Covering Baba and Kajiyama's absence, securing victory at Away Kokuritsu!

　After a two-week interval, the league's Sec. 25 match will be against Yokohama FC. Despite being an away game, they will enter the Japan National Stadium. During the break, the Japanese national team went on a European tour, and the Olympic team participated in the final qualifiers, playing matches in a challenging environment. Imano returned to Japan on the 13th (Thu). Concerns about fatigue arise, and the time he joined the team is only one day ago. On the other hand, Kajiyama suffered a left knee fracture, which will force him to be out of action for a long period, in addition to Baba.

　Coach Hara said, "I had already anticipated the absence of the Olympic representative. Therefore, we have been preparing for it." However, in the last few matches, the double pivot with Imano has been functioning well and has been a driving force for victory, so it will be a big blow. However, the players unanimously expressed their strong determination, saying, "We want to cover for each other, improve the precision of our soccer that we had achieved before the break, and continue winning." Imano also said, "I feel sorry for Kajiyama. If I don't play with all my energy, it won't be good for him." He will start with full determination, forming a double pivot with Fukunishi. In addition, Inoha and Hirayama will be on the bench.

　Yokohama FC, who is currently in last place with 11 points, is aiming to turn things around. In the second half of the season, they have acquired MF Obomsawin, Marco Paulo, and FW Katatau in August, as well as MF Atsuhiro Miura. They have also welcomed new coach Julio Leal. Although they struggled against Yokohama FC's counterattacks in the first half and the Levain Cup, the team has changed since then and is now aiming to break through with a passing style of play.

　In response to this, Tokyo wants to apply an early press, take the ball, and dominate the midfield. They want to press Yokohama FC's defensive midfielders Yamaguchi and Marcos Paulo, and prevent them from connecting with the attacking midfielders Ogomosu and Uchida, who serve as the starting point of the attack. Fukunishi and Kurizawa will maintain balance and quickly transition to the attack. They have been focusing on attacking from the wings during the break period, aiming to unsettle Yokohama FC's defense. Lucas and Akamine, the two forwards, will play in positions close to the goal and aim to score. Tokyo will play as a united team and aim for their first three consecutive wins of the season, which they have not achieved yet!

　National, where the scorching heat of the daytime subsided and the wind started blowing. The away end of Tokyo was packed with fans. The match started with Yokohama FC's kickoff at 19:04.

Fukunishi scores the opening goal, not giving Yokohama FC a chance!

The start of the game saw Yokohama FC connecting passes and taking control of the midfield. However, they were unable to threaten the goal and gradually started to counterattack. In the 9th minute, Akamine received a long feed from Kanazawa in the front line and connected with Lucas in the center, Ishikawa on the right, and Tokunaga who moved up on the outside. Akamine returned Tokunaga's cross behind him, and Fukunishi, who had moved up in front of the goal, took a shot. They quickly created an attacking opportunity, but the shot missed to the left. In the 15th minute, they created chances from corner kicks and free kicks, but they were unable to take decisive shots and failed to fully grasp the rhythm of the game.

　Still, without giving Yokohama FC a chance, in the 21st minute, Kurizawa dribbled and cut into the front of the goal, passing it to Lucas behind. However, Lucas's shot hit the goalkeeper straight on. In the 23rd minute, from Tokunaga to Lucas on the right front line. Lucas advanced to the sideline and cut back the opponent's defender, sending a negative pass in front of the goal. Akamine tried to finish it but couldn't. Imakano picked up the ball that spilled to the far side, but couldn't make it towards the goal. In the 29th minute, Imakano, Kurizawa, and Akamine passed the ball on the left side, Kurizawa made a big side change to the right. Tokunaga made a breakthrough and Akamine shot with his foot to the minus cross, but it went over the bar.

　Kurisawa and Fukunishi created chances from a side change, but they couldn't finish. However, in the 34th minute, Fukunishi cut off the ball from Yokohama FC in the opponent's territory and immediately passed it to Akamine, who was running forward. Akamine caught up in the deep right area and sent a floating ball with a negative spin in front of the goal. Fukunishi slid in here and stabbed the ball into the net with his left foot. They took the lead by launching a quick attack after a high press.

　Tokyo, who wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, was attacked by Yokohama FC midfielder Marcos Paulo in the 39th minute, allowing him to be free in front of the goal. MF Marcos Paulo evaded the Tokyo DF who came to defend and passed to the right. The right full-back Yamada, who had moved up, was in a shooting position, but Kanazawa blocked it with a sliding tackle. They managed to survive the crisis and went into the second half with a one-goal lead.

Shut out the counterattack and win the third consecutive victory with Hirayama's splendid additional point!

　Although they took control of the ball and took the lead, they couldn't maintain their momentum in the first half. However, in the second half, they switched gears and created chance after chance in the early stages. In the 49th minute, Lucas received a through pass on the right side and overlapped with Tokunaga, who dribbled fiercely and took a shot from inside the right area. The shot, which was aimed at the goal, was blocked by the goalkeeper's quick reaction and hit the post before bouncing out. In the 52nd minute, Ishikawa intercepted a pass from the Yokohama defense in the opponent's half. The ball quickly reached Akamine in front, creating a decisive opportunity, but the timing of the shot was delayed and the goalkeeper blocked it. Immediately after in the 53rd minute, they attacked the Yokohama goal, with Lucas connecting after a contest with Akamine and delivering a lofted final pass. Fukunishi jumped in and took a shot, but it was blocked by the Yokohama defense. They couldn't score an additional goal.

　In the 55th minute, Yokohama FC connected passes up to the front line, and FW Miura Chizu circled around from the left to the center and took a shot. The ball curved to the right, but this gave Yokohama FC the opportunity to seize the rhythm of counterattack. Tokyo's overall movement began to decrease, and the defensive line became stretched. While Fujiyama firmly held back Yokohama FC's attacks at the final line, desperate long balls also stood out, and time passed. In the 64th minute, Rychely was substituted for Ishikawa on the left, and Kurisawa moved to the right. In the 73rd minute, Inoha replaced Fukunishi.

　However, Yokohama FC also made successive substitutions in the second half, with MF Tamano, MF Atsuhiro Miura, and FW Katatau. With an attacking formation, they took the initiative and launched a counterattack. In the 79th minute, Yokohama FC was awarded a free kick from the left area outside. MF Atsuhiro Miura aimed directly but missed to the upper left. In the 81st minute, Lucas, who received Kurisawa's cross with his back to the goal, turned forward and took a shot but missed the target. In the 82nd minute, Tokyo DF lost possession of the ball, and Yokohama FC's MF Marcos Paulo passed to MF Atsuhiro Miura on the left, who then took a shot at FW Katatau. However, the shot lacked power, and Shioda made a solid catch.

　In the midst of back and forth, in the 85th minute, Hirayama was substituted for Akamine. The strategy was to gather the ball in the front line. This strategy worked and a rhythm was born. In the 88th minute, Rychely intercepted a pass from the Yokohama DF inside the opponent's territory. He advanced fiercely towards the goal, leaving the chasing DF behind, and took a free shot! It was a decisive shot but it missed to the left... However, it seemed like the game would end like this. In injury time, Hirayama stole a loose ball in the midfield, pushed it out with his head from Rychely, and rushed towards the goal. He bypassed one, two opposing DFs, and forcefully slipped through the gap between the DFs who were trying to mark him. Finally, he calmly evaded the GK and took a shot. From a powerful dribble with speed, he scored a splendid additional goal! Immediately after, the game ended. They left Yokohama FC behind in an away game and achieved their first three consecutive wins in the league this season.

　【Player Comments】《Hirayama》"(On the goal situation) I headed the ball forward and saw that there were no defenders in front of me, so I thought I could go for it. Watching from the bench, I noticed that the Yokohama FC goalkeeper was coming towards me, so I tried to dribble past him and take a shot. I had the mindset of being proactive and making things happen when I came on as a substitute."《Fukunishi》"Today, I focused on holding a solid defensive position and dealing with the ball. However, I discussed with Insoo YU which one of us should maintain the balance and go forward when there was a chance. If Insoo YU can create space and make deep runs towards the touchline, it allows me to push forward as well. The scoring opportunity was one that I should have taken. If we had scored the second goal earlier, we could have played with more composure and confidence. Insoo YU also had the chance, so I'm reflecting on it. The challenge is how to pressurize the opponent and where to win the ball. We want to discuss and unify our approach for the next match."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "I heard that Yokohama FC has been playing practice matches during the break and training well under the new manager. On the other hand, we have been missing three Olympic representatives and Japan national team player Imakano for a long time. Since we couldn't practice with Imakano and Kajiyama, who have recently improved, we moved Fukunishi back to the defensive midfielder position during that time. The rhythm between Kajiyama and Fukunishi is subtly different, and considering that Yokohama FC is highly motivated, I expected a difficult match. As expected, our start was slow, our defensive awareness and attacking moves were delayed. There were scenes where we felt we could have moved the ball faster, as we were somewhat matching the opponent's pace. The movements of Akamine and Lucas also felt heavy. Fukunishi scored a goal in a good position, and I thought we could do more from there, but it didn't go well. There was a dangerous scene at the end of the first half, so I talked about fighting more firmly at halftime. If we only consider today's match, we could have substituted Ashizaki for Fukunishi, but Inoha has just returned and considering him as a future team strength, I intentionally put him in. In the end, I wanted to create a starting point a little further forward, so I put Hirayama in and tried to gather the ball to him. He was also left out of the starting lineup for the Olympics and I think he had a frustrating experience. However, I'm glad he scored a wonderful goal. The performance of today's match was not good, but we managed to keep a clean sheet and take 3 points, which will lead to the next match. We will all be able to train together for the next week, so we will prepare well and give our all to win against Shimizu. Imakano, Inoha, and Hirayama have held on well despite difficult conditions. It was an away game, but it was a game at the National Stadium, and many fans came to support us. We want to build on this victory and take 3 points at home at Ajinomoto Stadium."

　[Yokohama FC Julio LEAL coach's press conference summary] "We recognized that this match was really important. We wanted to win no matter what. We wanted to show what we have been practicing so far, win and aim for consecutive victories, and start everything from here. We were able to start in a good shape right after the start, but after 15 minutes, the opponent took control of the game. We were also able to launch good counterattacks, but we lost the ball in the midfield and conceded a goal. When we lose the ball in a bad shape, this kind of result happens. In the second half, we tried to be a little more aggressive, but we couldn't start the attack from the beginning. We couldn't do what we tried in the practice matches. Substitute MF Tamano couldn't get into the game well and made several passing mistakes. Anyway, we tried to catch up and then turn the game around, so we put in MF Atsuhiro Miura to play aggressively. He has great passing and shooting skills. However, the opponent became quite defensive from that point and the game developed into a situation where they aimed for counterattacks. To become more aggressive from there, we put FW Katatau in the front line. As a result, we created attacking opportunities and even won corner kicks. However, because the whole team became more aggressive, spaces opened up behind us and we ended up conceding the second goal. Today is a home game, so we can't afford to be calm when we fall behind. So we went for the win... However, I think the players gave their all and showed their abilities. They gave us all their energy. We couldn't win, but continuing what we have been doing so far and thinking about how we can win will lead to results. And I think that's where the new beginning will come from."