Launch a quick attack and penetrate behind the Kofu defense to score a goal

　Sec. 16 will face Ventforet Kofu at home. In the previous match against Urawa Reds, we conceded a goal at the beginning and ended up losing without scoring. We had 22 shots, but lacked decisive opportunities. In this match, we want to create as many chances as possible and score goals to aim for a home victory. The members who felt both the potential and the challenges in the matches against Shimizu and Urawa will be focused on how much they can make adjustments and play aggressively from the beginning.

　Kofu, on the other hand, is currently in 16th place with 14 points. They have only won 4 matches and have lost their last 3 matches as well. However, they have been sticking to their style of playing with a compact defensive line and connecting short passes at a fast tempo. The key player is forward Shigehara on the left side. With his energy and quick decision-making, he can make breakthroughs, crosses, and shots, so it is important to contain him first. Manager Hara analyzes that Kofu maintains a compact formation with a high defensive line and is weak against attacking plays that come from the outside. He plans to thoroughly press the opponent and initiate fast attacks by winning the ball. The team aims to press collectively, distribute the ball quickly to both sides after winning it, and create chances through expansive play using space. It is also hoped that Fukunishi and Kajiyama will make effective runs.

　Tokyo has started with the same starting lineup for the third consecutive match. Kofu, on the other hand, has approached the game with a 4-3-3 formation, with MF Fujita replacing MF Hayashi, who had played in every match so far, in the defensive midfield. The match started at 19:04 with Kofu's kickoff at Ajinomoto Stadium, where the sunlight had started to fade but the humidity remained.

Creating opportunities with targeted soccer, Norio Suzuki scores the opening goal.

　From the beginning, Tokyo pressed and counterattacked against Kofu, who were attacking by connecting passes. Kajiyama and Inoha were the starting points, distributing the ball to the sides. They took a corner kick from an early cross by Tokunaga in the 4th minute and from a cross by Kawaguchi in the 10th minute. In the 12th minute, Inoha, who had advanced on the right, crossed to the far post. It reached Suzuki Nori, but the angle was not good and he couldn't finish the shot. Immediately after, Lucas jumped perfectly into Kawaguchi's right cross. He was closely marked by Kofu's defenders, so he couldn't finish it either, but they created chances from the big development using space.

　On the other hand, Kofu's side → second row players attack by advancing and exchanging one-two passes with the forward post player, repeatedly entering the area. However, in the 17th minute, MF Ishihara's attack was cut off by Fujiyama. It escaped to a corner kick. After that, although the passes were connected, Tokyo's defense line responded firmly and did not allow dangerous scenes to be created. In the 20th minute, Inoha intercepted in the opponent's territory and passed to Kawaguchi on the right. The cross was sent to Suzuki on the left area, but the trap failed. In the 21st minute, Tokunaga headed a shot from Kajiyama's right corner kick. It flew towards the far post, but the goalkeeper made a save. In the 28th minute, Kanazawa advanced and attacked wide from left to right. In the end, Fukunishi's pass reached Kanazawa, who had crowded in front of the goal, but it was cleared by Kofu's defense and resulted in a corner kick. From the corner kick, Lucas unleashed a sharp header, but it flew straight to the goalkeeper.

　Then, in the 30th minute, Lucas connected with Tokunaga's right throw-in, Inoha followed up and passed to Suzuki Nori in front of the goal. Suzuki Nori moved away from the defenders and circled around the ball flowing to the left. He then turned towards the goal and entered the left area, releasing a powerful shot with all his strength! It was a magnificent shot that went far and resulted in the opening goal!

　Next, in the 32nd minute, Lucas floated a pass to Fukunishi who had run into the area. Fukunishi skillfully cut back the opponent's defender and took a shot. It was a decisive opportunity, but it went wide. In the 40th minute, a quick attack was launched and Fukunishi jumped to Suzuki Nori's cross. It was offside, but it was a close call. In the 41st minute, Lucas on the far side persistently kept the ball from a right cross and sent a last pass to Fukunishi who had escaped into the area just on the edge of offside, but Fukunishi's shot was saved by the goalkeeper... We attacked as planned, but could only score one goal and ended the first half.

Lucas adds a goal, holds off the counterattack and wins at home despite being down to 10 men

　In the second half, they continued to attack the back of the Kofu DF who maintained a high line. In the 48th minute, a long pass from Kanazawa was sent to Kajiyama, who was trying to break through behind the DF line. Kajiyama trapped the ball from behind and aimed for a direct shot, but it went over the bar. In the 51st minute, they couldn't clear Kofu's CK and gave a FK from the right area. MF Fujita took a direct shot, but Doi made a save! It grazed the post and became a CK. However, in the 52nd minute, Kofu counterattacked from this CK. Kawaguchi connected the clearance and Kanazawa made a long feed from the left side to the right front line. From Suzuki Nori, it went further to Kajiyama who moved up on the right. Kajiyama made a direct pass to Kawaguchi, who was free on the left, in front of the opponent's DF with quick judgment. They had a great scoring opportunity, but Kawaguchi's shot was blocked by the GK.

　In the 54th minute, Rychely stole the ball in his own half and passed it to Suzuki Nori on the left from Lucas Kanazawa. He dribbled and took a shot, but it was saved by the goalkeeper and resulted in a left corner kick. He won two corner kicks, but couldn't take a shot. The time continued without being able to score an additional goal, and in the 56th minute, Rychely was substituted for Kawaguchi to further utilize his speed in the attack. However, Kofu also became aggressive in chasing a goal. In the midst of a counterattack, in the 59th minute, Kajiyama, who had stolen the ball in his own half, dribbled a long distance after evading the opponent's defender. From just before the halfway line, he passed the ball perfectly to Fukunishi, who was running on the left front line. Fukunishi carried the ball into the penalty area, and although his well-aimed shot was saved by the goalkeeper, Lucas easily pushed in the rebound and finally scored the second goal.

　However, perhaps due to carelessness here, in the 66th minute, Tokunaga was robbed of the ball in his own half, and Kofu FW Uruno dribbled from the left side to the center with a one-two with FW Kuno. The Tokyo DF couldn't catch up with this and allowed the ball to enter the front of the goal. Tokyo DF was drawn to FW Uruno, and in the end, a pass was made to FW Mobara, who was unmarked inside the right area, and he scored perfectly. It was a disappointing goal due to a lack of defensive concentration. And in the 73rd minute, Rychely received his second warning and was sent off in this match. With 10 players, Tokyo was pushed back by Kofu's quick passing.

　In the 75th minute, Kofu FW Uruno forcefully ran into the goal area and took a shot, but Doi made a save with his right foot! It escaped with a corner kick. In the 78th minute, a free kick was given in a position about 20m in front of the goal, and Kofu MF Fujita aimed for it, but the shot missed above the bar and the danger was averted. However, immediately after that, substitute Kurizawa crossed from the right. Lucas headed the ball, but it also went above the bar. In the 84th minute, Kurizawa calmly kept the ball on the left side and passed it to Suzuki Nori, who had moved inside, taking advantage of the gap in the opponent's defense. Suzuki Nori boldly tried to make a move and take a shot, but the ball crossed the frame. The transition between offense and defense was fast and hectic, but in the 88th minute, Kofu FW Mobarashi received a red card and was sent off. The game became a 10 vs 10 battle.

　At the end of the game, Kofu launched a fierce attack, but in the 89th minute, Shigeki replaced Kajiyama with Shigenobu. In stoppage time, Tokyo suffered a counterattack from a free kick, but Shigenobu held his ground and escaped with a corner kick. From the corner kick, they were repeatedly shot at, but Kurizawa, Lucas, and Tokunaga blocked the shots one after another with their bodies! Despite being forced to play with 10 players and the game plan being disrupted, they managed to hold off Kofu's counterattack with everyone's effort and defended until the end. Time's up. They achieved a victory of 2-1, the first win at home Ajinomoto Stadium since May 12th.

　【Player Comments】《Lucas》"Since the score was 1-0 for a while, I definitely wanted to score an additional goal. And then the ball came loose in a good position. We lost to Urawa, but we were able to switch our mindset. (Is this your first goal since the Chiba match?) It's not often that I can score in every game. I will do my best in the next match against G Osaka."《Inoha》"Not being able to score when we had the chance came back to haunt us. We were able to stick to our plan, but we conceded a goal and the momentum turned against us. Rychely got sent off, but it was good that we were able to break the bad rhythm together afterwards. In the Urawa match, we lost the second ball and my positioning wasn't good, so today I focused on getting off to a quick start and trying to connect easily once we won the ball. We knew that Kofu would try to keep possession, so it was important to disrupt their play. In the early stages, our midfield didn't start well, so we just went forward and tried to win the ball as much as possible. (Regarding the national team selection) I will do what I can now and give my all in the fight. But I think it's difficult to stay in the national team unless I continue to give 120% of my strength. I want to do my best in the next match so that I can give my all."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Kofu is a team that pushes their own style. Especially, they attack by passing the ball in a narrow area, so we tried to take the ball from them, taking advantage of our failure in the Urawa game. After taking the ball, if we try to pass the ball in a narrow space, Kofu's players will take it back because they have more players in that area. That's the most dangerous situation. So after taking the ball, we tried to play dynamically by quickly switching to the opposite side or attacking behind Kofu's high defensive line. We created good opportunities in that way, but we couldn't score easily. However, Suzuki Nori's shot went in. After that, there were chances for Fukunishi and others, but I think the game would have had a different outcome if we had scored a second goal in the first half. At halftime, I emphasized the importance of not being complacent after winning the ball. In the second half, we had decisive chances but couldn't convert them, which was frustrating. However, Lucas scored from a counterattack in the end. We expected Kofu to become even more aggressive, so we brought in Rychely to have faster counterattacks, but he received an unnecessary card and disrupted the rhythm. We conceded a goal because of holding onto the ball too much, which was what we feared the most. And then things got chaotic, and Rychely was sent off. However, I think our defensive awareness increased after being reduced to 10 players. Ideally, we would have kept a clean sheet and scored a third goal. I want to commend the team for bouncing back in just two days after the loss against Urawa. Next is the match against the top-ranked G Osaka, but we will give our best with a challenger spirit."

　[Summary of Kofu-Oki Coach's Press Conference] "We conceded a goal in the first half by allowing a long ball and then losing the second ball, which led to the opposition's attack on the wings. I think we made a comeback in the second half, but the second goal was painful. In the end, we did things that put ourselves in a difficult position and evened out our numerical advantage. We need to be more solid in those aspects. We have been in a situation where we can't seem to win, but the game doesn't wait for us. We have another match in two days, so we want to prepare for that. (We received many counters?) There were issues with the accuracy of our attacks. Also, I think FC Tokyo was better in the duels. We couldn't win the second balls and often got spread out on the wings."