Wanchope aims for victory in the first league start at home!

　Sec. 7 will be a match between Yokohama FC at Ajinomoto Stadium. In the previous match against Oita, it ended in a draw, but a victory at home is expected in the next match. Both teams have won one match each in the league. It will be a game where victory is absolutely necessary in the ranking battle. There was a 5-day interval since the previous match, but the Olympic representative team went on a Syria expedition during this time and returned home last night, so they will be absent. Imano participated in the Japan national team training camp until the 18th (Wed), but today he started as a center back, just like in the previous match. On the other hand, Shigeki has fully recovered in the red and white match and practice matches, and made it to the bench.

　This week, we have been training with a lineup that includes Lucas and Wanchope as the top two, as well as Baba entering the top from the midfield. Manager Hara is eager to win by playing our own soccer, saying, "We are building a stable foundation and want to win by playing our own soccer more than the opponent." He also mentioned his intention to expect movements not only in keeping the ball in the front line but also in jumping into the center by increasing the number of players in the front line, saying, "Recently, even when crosses came in, there were not enough players in the middle. We also expect Wanchope's utilization." As a countermeasure against Yokohama FC, who defend by pulling back, we will challenge them with a 4-4-2 formation.

　Yokohama FC, which was promoted to J1 this season, is currently in last place with 4 consecutive losses. They have many injured players and are in a difficult situation. They have also conceded the most goals in the league so far, with a total of 15, but GK Kanō has outstanding reflexes and is a formidable presence if he is hit. In addition, MF Oku seems to have good decision-making skills, although his condition may not be perfect. MF Takizawa, in particular, has high accuracy in crosses, so we need to be very careful of his "one-shot" opportunities. However, if we can take the ball away when Yokohama FC is attacking based on a stable defense, counterattacks can also be effective as there will be two players remaining in the front line. Let's quickly turn the tables and get 3 points!

Allowing Yokohama's attack, but counterattacking

　The match started at Ajinomoto Stadium at 14:04 under cloudy skies with occasional sunshine. However, Yokohama FC launched an attack from the beginning. In the early stages, left midfielder Takizawa took a middle shot. In the 2nd minute, Wanchope was dispossessed of a big side change and gave a corner kick to Yokohama FC on the counter. In the following 4 minutes, they failed to clear the corner kick and Yokohama FC connected the ball, allowing midfielder Miura to break free from defender Ota's through pass. It was a decisive shot, but it narrowly curved to the right and avoided danger.

　When we survived this period, we regained our composure and launched an offensive against Yokohama FC. Yokohama FC's defense maintained a higher line than expected, so Lucas and Wanchope, along with Ishikawa and Kurisawa, moved well and looked to exploit the space behind. However, in the 14th minute, after Asari's interception, Fukunishi passed to Wanchope in the front line with a long pass. Wanchope kept the ball in the right area, attracting the opponent's defenders and sending a lofted pass inside. Ishikawa made a run here and got into a shooting position, but the ball missed wide due to the pressure from the defender.

　19 minutes, Kurihara received a big change from Kanazawa in the right area and took a shot, but missed the frame. In the 28th minute, Fukunishi initiated a counterattack. Lucas, Kurihara, and Asari connected, and finally Kanazawa crossed from the left, but it didn't reach Lucas and Wanchope in the middle. In the 31st minute, Lucas reacted to the loose ball from Kurihara's post. He dashed fiercely towards the goal, but couldn't score. In the end, despite shooting 8 times compared to Yokohama FC's 5, there were few clever and intentional plays in the final moments, and the first half ended scoreless.

Konno scores a goal! Ajinomoto secures their first victory at Ajinomoto Stadium with two consecutive clean sheets.

　In the second half, Tokyo seizes the opportunity in the early stages. In the 46th minute, they earn a free kick on the right side of the Yokohama FC's territory. Kurisawa receives the ball from the free kick and passes it back to Asari behind him. Asari confidently sends a cross from the right side of the halfway line to the left area. Wanchope heads the ball down, and Imano, who was running into the area, strikes it with his left foot after controlling it with his chest. The shot goes through the opponent's goalkeeper's legs and into the goal, scoring the opening goal!

　From there, the team dominates the ball and pushes forward, launching wide attacks. In the 50th minute, Wanchope's acrobatic connection leads to Lucas dribbling up and persistently picking up the loose ball, passing it to Fukunishi. From there, a through pass is sent to Ishikawa in the right area, but it is blocked by the defender and results in a right corner kick. From this corner kick by Ishikawa, Lucas heads the ball freely but it goes wide... In the 56th minute, a free kick is awarded to Yokohama FC outside the left corner of their own area. It was the only chance given to Yokohama FC, but midfielder Miura's shot goes wide.

　After that, Tokunaga and Kanazawa also overlapped, snatching crosses and corner kicks to create chances. In addition, they created many scenes where multiple players jumped in to attack these crosses. In the 60th minute, Wanchope took a header shot from Kurizawa's left cross, but the goalkeeper caught it. In the 66th minute, Baba was substituted for Wanchope, and in the 71st minute, Suzuki Nori was substituted for Ishikawa. These two players led the fast attacks. Immediately after in the 72nd minute, Baba sent a delicate lob pass to the goal area, and Suzuki Nori jumped out to try a left-footed shot, but it narrowly missed.

　77 minutes, approaching the goal from a free kick, Inamoto runs in from Doi's cross. It was a scene similar to the opening goal, but unfortunately he couldn't take a shot. In the 84th minute, Suzuki Nori sprinted down the left side from Lucas' pass. Although he slowed down once, he aimed carefully and took a shot, which was saved by the goalkeeper and resulted in a right corner kick. In the 88th minute, Baba cut inside deeply from the right area. Suzuki Nori and Fukunishi were also closing in, but they couldn't make a connection and couldn't score an additional goal until the end. However, they didn't give Yokohama FC any chances with their coordinated defensive movements. They achieved their first victory at Ajinomoto Stadium with a score of 1-0!

　【Player Comments】《IMANO》"It was a tough game. We could only score one goal in the attack, and the defense was also difficult, but the front line moved well and we were able to defend. In the scene of the goal, the ball passed over my head and went to Wanchope, but I believed that it would come to me and ran. He gave me the ball exactly where I wanted it. I thought it would be easier if we scored a second goal, so I went on the attack. Until the Niigata match, the team was under pressure in a scattered manner, and it didn't work out and I was frustrated. Lately, we have been able to focus on compact formations in practice. As for defense, both me and Asari are stable, but it's not just the two of us. The team's overall awareness is changing. I'm playing as a CB now, but I think I'm a good player who can perform at a high level consistently in what the coach expects of me. So I don't know where I will play in the future depending on the team's situation. I want to continue to fulfill the necessary plays."《Wanchope》"(About starting in the league for the first time) It took a while, but I think the quality of my play has improved. I always have to watch the movements of other players, not just in the assist scenes. Today, when the cross came, I was thinking of creating a chance by looking at the players in front of the goal. When I saw Imano running there, I immediately passed it to him. What I feel after the 7th section is that there is almost no difference between any team. In the future, we will play against the top teams, but I want to give 100% of my strength and score goals."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "In the league matches, especially at Ajinomoto Stadium, we couldn't win easily. In the opening match against Hiroshima, we were countered while attacking, and in the Iwata match, we created decisive chances but were defeated by the opponent's one chance when they were down to 10 men. Since then, our rhythm has been disrupted, and in the Niigata match, we attacked with more players but our rhythm was off. After Inaba was suspended, we stabilized our defense by putting Imano as a stopper, moving Tokunaga back to his original position on the right, and bringing in Asari. While cherishing that, I want to play a more dynamic offense, so I started Wanchope. His coordination with the team is not perfect, but he is able to contribute to scoring like today's goal, and his movement is improving. We couldn't start well, and there was a scene where Yokohama FC midfielder Miura said, 'Did they get us?' but I think we endured that period and scored in the second half. We are still not in our best condition, but it is important to defend firmly for now. Today, we didn't use three players from the Olympic team because we don't know their condition until we try. The fact that we won with the remaining players will also lead to the future. Despite the continued inability to win, everyone supported us with all their might today. I am really happy that we were able to give them the gift of victory. From now on, I want to play better soccer and aim higher."

　[Summary of Yokohama FC Coach Takagi's Press Conference] "I think the players worked hard and played a good game. As a game plan, we did very well in the first half. We tried to continue fighting in the second half, but the timing of conceding the goal was very bad. There was a time when we could have equalized, but in the current team situation, we cannot catch up once we are conceded. However, the team's aim and performance have improved compared to the previous match. I don't know if we were able to continue the momentum into the next game, but the players played well. It's tough that we ended up with a defeat. We switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation with one top and one shadow by bringing in MF Oku in the middle. Then, when we put DF Nakajima as a side back, we brought FW Yabuta up and returned to a two-top formation, trying to put more numbers in the midfield and attack. DF Nakajima also has the ability to cross and shoot with his left foot. It was a difficult situation to break through with intricate passes, so we wanted to create opportunities for him. We also wanted to increase the number of players going into the goal area by putting more numbers. (Although Yokohama FC conceded a goal by player Imano, don't you think Yokohama FC also needs such an accent?) I don't consider it as a special attack because it was a set-piece breakdown. If there is a high probability of FW Wanchope winning the competition, the players will come up. However, we didn't stick to it firmly, which led to that goal."