opponents too free. We hurriedly closed in on the free opponents, which resulted in other players becoming free one after another. It became difficult to win the ball, and even when we did, it led to counterattacks due to passing mistakes. We had chances to score but couldn't convert them. If we had scored, the flow of the game might have changed. In the end, we tried to defend with the same number of players as the opponents' attacks, but there were also situations where two players went after the same opponent. Our eagerness to sacrifice ourselves ended up being in vain."《Toda》"I'm filled with disappointment and regret for not being able to convert the chances. Today, I focused on making runs inside rather than staying wide. The aim was to disrupt the opponents' defense line, and in that sense, we were able to create good opportunities. If only we could have played more calmly in front of goal. The time until the next match is short, but we can't dwell on this. We need to switch our focus firmly to the league matches and the Emperor's Cup."

　[Summary of Manager Kuramata's Press Conference] "Today's game was a complete defeat. We started the game poorly and Iwata took the initiative in the transition. We lacked tenacity in front of the goal and ended the first half with a score of 2-0. In the second half, I told the players that if we defended a little earlier and scored, we could turn the game around. However, we conceded a goal from that point and when the third goal was scored, we couldn't play our own soccer anymore. In the end, we brought in Hirayama with a power play and tried to create crosses, but we ended up conceding another goal due to a defensive mistake. We were able to score one goal, but I think the reason we lost is because we only scored one goal despite creating so many chances. (Were you able to create opportunities freely in the front line?) For both the first and second goals, we should have marked Maeda and Fukunishi in a one-on-one situation in front of the goal, but we failed to mark them properly and allowed them to create chances. (What instructions did you give to counter the opponent's counterattacks?) I instructed them to create numerical superiority to contain the counterattacks, but our defensive coordination didn't work well and we couldn't contain the counterattacks."

　[Summary of Iwata-ADILSON Coach's Press Conference] "The result was good and I am very happy. Winning is indeed very important. The game was decided in the first half, but we were a little attacked towards the end of the first half, so we made adjustments at halftime. Today's game had many counterattacks, and our side was able to create many chances for counterattacks, which was good. However, what was most important was that we were able to achieve our goal (to win). (What were the instructions at halftime?) When we were attacked towards the end of the first half, they were targeting the space behind the midfield, so instead of telling Ota to defend more, we used Hattori to increase the numbers and fill the space, and also to support Fabricio. Maeda is perfect in terms of tactics and has excellent concentration. He is a player who can play while considering the team, and I think you all could see that he is a player who can make the most of his chances in today's game."