Aiming for consecutive victories as a united team

　Sec. 4 of the league, we will play against Júbilo Iwata away. In the Nabisco match against Kobe, we faced it with a fresh lineup and strongly focused on defense. In the midst of the battle, we held the opponent's attacks without conceding a goal and won with a difficult 1-0 score. Coach Shirofuku said, "Based on this battle, we will continue to build on it and get closer to winning 3 points. First, we will return the league record to a 50-50 ratio and then take on new challenges." He continued, pledging to fight for 3 points even away today.

　Tokyo is currently in 18th place against Iwata. They conceded 6 goals in the league opener against Yamagata and 4 goals in the 2nd match against G Osaka, but they have thoroughly reorganized their defense and managed to keep a clean sheet in both matches of the Nabisco Cup. For Tokyo, the key will be whether they can persistently attack from the sides without rushing against the opponent's defense, which tends to consolidate the center. Also, although they have scored few goals, caution is necessary against the front line's FW Elsinho and Maeda. It will be important to concentrate on marking them and not allowing them to move freely.

　Tokyo, with Nagatomo returning to the starting lineup after conditioning with the Japan national team. The rest of the team will face the match with the same members as the Kobe match. Ohtake said, "If it becomes a tight match, set plays will be key on both offense and defense. I want to kick a good ball and score soon. Of course, I will aim to play towards the goal even in the flow of the game, and I think I need to meet expectations in defense in order to continue starting. It makes a big difference whether we end this round with 1 win and 3 losses or 2 wins and 2 losses. In that sense, it is a very important match. I want to do my best to show the determination to bet on each match in my play," he said. In addition, Bruno QUADROS made the lineup for the first time since the opening match.

　Asari said, "It is important to add a plus alpha to the Kobe match and see how much we can move the ball and the players to score. Personally, I want to focus on defense while also trying to increase possession as a team and come up with ideas for movement. If we lose to Kobe, there is no tomorrow for me, and if we lose today, there is no next time. I want to express such a strong feeling on the pitch and compete, and I want to produce results and move on to the next. It is expected to be a tough battle as both teams want to use it as a trigger for a comeback. The match started at 19:04 at the Yamaha Stadium, where it was pouring rain, with Iwata's kickoff."

There was also a great save by Gonda, and the first half ended in a 0-0 tie.

　Immediately after the start, there is a pinch. Iwata FW Jiushinho sneaks behind Tokyo DF and takes a shot from inside the area, but Gonda saves it by throwing his body! It was a decisive moment, but they didn't allow a goal. Tokyo regains their composure and creates a chance. In the 3rd minute, Otake takes a left corner kick and Akamine heads it from the far side. From here, Otake connects with Hayashi who puts a left cross inside, but it is punched by the goalkeeper. In the 9th minute, Tokunaga, who advanced from Hayashi to Otake, started the attack from Kajiyama in the center and made a right cross. Cabore jumped in near, but the ball floated.

　Both teams have a high defensive awareness and engage in intense battles for the ball. In particular, Tokyo often dominates possession and passes well in the midfield, but they struggle to create scoring opportunities against Iwata's compact defense. On the other hand, Iwata counterattacks and puts pressure on Tokyo's defense. In the 19th minute, Imakano headed a left corner kick from Otake, but it went wide to the left. Tokyo manages to threaten the opponent's goal from set pieces, but they fail to convert any clear-cut chances.

　In the 34th minute, Iwata's right MF Ota floated a pass to the front line. Sasaki cleared it, but the ball reached MF Yamamoto Kosuke, who had advanced into the area... He was left free to shoot directly in front of the goal, but Gonda threw himself in front and prevented the goal. Just before the end of the first half, Maeda was also given a perfect diving header, but it went wide of the goal. Helped by Gonda's great save and the opponent's mistake, the score remained 0-0, and the match was carried over to the second half.

Securing 3 points with Akamine's goal, demonstrating strong competitiveness

　The battle for the ball continues in the second half. Tokyo calmly passes the ball, waiting for a chance, but they are unable to take a shot. In this deadlock situation, Tokyo makes the first move. In the 65th minute, Ishikawa replaces Otake, and in the 71st minute, Suzuki replaces Kabore. They go for a wide position to score. In the 70th minute, Iwata substitutes Manda for FW Jiu Shinho, who has been the starting point for chances so far. Tokyo seizes the rhythm with speedy attacks, but they cannot break through. They are unable to overcome Iwata's counterattack.

　However, in the 82nd minute, Tokunaga on the right side sends an early cross. Akamine competes with the opponent's DF in the center of the opponent's field. Suzuki connects the loose ball short and Akamine, who cleverly turns the opponent's DF, advances with a dribble. Seeing the movement of the GK, he aims and shoots, piercing the goal net! He seizes the one chance and scores in the Iwata match for the third consecutive season. Regaining momentum, in the following 83rd minute, Ishikawa leaves two opponents behind on the right side from a counterattack and dribbles up the center. He unleashes a powerful left-footed shot from outside the box, but the opponent's GK makes a great save and it results in a corner kick.

　The opponent's attack that counterattacked, put pressure from a high position, and bounced back the ball thrown into the goal area safely to prevent chances. In the end, this valuable goal becomes the winning point and keeps Iwata's attack from scoring, and the game is over. Even though it was an away game, we gained a very valuable 3 points.

　【Player Comments】《Akamine》"I don't think the game was good. It's good that we were able to get results. If we had more crosses from the side and attempted through passes, I think we could create more chances... However, even when the ball didn't come to the front line, I didn't panic or get frustrated. It's a time where patience is necessary. I believe we are trying to play in that manner. The goal was scored because Tatsuya Suzuki passed the ball at the right timing. I was able to evade the defenders smoothly and had the composure to see the goalkeeper. Nokatsu aimed for the opposite direction where the weight was placed. There is nothing special about the Iwata match or Yamaha Stadium. I'm not consciously thinking about it... (Also, "If Akamine scores, we won't lose") I want to do my best to live up to the expectations. Since the next match is at home, we can't afford to lose. I will strive to score again."《Gonda》"(There was a dangerous situation at the beginning, but you stopped it with your face?) I didn't expect it to come so suddenly. I couldn't react in time with my face, so I stopped it with my throat (laughs). (Did you manage to save it with that play?) I'm not sure if I was able to save it, but I had the determination. Especially, I didn't want Kosuke Yamamoto to score against me. Afterwards, Kosuke said to me, 'Why did you stop it! It would have been his first goal if it went in' (laughs). There were a few dangerous situations today, but I think the defenders stopped them more often. We couldn't fully attack because we got stuck after having the ball and it turned into a counterattack, and we lacked support from the sides. The balance when attacking was off, and there was a risk, but everyone was focused at the end. (The coach said, 'Thanks to Gon-chan') It's not good for the goalkeeper to always stand out, but if it's occasionally... If my save can create an atmosphere where the team tightens up again and contribute to victory, I would be happy. (What about your injured left shoulder?) It hurts, but I think the pain will subside in two days. It was unnecessary to get injured from a foul, but I believe that was a situation where I absolutely had to come out."

　[Summary of Coach Jofuku's Press Conference] "We had been losing since the opening, so today we approached the game with a strong desire to win and return to Iwagin.S with five stars. The players also played with a strong determination to meet the expectations of the fans who came all the way in the rain. However, in the first half, we knew that the opponent would set up a strong block, but we kept going inside when it came to finishing. There were moments when we were able to break through to some extent by patiently passing the ball and using the outside, but sometimes we went inside and lost the ball, allowing the opponent to use the wide areas against us. Gonda prevented several decisive scenes, so we were fortunate to end the first half with a 0-0 score. In the second half, we entered with a strong awareness of breaking through to the wide areas one more time, but Cabore was having trouble finding his space to move, so we made some changes including player substitutions and positioning. The players who came on later fulfilled their tasks very well, so I think we were able to bring the pace closer to us. In any case, I am relieved that we were able to meet the expectations of the fans."

　[Summary of Iwata-Yanagishita's press conference] "In this bad weather, many supporters cheered for us, and I feel that it was a game where we definitely needed to take 3 points. It's frustrating that we couldn't do that, and I feel sorry for the supporters. Regarding the game, our defense has been stable in the past 2-3 matches, and we have been able to create chances in the attack, so the players have been gaining confidence. I thought we could continue in that way in this game as well. Actually, we created several decisive chances in the first half, and there weren't many dangerous situations created against us, so I don't think the team is in a bad state. However, it's worrying that we haven't been able to take 3 points and have had 3 consecutive goalless games, as it may affect the players' confidence. From our perspective, we have a solid shape, so if we continue like this, we will definitely score, so we want to keep training. We want to recover mentally and physically as soon as possible and prepare for the next game."