An unbeatable battle for survival!

　Sec. 31 of the league, Gamba Osaka will play away. In the Emperor's Cup on 11/3, they struggled against the momentum of J2 Sendai but managed to advance to the 5th round. With a victory in the previous league match against Kashima, they somehow managed to stay in the championship race, but the situation of not being able to lose all four remaining matches remains unchanged. This round, which is crucial for survival, is particularly important. It is an away game, but we want to take away the points by any means necessary and carry it forward to the next match.

　G Osaka, who is currently in the middle of the ACL and has been playing hard matches in succession, showed their characteristic soccer and won 3-0 in the first match of the final round held on 11/5 (Wed). It can be said that they are currently riding the wave. In the league, they are in 7th place with a 1-point difference from Tokyo, but they should come up with aggressive soccer to naturally move up in the rankings. However, both the members and the system have changed since the ACL final. FW Ronnie and Hashido are placed as the top two, and FW Lucas is in the attacking midfield. DF Nakazawa is absent due to injury, so there are concerns in defense, but it can be said that they have approached the match with an offensive formation.

　Tokyo, with Shigeki returning to the starting lineup after missing the Emperor's Cup Sendai match. Just like in the home game on 7/16, the battle on the sides will be crucial in this match as well. Ishikawa said, "Interactions with the opponent are one of the enjoyable aspects. If Gamba's side comes forward in attack, we can exploit the space. However, we don't just aim for breakthroughs behind the defense, but also want to create numerical superiority quickly and break down the defense with coordinated movements. The team has a strong awareness of fighting together." With a compact formation, Tokyo will try to restrict the opponent's midfield as much as possible, switch quickly, and counterattack with Tokyo's soccer starting from the sides.

　As we approach the end of the league, intense matches continue. Sasaki says, "The more we win, the more weight we feel in the next match. I feel fortunate to be able to fight in this situation, and I must not let it break." Let's aim for a match against G Osaka, who is aiming for the Asian Championship, and win! The match started at 14:01 with G Osaka's kickoff at the Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium, where it was chilly and rainy.

Cabore's goal takes the lead! Leading by one point into the second half

　Allowing G Osaka to dominate the ball from the start of the match, Tokyo struggled to find their rhythm. G Osaka created chances with sharp movements targeting the space behind FW Hashimoto's defense, and Tokyo faced decisive moments in the 2nd and 8th minutes, but escaped the danger thanks to Shibata's excellent save. G Osaka continued their attacks, and Tokyo tried to counterattack while holding on. Then, in the 20th minute, Cabore kept the ball on the left side. Nagatomo sprinted up from behind and crossed the ball from the goal line. Although it initially drifted to the opposite side, Ishikawa followed up, evaded the opponent's defender, and crossed from the right. Cabore leaped and won the aerial duel against the opponent's defender, scoring the opening goal.

　However, the G Osaka pace remains unchanged. The midfield moves fluidly and cannot steal the ball. Even if they do steal it, they cannot launch an attack against G Osaka's quick check and instead receive second and third attacks. In the 32nd minute, G Osaka's DF Kaji shoots from close range after passing Nagatomo. In the 34th minute, FW Lucas creates another scoring opportunity by receiving a through pass, but again Hado is stopped by Shioda, avoiding a crisis.

　Towards the end of the first half, Tokyo also created a chance from a counterattack with Cabore as the starting point. In the 41st minute, Cabore on the left side sent a long ground through pass into the space on the right front line. Ishikawa won the ball against the opponent's defender and made a decisive chance, but the shot went over. In the 42nd minute, from Cabore's cross, Ishikawa dropped the ball in the center and Yamahira took a shot, but it went straight to the opponent's goalkeeper. In the end, the first half ended with a 1-point lead.

Ishikawa and Hirayama score additional points and win away!

　In the second half, we concentrated well from the start and created additional points with a strong desire to score. In the 45th minute, Nagatomo's long throw from the left side bypassed Hirayama, who acted as a decoy in the center, and rolled to the far side. Ishikawa, who was positioned there, scored the second goal perfectly! This additional point was valuable not only in terms of the flow of the game but also in frustrating the opponent's plans. However, in the 52nd minute, Shigetaka injured his knee, and Asari was substituted. We will face the game with a formation that moves Imamura to center back.

　G Osaka also made substitutions in the second half, replacing FW Hato with MF Sasaki and replacing FW Ronnie with MF Kurata in the 60th minute to increase the number of players in the midfield and launch a counterattack with FW Lucas as the lone striker. Tokyo also made a substitution in the 61st minute, replacing the visibly tired Kabore with Akamine. Then, in the 62nd minute, Tokunaga sprinted up the right side from a counterattack, and an early cross was perfectly delivered to Hirayama in the center of the box. Despite having an opponent's defender on his back, Hirayama turned towards the goal and smoothly shot the ball into the net. The ball slipped past the goalkeeper, giving them a three-goal lead.

　However, in the 66th minute, they allowed a header from FW Lucas, following a splendid pass work from G Osaka, and conceded a goal. After that, G Osaka continued to attack without giving up, while Tokyo countered. However, Tokyo defended by coordinating and putting their bodies on the line in dangerous situations, and managed to keep the number of goals conceded to a minimum until the end of the game. Although G Osaka had about half the number of shots with 7 compared to Tokyo's 15, Tokyo made sure to convert their few chances into 3 goals and secured 3 points at the Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium for the first time since 2004.

【Player Comments】《Shioda》"G Osaka probably wanted to take the lead in the first half, considering their busy schedule with the ACL matches. So if we could hold them to a 0-0 draw in the first half, I believed that we would have our chances in the second half. We were dominated from the beginning, but I think it was good that we were able to prevent them from scoring during that time. (You made several saves against G Osaka's scoring opportunities, didn't you?) I watched videos and knew that FW Cabore was really good at making runs. The ground was slippery due to the rain, but I took a risk and made a run in the first play. From there, I was able to create a good image and control my distance. (You were constantly targeted with through balls, what were your challenges as a defender?) I don't think we were the only ones being targeted. MF Endo and Nakagawa were able to turn and look up, and they were able to make through passes with various kicks. I knew that they could also use chip kicks and take shots in one go, like what Lucas did today. G Osaka is known for their passing game, but they are actually quick at transitioning after winning the ball and making through passes from there. That's what makes them dangerous. So we were cautious and created a block to defend against them, making it difficult for them to enter dangerous areas. We conceded one goal, but I think we can be confident that we held our ground. In order to continue fighting for the top spot in the league, there are also non-logical aspects that we need to consider. It may be necessary to gather the individual powers and produce more than what 11 players can do. Winning against Kashima and G Osaka here is a big achievement."《Ishikawa》"(On the team's second goal) At first, my reaction was a bit slow, but Nagatomo's throw-in was longer than I expected. I was hoping it would reach me, and it did (laughs). The cross that led to the opening goal was exactly what I aimed for. I thought the opponent's pressure would come if I tried to go forward, so I quickly lifted it with my left foot. If I could pass it to Cabore, he could take a shot, or we could pass it back and let Aita score. Today, we were dominated by G Osaka and the 0-0 period was the toughest. We didn't feel like we were being dominated, but there were many instances where they quickly brought the ball to our goal. I think holding on during those moments led to our victory. After taking the lead, we tried to counterattack as G Osaka came forward. I was planning to make a run from the opposite side if Cabore got the ball. We couldn't score, but we had chances towards the end of the first half. It was tough, but I think we were able to create those opportunities a few times. It wasn't exactly how we wanted, but we won against Kashima with a different approach, and today we won in a different way. Being able to win in various ways shows that we are building our strength as a team. We will continue to take one step at a time and work hard."

　[Summary of Coach Jofuku's Press Conference] "We were 5 points behind the top team and the goal difference wasn't that big, so today's game was crucial for us to keep up. The players showed great determination on the field and it was very good that we were able to score 3 goals by utilizing our strengths. In terms of performance, not everything was perfect. The opponent had a strong counterattack, and our precision in the final third was still lacking. We spent a lot of time defending. Although we were able to create a solid defensive block and didn't have any major breakdowns, I would like us to create more opportunities for ourselves. That was the challenge we saw today and something we need to learn from Gamba. In any case, it was very good that we were able to create a solid block and limit the opponent to one goal, earning us valuable points. (From the beginning, we pressed high?) In the area known as the vital area, the space between our center-backs and defensive midfielders, if we give the opponent time there, they can create dangerous situations. So, it was important to not allow them time in that area. To do that, we needed to approach the opponent's defensive midfielders and disrupt their work. I think we were able to do that. However, as I mentioned earlier, we need our own time after winning the ball. (You said the match against Kashima was the best of the year, how about today?) In terms of mentality, showing a strong determination to keep up with the top team and become a team that improves throughout the year, I think we demonstrated that. However, in terms of gameplay, we still have a long way to go. It's not that today's performance was worse than the one against Kashima, but we still need to improve our quality. Today, we clearly saw that there are things we still need to work on."

　[Summary of G Osaka Nishino's press conference] "After playing a good game in the ACL, I wanted to avoid this kind of game. In the previous match as well, after playing a good game in the ACL, we couldn't get the result. I wondered if we would repeat the same mistake. However, I think the players played a good game for the full 90 minutes. In terms of content, it wasn't bad, and we were able to play with more aggression than usual. We couldn't convert our chances and ended up giving away counterattacks. Even on the bench, I thought it would be a tough game. Unfortunately, my negative expectations came true. If we can't convert chances like this, we will end up with results like today. Now, the most important thing is to switch focus and not let it linger. (DF Nakazawa was absent, and MF Akechi played as a center back. How did that affect the game?) I don't think Akechi had a bad performance, and the midfield composition wasn't particularly new. We were able to maintain possession and build attacks properly. We just couldn't convert our chances as usual and couldn't find our rhythm. I don't feel that the content is disrupted even if the positions change a bit, and I think we dominated the game overall today and it was Gamba's pace. However, that was Tokyo's tactic. Not being able to break through in the first half made us feel the harshness of the game."