Aiming for the first victory at home with a fighting spirit

　In the 3rd round of the league, we will face Montedio Yamagata at home. Although we suffered two consecutive defeats since the opening, the players have no doubts about "let's go positively" to overcome the difficult situation. This round will be an important match where we aim for a result and want to seize the confidence by taking 3 points with our desired style of soccer. Sasaki and Ishikawa, who have fully recovered from their injuries and prepared their condition, will start this round. Hirayama will also be in the starting lineup, and rookie Yonemoto will be on the bench. We hope that these fresh players will stimulate the team and become an opportunity to grasp the rhythm.

　Yamagata, on the other hand, has been promoted to J1 this season. They have a solid defense and a sharp counterattack, which they have been playing freely and confidently since the start of the season with 1 win and 1 draw. The counterattack led by FW Furuhashi and Hasegawa in the front line is sharp, and the accuracy of MF Kim Byung-suk, who becomes the accent of the attack, as well as the kicks and crosses of MF Miyazawa and DF Ishikawa, is also high. The double defensive midfielders, Akiba and Sato Ken, also have a high work rate, making them a team where everyone can "do their best".

　It will be the first match since 1999 (J2), but we cannot afford to be overwhelmed both mentally and in terms of play against Yamagata, who will come to challenge us boldly. We want to seize the first victory of the season by returning to our roots and emphasizing our fighting spirit. The weather was calm and sunny at Ajinomoto Stadium. The match started with Yamagata's kickoff at 14:04.

Grab the rhythm from defense and create chances from counterattacks

　At the beginning, Yamagata tried to take the initiative with intense pressing and attacking from the sides. However, Tokyo also calmly entered the game and tried to establish a rhythm from defense. In the 7th minute, Nagatomo intercepted Yamagata's side change. He connected with Hirayama on the left side, and Hirayama sent a low and fast cross into the goal area. From the resulting right corner kick, Sasaki perfectly met Ishikawa's kick with a header shot, but it was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper.

　As time passed, both teams launched quick attacks and created decisive opportunities on the counter. In the 23rd minute, Yamagata FW Furukashi started the play with a post, and MF Kim Byung-Suk ran in from the right to receive the final pass. He was able to take a decisive shot, but it was saved by goalkeeper Gonda and resulted in a corner kick. Tokyo also launched a counterattack from the opponent's corner kick in the 24th minute, with Kajiyama passing to Ishikawa, who then found Cabore. Cabore took a decisive shot from inside the left area in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper, but it narrowly missed to the right.

　After that, he continued to connect with powerful attacks and in the 27th minute, Tokunaga dribbled into the right area and passed it short to Hirayama, who was near the goal. Hirayama tried to score, but was blocked by the defender. In the 28th minute, Hirayama connected a throw-in from the right and Imakono ran in from behind to take a shot, but it was blocked by the defender. In the 32nd minute, Kajiyama received a lofted pass in front of the goal area and in the center. From skillful control, he aimed for a shot that would catch the opponent's goalkeeper off guard, but it was saved right on the edge of the goal and resulted in a corner kick. They were unable to break through Yamagata's solid defense and the first half ended scoreless.

Hanyu's goal is the winning point! Secure a clean sheet and take 3 points

　In the second half, Nagatomo boldly aimed for the goal from the left side and showed a passionate play, but was stopped by the opponent's goalkeeper's great save. In the fast-paced game, in the 55th minute, Ishikawa flowed to the left side and fiercely pressed the Yamagata full-back. After stealing the ball, he connected with Nagatomo who overlapped, and Nagatomo ran up the side and towards the center. Cabore, with the defender on his back, made a one-touch pass to Hayu who came up from the right. Hayu controlled the ball with one touch and confidently scored with his left foot, taking the long-awaited opening goal!

　In the 62nd minute, Suzuki replaced Ishikawa, and in the 69th minute, Kondo was substituted for Cabore. Tokyo wanted to build on their lead with a second goal, but they made mistakes and the game became frantic. While there were no clear chances for Yamagata, there was a scramble for the ball. In the 80th minute, after a interception by Nagatomo, a pass was made in front of the goal, but Suzuki's shot from just outside the area missed the target.

　Both teams started to show signs of fatigue, but in the 82nd minute, Yamamoto made his professional debut, replacing Hayu. Yamagata also made a substitution, bringing in Sono as a forward in place of FW Furuhashi. They went on the offensive, but the Tokyo defense remained calm and composed. In the 87th minute, Kajiyama passed the ball to Suzuki, who made a run deep into the right area and delivered a perfect final pass to the center. Hirayama jumped in with a header, but was blocked in the midst of the chaos. Towards the end, there were moments when Yamagata, who never gave up, put pressure on Tokyo, but the entire team stayed focused and shut down their counterattacks. They held on without conceding a goal and secured their first victory of the season.

　【Player Comments】《Hayu》"The goal was a form that we practiced. However, in that situation, I was completely focused. It was a chance that came to me because everyone worked hard to connect. I think it was a goal that we all took together. This season, we have tried various things from the beginning, but we may have been too caught up in that and hesitated to show our individuality in the game. I think we lacked the premise of fighting and winning loose balls before tactics and techniques. So today, I wanted to bring that out. We were able to win today, but we have higher goals that we are aiming for. However, we cannot achieve results unless everyone plays with dedication. That is what we learned from today's game."《Sahara》"The team has been lacking energy lately, but we cannot continue like this, so we tried to return to the basics and play with passion. There were moments when Yamagata attacked us, but I don't think there were many dangerous situations. In the end, everyone was able to defend with their bodies on the line. If we had scored a second goal, the situation might have been easier, but right now, we need results more than performance. The fact that we won without conceding a goal is a positive outcome."

　[Summary of Coach Jofuku's Press Conference] "The joy of our first victory is a feeling of relief. Despite having lost two consecutive games, I am pleased that many fans came and we were able to meet their expectations. Regarding the content, we needed to prepare for the Yamagata match, but it would be counterproductive to deviate from what we have been doing since last year and this season in order to secure 3 points. First, we stuck to what we have been trying to do. Not everything went well, but the players tried their best. Since the start of this season, we haven't changed our approach significantly. We have been discussing with the players when to take risks and when not to. The soccer we are challenging this season may not change dramatically from last season, but we are aiming for a position and role that allows us to bring out the strengths of our team members. In that process, we reaffirmed "how to take risks." I don't think we were perfect, and we need to reflect on the fact that we only scored one goal and left some gaps. We want to firmly address those challenges in the next game. Yamagata is a very good team and I felt that they have the ability to compete in J1. They will likely be a strong opponent even in the away game, so it is important to build on this victory and return to a 50% win rate. We will also prepare from tomorrow to give our best in each game of the Nabisco Cup."

　[Summary of Yamagata Kobayashi's press conference] "Both side halves became defensive. If we could have taken a higher position and involved the side backs, we could have effectively used the side spaces and created 2-on-1 situations. But we couldn't do that. One of the reasons was when Tokyo's Imamura player drifted to the left side, our midfielders ended up with two players on the outside, which disrupted our attack. Especially in the first half, right MF Kim Byung-suk was pulled back, disrupting the midfield by passing and moving forward, and being pulled back by FW Furuhashi to mark Imamura. Rather than that, we defended well in the first half. That's because Tokyo didn't attack aggressively like before. Unlike the previous two matches, they came out with a risk management strategy. The defensive line had a defensive midfielder, and three or five players remained tight, making it difficult for us to break through. We conceded when our momentum slowed down. The opponent's press also eased a bit, so just as we were saying "pass the ball without forcing it," they launched a speedy counterattack. That's regrettable. Changing the side players created opportunities, and in the end, we had a power play a few times. It would have been better if we could have simplified and crossed the ball more, but it took some time for that to sink in. Our attacking variations were also limited. From the next match, while continuing with a solid defense, we still need to think about scoring. Today, the overall midfield press was fast, and there were easy mistakes. We were dispossessed just before entering the attack, and we couldn't find our rhythm easily. That's also something to reflect on."