Challenge and win 3 points as a challenger!

　Sec. 20 of the league, we will play against Nagoya Grampus away. We couldn't score a second goal in the Nabisco Oita match and missed out on advancing to the semifinals. Although we ended up with 1-1 draws in four consecutive official matches, we feel confident in our defense, so this match is an important one where we want to turn our goals into victories and boost the team's momentum. It will be back-to-back away matches, but we want to somehow secure 3 points in this first match after the league restart and regain momentum for the team.

　Nagoya, who is currently in 3rd place with 33 points, secured a solid victory in the Nabisco Cup held on the 6th (Wednesday) and advanced to the semifinals. Coach Jofuku also said, "Being in 3rd place is not a fluke. There is no weakness in offense and defense, and I can't find any areas to improve if we can control this...". In this match, although MF Ogawa will be suspended, there are players with scoring ability such as FW Yon-sen, FW Tamada, and MF Maginun, with MF Nakamura also contributing with his high work rate in both offense and defense. Additionally, DF Takeuchi and Abe are players who can also serve as the starting point for side attacks, truly leaving no "holes".

　Tokyo made significant changes to the starting lineup from the Oita game. Mone and Sasaki are in central defense, Imamura is at right back, Ishikawa is used in midfield, and in the forward line, Hirayama replaces Akamine. The key point is whether they can score a second goal, especially in attack. It is important to connect passes and increase speed, and to switch the play. As Nagoya is also skilled in side attacks, the battle on the wings is one of the highlights. Utilizing Ishikawa to launch vertical breakthroughs should also be one of the options. They want to threaten the Nagoya goal by boldly attacking.

　Hanyu said, "We will approach the match against the top teams as challengers. We want to break through Nagoya's strong defense with a strong determination." Coach Jofuku also stated, "The Oita match was a must-win game. We will take out our frustration on the league. Our mindset has changed." To overcome this difficult situation, we need to connect good defense to good offense, score goals, and win! The match started at 19:03 with Tokyo's kickoff at Mizuho Athletics Stadium.

Shun HIRAYAMA opens the scoring with his first goal of the season, leading the team into halftime

　Nagoya, who tried to attack from the side, picked up the second ball well and attacked with coordinated movements. In the 9th minute, they stole a misplaced pass in the opponent's territory, Cabore -> Hirayama dribbled forward. He tried to shoot for goal from just outside the area, but it was blocked by the defender. In the 17th minute, Ishikawa competed for a long ball from the back, won a right corner kick, and Emerson took a shot from the loose ball from Ishikawa's kick. It resulted in another corner kick due to the opponent goalkeeper's great save. In this corner kick, Imakano headed the ball, but it went outside the frame.

　After that, Ishikawa and Hanyu, who was used as a defensive midfielder in this match, aggressively attacked from the starting point. In the 19th minute, Ishikawa received Emerson's through pass in front of the goal and quickly turned around to take a left-footed shot. In the 24th minute, Hanyu initiated a central breakthrough, attracting the attention of the defenders, and sent a final pass to Kabore who had run behind them. Both created clear chances, but the shots were blocked by Nagoya GK Narazaki's excellent saves. On the contrary, in the 28th minute, a defensive mistake allowed FW Tamada to pick up the ball and charge towards the goal, with Sasaki desperately chasing after him, but the shot was taken. It was a decisive moment, but it missed above the bar and the team escaped the danger.

　In the midst of a back-and-forth battle, the 35th minute arrived. Tokunaga on the left side smoothly sent a cross to Hayabusa, who had moved up in front of the goal. Hayabusa controlled it with his chest and passed it to Hirayama, who was waiting near the left corner of the area. Hirayama took a touch and swung his right foot with all his might, sending a low trajectory shot beautifully into the near post, GOAL! With this goal, Hirayama took the lead with his first goal of the season in the league.

　Tokyo continues to aim for additional points and does not let up on their attacks. In the 38th minute, Cabore takes a perfect header shot from Ishikawa's right corner kick, but it is blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper's brave save. In the 42nd minute, Shioda's kick passes through the defense, and Hirayama breaks free to take a shot, but it goes wide. In defense, they do not allow the opponents to freely move in the midfield, and the final line, led by Mobata and Sahara, effectively suppresses Nagoya's attacks, leading them to end the first half in the lead.

Calmly respond to Nagoya's power play and achieve a clean sheet victory

　During the first half, there was an accident where Shigetaka Mogi injured his shoulder, so he was substituted by Hayato Mukuhara as a precaution in the second half. The team approached the game with a formation where Junya Inamoto moved to center back. However, Nagoya gradually gained control of the rhythm and started to push us back. Nevertheless, we managed to regain possession with focused defense and attempted to score from counterattacks. In the 52nd minute, we launched a counterattack from clearing the opponent's free kick, and Kaua sprinted down the left side of Nagoya's defense. He carried the ball into the penalty area, evaded the defenders, and took a shot, but the goalkeeper who came out blocked it.

　Nagoya gradually attacks from the side. In the 61st minute, Nagoya's left SB Abe sent a cross to the goal, and FW Tamada jumped in, creating a chance for MF Yoneyama who followed up, but it was desperately cleared. In the 69th minute, FW Sugimoto, who came on as a substitute, headed the ball perfectly from the left cross. It was a decisive opportunity, but the ball went straight to Shibata. After that, Nagoya continued to bring in FW May, FW Tsuda, and other attacking players one after another, but Tokyo's defense also held on stubbornly, resulting in a back-and-forth battle.

　Tokyo tired-looking Cabore, replaced by Emerson, introduced Akamine and Kanazawa. They maintained the defensive balance and calmly responded to the opponent's counterattacks. Amidst chances from both sides on the counter, in the 89th minute, they launched a counterattack, with Imakawa dribbling and charging towards the goal, facing the goalkeeper one-on-one. In the end, he passed to Akamine who was running alongside... but it didn't reach well... They couldn't score the second goal, but they defended with their bodies and kept Nagoya's fierce attacks from scoring, achieving their first victory in the league since the May 17th game against Iwata!

　【Player Comments】《Hirayama》"(Regarding my appearance) I was conscious of both creating chances and scoring goals. In the beginning, I couldn't receive the ball well and couldn't create a rhythm, which is something I need to reflect on. I need to be able to work at full capacity from the start... I'm reflecting on that. The goal was as I intended. I aimed for the near post. I had a chance to score a second goal myself, so if I had scored there, I think we could have made it easier for the team. Also, if I had been able to give Cabore a better ball behind the defense, there were some situations where it could have become a chance. However, today, I was more happy that the defensive players worked hard to keep the opponent from scoring, even more than my own goal. I think it was a gain for the team. Our goal is to score more than two goals, and we will all work hard together."《Ishikawa》"I don't think our performance against Oita was bad, but I'm glad we were able to turn it into a victory today. Nagoya's fullbacks run long distances and come up. In front of them, there's also MF Maginun, so I was careful about my positioning. I tried to move forward when we won the ball from a good position. There was space for me to go forward. I wanted to score the second goal there... In the second half, we may not have had many chances, but it's important to be able to finish in situations like when Shingo sent in a cross. Normally, Shingo would be the one to finish, but he drifted to the side, so I thought, "I'm the only one who can finish!" and ran with all my might. But I couldn't make it in time. Also in the second half, the opponent kicked the ball and we were pushed back because our midfield was open. We needed to put pressure on them earlier in the midfield. As a team, when we try to do one thing, we can't do what we were able to do at the beginning. We have to make adjustments through repetition. However, we were able to win today and we can face the next game against Urawa in a good position. Personally, I want to work on playing while connecting passes."

　[Summary of Manager Jofuku's Press Conference] "Since the suspension, we have had draws but have not been able to win, which has been very frustrating. I apologize to the fans for that. As our style of soccer, we will not waver, but not having any wins has caused stress, and we wanted to have something closer to certainty as soon as possible. As always, we were focused on getting 3 points today. In the game, we made an effort as a team to prevent the opponents from creating opportunities, especially with FW Tamada and Yong-sun. I think we were able to do it to some extent. Not only in today's match, but in the past few matches, I think the team has been able to compactly defend, and I think it was good that we were able to keep the opponents at zero today. As for the attack, there is a hunger for victory within the team, so I think the attitude towards the goal has emerged. In the second half, there was a scene where we connected with one touch in the center and Ishikawa made a pass that was intercepted, but we need to show more of that kind of development and breaking through with passing. Also, when the opponents attack, we need to be able to possess the ball and spend time on it ourselves. There are challenges. But anyway, it was good that we were able to defend the one goal in the first half. We still have the challenge of not being able to score the second goal, but including the last scene (where Imakawa passed to Akamine in a one-on-one situation with the opponent's goalkeeper but couldn't score due to a mistake), I think the players were too focused on that challenge and got nervous. I hope we can score the second goal next time and continue to work hard as a team."

　[Nagoya Stojkovic coach press conference summary] "Of course, there are parts that I am disappointed that the result did not come out, but we were able to show our style firmly. The players worked hard and made efforts to score. Although we couldn't score, I think this is also a type of soccer. I would like to congratulate FC Tokyo, and I would like to show respect to our players who showed great work. (Although we were attacked less frequently, we had many pinches?) I think we dominated the game for 90 minutes, but we couldn't take advantage of the chances. I think we lacked decisiveness. I think we couldn't play well enough in the first half, especially in front of Tokyo's goal, we couldn't bring it to a good finish. Speaking of the first half, I think we lacked a bit of aggressiveness. MF Ogawa and MF Yoshimura couldn't play, so the starting lineup was not as usual, but that is basically not a problem and I don't want to make excuses. Also, in the Nabisco JEF match, we played a hard game. I think there were tired parts, but in today's game, they showed fighting spirit without showing fatigue. They ran and I could feel their desire to score. However, I think the pitch condition was not good. If there is something that can be changed, I would like to change the pitch condition. But I can't do that (laughs)"