Aiming for advancement to the top with the momentum of Nabisco!

　Sec. 25 of the league, Kyoto Sanga F.C. played away. In the Nabisco Cup match against Shimizu on 9/6, the team demonstrated a strong collective consciousness and won with Tokyo-style soccer, securing their spot in the final. On the other hand, Cabore's transfer to Qatar has been decided. Coach Jofuku said, "We need to turn negatives into positives as a team," and while continuing the momentum from the Nabisco Cup, we want to cover it with unity and solidarity.

　Kyoto, who will face us, is currently in 10th place. Since the 24th round on 8/30, there has been a two-week interval. Although Korean representative DF Lee was absent, they have carefully prepared for this round. The defensive line is centered around DF Lee, with DF Mizumoto and Masushima, and they have players who excel in height and individual strength. Today, the biggest point is how we can break through this solid defense. We want to bypass the press from Kyoto's front line, take control in the midfield, and create as many chances as possible.

　Tokyo, Japan's representative Nagatomo and Konno return to the starting lineup in good health. Akamine will replace Cabore. Akamine said, "I have been playing with Aita for a long time, so I know his strengths well. I want to make the most of Aita's ball retention and height, and also demonstrate my own strengths, bringing out the best in each other." The defense has also been stable, maintaining concentration, so we want to suppress the opponent's attacks with coordinated defense, bring the game to Tokyo's pace, and fight patiently without rushing.

　The match record against Kyoto has ended in a draw for the past 3 games, but Coach Jofuku explains his aim, saying, "Kyoto is skilled at neutralizing the opponent's strengths and changing their tactics and system according to the situation. Therefore, we also need to have several options and mental preparation." At the same time, in previous matches, we were confused by the opponent's changes in the late stages and became chaotic, so it is necessary to calmly read the flow of the game. Stay calm and adapt to the changing situation, and strive for a foothold in advancing to the top! The match started at 13:04 with Kyoto's kickoff at the Kagoshima Prefectural Kamoike Athletics Stadium.

Allowing an early goal and being led throughout the game

　Immediately after the start of the match, Kyoto was attacked from a free kick. Left MF Kakuta advanced into the center of the area, and then FW Diego advanced by avoiding Bruno QUADROS. He scored a shot to the lower left and conceded a goal... Lacking concentration, they allowed the opening goal. After that, Tokyo switched their mindset and started attacking by connecting passes as usual. In the 8th minute, Akamine on the left side deployed to Hirayama in the center from Kajiyama's vertical pass. Hirayama dribbled past the opponent's DF and almost broke through in front of the goal, but the DF tripped him up at the last moment, resulting in a corner kick.

　At 15 minutes, Imakano forcefully cut the ball in the opponent's territory. He connected with Hayashi and Ishikawa through a direct pass in the center, and tried to send a pass to Akamine who was attacking in front of the goal, but it was intercepted. At 21 minutes, Hayashi ran to the far post after Ishikawa's right cross and headed the ball back, but it narrowly missed Hiraoka. At 25 minutes, Hayashi advanced to the left front line with speed from Kajiyama's long feed in the center, and delivered a sharp cross. Akamine perfectly timed his header, but it went just wide of the goal...

　Against opponents who were completely defensive, we attacked but lacked precision in the final play, failing to create any decisive chances. However, in the heat, with 10 minutes remaining, we finally found ourselves in a decisive situation in front of the goal. In the 34th minute, Hirayama received the ball from Imano and passed it to Ishikawa in the left area. He entered the left area and took a powerful left-footed shot, grazing the defender and resulting in a corner kick. In the 38th minute, Akamine on the left passed to Hirayama in the center, who hit the post, and Ishikawa quickly moved in from the left to take a shot. It was a powerful shot, but it hit the crossbar and went out... In the end, we entered the second half with a one-goal deficit.

Despite gaining momentum with Ishikawa's equalizing goal, they conceded a goal on the counterattack and were defeated.

　In the second half, Suzuki was substituted for Akamine as a forward. This sparked movement in the team and the game progressed in Kyoto's territory. In the 53rd minute, Suzuki brought the ball inside from the left side and took a shot. The defender blocked it. Then, in the 60th minute, Hayashi dribbled and attempted to break through the central area. And immediately to the left, Kajiyama was also advancing, but he passed to Ishikawa on the outside. Ishikawa, from the left area, struck a controlled and sharp shot into the net! With Ishikawa's goal, the first since the Kawasaki game on August 1st, the team finally caught up to an equal score.

　Tokyo, riding on momentum, continues to pass the ball to create chances in search of a go-ahead goal. In the 62nd minute, Imakano intercepts the opponent's ball and runs up the field to cross. Suzuki tries to connect in the center but is ruled offside. In particular, Kajiyama demonstrates his presence in the midfield, repeatedly playing vertical passes to the forward line. In the 69th minute, he picks up a loose ball from a right corner kick, enters the right area himself, evades the goalkeeper, and takes a shot from close range, but fails to score.

　In the 85th minute, in the midst of being on the defensive, the ball was stolen in the front line and the opponent's defender cleared it to the midfield. At this point, Yonemoto competed with Kyoto FW Kan, but the ball hit FW Kan and went towards the Tokyo goal. Gonda also came out here, but FW Kan evaded him and scored into the empty goal, resulting in a goal against Tokyo. Tokyo, who wanted to equalize somehow, repeatedly put the ball in front of the goal from set plays, but couldn't score and the game ended. While Tokyo was trying to dominate the ball and score a second goal, they were caught off guard and suffered a defeat. They couldn't start the league with a victory.

　【Player Comment】《Ishikawa》"It's disappointing that we couldn't score another goal after equalizing. We had discussed before the game about where to defend and where to aim for chances, so the situation up to the equalizing goal was as we had imagined. And then, it was the perfect time to go for an additional goal, but we couldn't convert our chances, which I think was the reason for our defeat. (Was the goal as you had imagined?) Yes. However, I'm frustrated that I couldn't score in the first half. I think we spent too much time chasing. I wanted to catch up in the first half. The goal conceded is not about who... it's a goal that the whole team should not have allowed. While reflecting on that, maybe we equalized a little late. The game plan needs to be adjusted according to the situation, but in the end, even though there was no panic, we lost our composure. It felt like Kyoto had taken control. (Are you returning to your pre-injury form?) Rather than going back to that point, I'm aiming to evolve from before the injury. Today, we scored the equalizer, but I want to focus on the work beyond that. Losing can make the team feel down, but I want to change that atmosphere."

　"Kajiyama" "At first, we couldn't concentrate and conceded a goal in that way. However, even in that situation, we didn't panic and connected with each other, gradually getting into a normal rhythm. In the second half, Tatsuya-san was able to exploit the space behind the defense, and the team's rhythm started to show. There was a feeling that we could turn the game around... (What about the shot in the 69th minute?) The opponent didn't come to mark me too much. There were other chances to shoot besides that moment, and I was thinking of putting it on target instead of aiming near, but it went off target... I wanted to be involved in the goal."

　[Summary of Coach Jofuku's Press Conference] "It was an indescribable game. I feel sorry for the fans who came from far away and made them feel disappointed. Everyone knew that today's game would be difficult, so I don't want to make any excuses or say anything. The winning team was strong, and we were weak. (What was the intention of substituting Suzuki from the beginning of the second half?) We couldn't give the opponent a threat from behind, so we decided to use a player who could run behind the defense. Of course, it's not because Akamine was bad, but as a balance, we need to show both the short pass and the threat from behind to be a threat to the opponent. In the first half, we decided that although we had possession, we couldn't give a threat. The Kyoto defense line was dropping back, but we need to raise our awareness of the timing to run behind more and more, including the passer. When we win the ball, the opponent's line is not dropping back, so we created a situation where the opponent's defense could drop back quickly. I think there were some problems with both the passer and the receiver because we could only carry the ball like that. (How will you regroup for the next match?) We will organize the mental aspect again. The fans who came from far away were singing the cup song, which is very much appreciated and encouraging, but it is also a humiliation in a sense. There is only the cup competition left in this season. Maybe it's not meant in that way, but I think it's to encourage us. We will work as a team to figure out how to play the remaining 9 league matches and we definitely want to get 3 points in the next match so that we won't only be singing the cup song."

　[Summary of Kyoto Kato's press conference] "We decided to play the home game in Kagoshima, which is the hometown of our main sponsor Kyocera and also the hometown of Chairman Inamori. Many people came to support us, even from Kyoto, which is far away. I think it was good to be able to give back to those supporters. In the first half, we scored a goal very early, which of course is a big advantage to take the lead. I think the players felt the importance and tried to be careful. I think we should have gone out more when we had the ball or moved the ball quickly, but I think we lost a bit of boldness and energy to go forward. As a result, we were pushed back by FC Tokyo, but I think it was good that the first half ended with a 1-0 lead. In the second half, I was considering when to bring in FW Yanagisawa. Today's match was played in higher temperatures than usual during practice, and FW Hayashi did a great job, but I expected FW Yanagisawa to create time up front, so I brought him in from the beginning of the second half. In the middle of the game, MF Shijiclay had an accident and got injured, so we were pushed back a bit. MF Shijiclay has a very strong presence, but he is not always in his best condition, so I thought that in such situations, the team as a whole needs to rely less on MF Shijiclay and show more resilience. The positioning and balance of FW Kane and MF Nakamura, who came in later, did a good job. FW Kane scored the winning goal for the second consecutive game after the Niigata match, and I think it will be a big boost to have a rookie like him score important goals. I think he will have a positive influence on other rookies and young players. We were able to take 3 points from FC Tokyo, who have a lot of strength and have advanced to the final of the Nabisco Cup, and I think the players are very satisfied. However, there are still 9 league matches remaining, so we want to gradually catch up with the teams above us and aim higher."