Fight with all our hearts, aim for consecutive victories, and strive for a home win

　Sec. 24 will be held as a home game at Japan National Stadium, facing Vissel Kobe. In the previous match, we had a great victory against Hiroshima. We pressed high and achieved results with soccer that doesn't lose in both offense and defense. Although it will be a match in just two days, we want to continue our momentum and aim for consecutive victories with Tokyo-style soccer. Above all, this season, we have yet to achieve the much-needed victory at home, so this is an important match. The players are all aware that "if we lose here, the meaning of the previous victory will be lost," and they are fully motivated.

　Kobe, on the other hand, is currently in 11th place with 29 points. In the 5 matches since August, they have won against Iwata and Omiya, but have suffered consecutive defeats in the last 3 matches. However, even during this losing streak, they have been able to create chances by launching counterattacks from a solid defense, with Yoshito OKUBO at the center. They have been defeated because they have been unable to convert their scoring opportunities, so they will surely come out boldly even though they are playing away this match. The player we must be most cautious of is Yoshito OKUBO. Coach Hara emphasizes his "momentary speed and sharpness in starting movements."

　In response to this, Tokyo wants to defend against Kobe's two top players, Yusuke Kondo, who moves fluidly, and Leandro, who has speed, by effectively marking and passing the ball. They also want to cover the space used by Yoshito Okubo. At the same time, they want to press in the midfield and steal the ball before it is passed to the front line. If the press works as it did in the previous match, they should be able to dominate the midfield. From there, they want to quickly create chances through Kajiyama and Fukunishi. They want to win the ball and have everyone cover each other in both attack and defense to seize the opportunity to win.

　The starting lineup is the same as the previous match in order to maintain the flow. Lucas, who has finished serving his suspension, is on the bench. The match started at 18:34 with Kobe's kickoff at the Japan National Stadium, where the temperature has dropped and a cool breeze can be felt.

Despite conceding the first goal, Makoto IMANO scores an equalizer with great determination!

　Kobe connects the kickoff ball and left MF Yoshito OKUBO advances to the left area with a powerful dribble and crosses. Tokyo DF's clearance flows to the far side, and Kobe MF Park, who was in the right area, is left free to take a header shot. Kobe created a chance for themselves by taking advantage of the mark's gap immediately after the start, but it missed above the goal. Tokyo, who escaped the pinch, immediately tried to grasp the rhythm themselves and launched a counterattack by quickly pressing.

　At 6 minutes, Konno, Kurisawa, and Fukunishi surrounded the Kobe ball in the opponent's territory and quickly counterattacked. Fukunishi dribbled up and passed through to Kurisawa running from the left to the center of the area. Kurisawa shot by cutting in between the opponent's defenders, creating a decisive opportunity, but the goalkeeper made a save. Konno also tried to score by following up on the ball that spilled into the area, but he had no angle and the goalkeeper caught it again. Nevertheless, they maintained the pace and aggressively attacked by winning the second ball. At the same time, Kurisawa utilized his abundant physicality to maintain balance and push Kobe back.

　On the other hand, Kobe countered sharply. In the 17th and 18th minutes, they launched consecutive fast attacks, but the opponent's shot missed and they defended. Tokyo today has a high awareness of side changes, and in the 19th minute, they stole the ball on their own right side, Ishikawa -> Kajiyama connected it to Akamine, and expanded it to the left. They quickly passed the ball and in the end, Kajiyama ran into the goal area for an early cross from Kanazawa and attempted a header shot. It didn't hit and went to the right, but they deployed a dynamic attack. In the 23rd minute, Imamura on the left side of their own field changed to the right side. Ishikawa -> Tokunaga, who went up on the outside, crossed with a liner-like trajectory. Akamine and the opponent's defender competed for it, and Ishikawa also closed in, but it was caught by the GK.

　25 minutes, Kajiyama is fouled by Kobe MF Okubo on the right side and earns a free kick. Kajiyama's kick goes to Kurisawa in the far side. Kurisawa cuts back the opponent DF near the goal line and makes the final pass. He sends a fast ball between the Kobe DF and GK, creating a decisive opportunity, but it is defended. Then, in the immediate 27th minute, Kobe MF Botti is fouled near the left front line and corner, and a free kick is awarded. From the FK taken by MF Botti himself, DF Kawamoto heads a high-impact shot in front of the goal. This goal is scored, and the first goal is lost.

　However, Tokyo did not panic and switched their mindset to counterattack. In the 30th minute, Kajiyama scored a volley shot from Tokunaga's right cross. In the 36th minute, Ishikawa scored a direct volley from Kurisawa's left cross. In the 38th minute, Imano took a middle shot. In the 39th minute, Akamine dropped Tokunaga's right cross, Kurisawa picked up the opponent's clearance in the left area and made a final pass in front of the goal. Fukunishi pushed the ball into the net while colliding with the opponent's defender, but it was offside. Despite the attacking efforts, they couldn't score a goal. However, in the 44th minute, they won a free kick and a corner kick consecutively, and finally Imano shook his head to Kajiyama's right corner kick and scored a goal! Just before the end of the first half, Imano's passionate equalizer brought the score to 1-1, leading to the second half.

Lucas scored 2 goals from Akamine's assist, leading to a comeback victory!

　In the second half, aiming for a go-ahead goal, we aggressively and persistently attacked from the beginning. In the 1st minute, we attacked Kobe's goal and Ishikawa picked up the loose ball and crossed it from the right. It was cleared by Kobe's defense, but Kurisawa picked up the loose ball again and took a shot from outside the left area. In the 48th minute, Kajiyama ran to the front line with perfect timing from a quick restart by Konno and took a looping shot. However, both shots were off target. In the 50th minute, Lucas was substituted for Fukunishi, who was injured. In the 54th minute, Morinaga switched the ball to the side, and Tokunaga, Ishikawa, and Kajiyama quickly connected with a pass to win a corner kick. From this right corner kick, Lucas was left with a diving header, but it went wide to the left.

　After that, they continued to dominate the ball and mostly played the game inside Kobe's territory, but they couldn't break through decisively. Kobe took the opportunity to counterattack. In the 60th minute, from Tokyo's corner kick, Kobe launched a counterattack. MF Yoshito OKUBO gained speed and aimed for a shot, but Shigeki MOBATA blocked it. In the 65th minute, they lost the ball in their own half and Kobe launched a quick attack. FW Leandro took a shot from the left side towards the center, but it curved to the right. In the 66th minute, FW Kurihara jumped to meet the right MF Park's cross, but it went over the bar.

　Helped by the miss, but did not catch the rhythm against Kobe. In the 68th minute, Akamine, who received a through pass from Ishikawa who went up the right side, quickly passed the ball in front of the goal. Lucas, who received it, broke through in the area and shot. The ball grazed the goalkeeper's hand and went to the left. He scored the go-ahead goal. In the 74th minute, Asari was substituted for Ishikawa. He maintained the defensive balance and continued to attack without letting up. In the 81st minute, Akamine, who had moved to the right, sent a ground cross in front of the goal. The opponent's defender slid in, but Lucas shot the loose ball. It went into the top of the goal and he scored the third goal.

　Substitute Hirayama for Akamine in the 82nd minute. Without giving Kobe a chance to counterattack, they continued to attack until the end. However, in the 85th minute, Hirayama slid in to meet Imano's header, but missed the target. In the 89th minute, Imano dribbled and pushed forward, and Hirayama turned and shot with his left foot from the loose ball, but the opponent's goalkeeper blocked it. Although they couldn't score an additional goal, they showed a spirited performance throughout and won 3-1. They earned 3 points at home for the first time since the Kofu match on June 20th.

　【Player Comments】《Lucas》"I was suspended for the Hiroshima game, but the team had momentum. We were able to continue that momentum and have a good game this time. I think that was good. I don't think my movement was bad today. We had a period where we couldn't score goals, but I want to take this opportunity to actively aim for goals and contribute to the team's victory in the future."《Akamine》"Lucas' first goal came from a fast pass from Ishikawa. As a result, he had room to maneuver and his trap was successful. Konno entered as a defensive midfielder and moved forward with Kajiyama, maintaining a balanced distance between players. I think we are able to calmly connect passes because we can keep Fukunishi and Lucas close. I always want to score when I play in a game, including today. We have a two-week interval, but first I want to win the competition within the team and then prepare to contribute to the victory."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "In the previous match, Lucas was suspended, but we were able to play a good game, so we started with the same lineup today. Lucas is our ace, so starting him was also an option, but we wanted to play with the same rhythm and bring him in at a crucial moment. Fukunishi got injured in the offside scene in the first half, so we brought in Lucas early, and it worked out well in the end. Lucas hasn't been scoring lately, but coming in as a substitute may have given him an opportunity. This season, even if we win away, we have been losing at home, so today we wanted to play a good game and get a result no matter what. Kobe is a team with momentum, and MF Okubo Yoshito has the ability to do the job alone. But we thought that by changing sides, we could create a 2-on-1 situation and create chances. So on the right, we had Ishikawa and Tokunaga, on the left, Kurisawa connected in the middle, and Kanazawa spread out to the sides and attacked. We were able to create some good opportunities. However, we conceded a goal from a free kick in the first half. During our losing streak, when we conceded a goal, we suddenly became chaotic and the quality of our play deteriorated, but today we said, 'Let's continue doing the same thing even if we concede a goal,' so we held our ground. Moreover, we equalized just before the end of the first half, and I think that goal was crucial. It's just a consecutive win, but it's good to win for the people who supported us so much on this last Saturday of the summer vacation at home. We will be missing four players for the national team and the Olympics, but we can also take on the challenge of pairing up Shigenobu and Evaldo in these two weeks. Of course, Fujiyama is also there, and I think we can play even bigger soccer. Today, everyone fought well, and I was happy that we didn't falter even after conceding a goal."

　[Summary of Kobe Matsuda's press conference] "We wanted to stop the losing streak somehow. It was a very good start after a long time, and we were in a very good position. However, the goal we conceded just before the end of the first half was crucial. Nevertheless, we regrouped and tried to change our mindset for the second half. FC Tokyo had a formation with Akamine as the lone striker in a 4-5-1 shape, but Fukunishi, Kajiyama, and Imakuno positioned themselves between our midfield and defense line, and they received the ball as soon as the transition to attack happened. Therefore, at halftime, instead of adjusting to Akamine, I instructed the defensive line to move up to Fukunishi's position and create a more compact situation. However, in the second half, FC Tokyo clearly had the upper hand in terms of their start and other aspects. That's why the goal difference turned out this way."