Switching focus to the league match, we challenge Urawa, who have not won in the past 13 matches

　Sec. 31 of the league will be held, facing Urawa Reds at home. It is a league match that comes four days after the fierce battle of the Nabisco Cup, but the cup we aimed for is already in the past. We will switch our mind and body to the league, chase big possibilities until the final match, and fight through each game. However, Coach Jofuku said, "There should have been a sense of achievement in the Nabisco Cup. It is easy to switch and concentrate here, right after playing such a game with such tension, but in reality, it is difficult. The moment we step on the pitch is the decisive moment," and he prepared in a short time and faced this match.

　Urawa, who will face us, is currently in 8th place with 46 points. Although they lost 0-3 to Omiya in the league last match on October 25, they should have carefully adjusted their aim over the past two weeks for today's match. This season, they are aiming for possession football, and in the first half of the season, in the away match on March 14, they were completely overwhelmed by Urawa's possession (Manager Jofuku). From there, it has been 7 months. Tokyo wants to show their soccer and growth that they have built up and compete.

　On the other hand, Urawa not only emphasizes passing work, but also utilizes the speed and breakthrough power of the FW Edmilson and FW Tatsuya TANAKA, and has acquired a strong winning mentality. In this match, MF Ponte will be suspended, but one of the points is how to prevent the ball from being passed to Urawa's two top players. In the attack, it is important to create chances from the sides against Urawa's solid central defense. Above all, Urawa has not won against them in the league and cup matches for the past 5 and a half years, including 13 matches. In this match, we want to calmly stick to our own soccer and aim for victory.

　Suzuki was worried about his injured leg, but he was included in the starting lineup, as Coach Shirofuku said, "He is prepared for the real thing." They will face the match with the same starting members as the Nabisco final. Ajinomoto Stadium, which was calmly sunny, gathered 47,010 spectators in the stands, and the game started with a Tokyo kickoff at 15:04.

Despite suppressing Urawa's attack, the first half ends with a scoreless draw

　Tokyo dominated the ball from the start and approached the Urawa goal with an aggressive attitude. In the 4th minute, Konno, who had moved up the left side, sent a cross and Hirayama in the area took a shot. In the 7th minute, from Kajiyama's development, Hirayama on the left front line passed behind the opponent's DF. Suzuki ran into this space. They showed good combination play, but were cut off just before the shot. From here, they quickly earned a corner kick, and in the 8th minute, Bruno QUADROS headed the ball, which went to the opposite side of the goal, but was cleared by the Urawa DF who had entered to cover. They were unable to fully capitalize on the early chances, and the game settled down as time passed.

　In the 21st minute, Suzuki dropped the ball back from the left side of Kajiyama, and Yonemoto took a shot from the middle. In the 27th minute, Suzuki entered the right area in response to Yonemoto's vertical pass. Akamine tried to make a run into the center for the final pass, but the opponent's defender closed in and the timing was delayed, preventing him from finishing. In the 25th minute, Tokunaga's attack was blocked, allowing Urawa's right back Takahashi to advance. Takahashi crossed the ball to forward Tatsuya Tanaka, but the ball drifted wide.

　In the end, Urawa managed to keep the number of shots in the first half to just one, and their defense was also strong, preventing Tokyo from attacking from the sides. In the 44th minute, Makoto Imano took advantage of a gap in Urawa's defense and created a big chance. Imano passed to Hayabusa on the left side, who then passed back to Imano, and Suzuki, creating a direct connection. Imano advanced to the left area and made a final pass in front of the goal. Akamine jumped into the near side, but the shot went wide... Unable to capitalize on the chance, the score remained 0-0 as they entered the second half.

We conceded a goal after missing a chance... We launched a fierce attack against 10-man Urawa, but

　In the second half, Tokyo grasped the rhythm in the early stages and attacked with Hayashi and Kajiyama as the starting point. Immediately after the start of the second half, Kajiyama passed a lobbed ball behind the opponent's defense to Hayashi, who aimed for the goal but missed over the bar. However, in the 47th minute, Urawa created a dangerous situation from a counterattack. The ball was swung from right to left and crossed to FW Edmilson, who headed it just wide of the goal. This shot was saved by a miss, but in the following 49th minute, Urawa's right full-back Takahashi passed a one-two with MF Haraguchi and broke through to the front line. He sent a cross to the center, and the free FW Edmilson trapped it and took a shot. It pierced the net spectacularly... and they allowed the first goal to be scored by seizing the one chance.

　In the 53rd minute, Urawa MF Haraguchi received his second warning and was sent off. With 10 players, Urawa changed their formation to have FW Edmilson as the lone striker and solidified their defense by filling the midfield and defensive line. In response, Tokyo substituted Nagatomo for Suzuki in the 60th minute, and then brought in Hiramatsu as a defender in the 69th minute. In this formation, Imakita played as an attacking midfielder, Bruno also moved forward, and they launched a fierce attack. However, all the crosses they attempted were easily blocked. On the other hand, Kajiyama calmly sent passes to exploit the gap in the opponent's defense and tried to create chances.

　However, in the 73rd minute, Kajiyama started and Yonemoto connected with Imano, and Hirayama's shot shook the net, but Imano was offside in the previous play. In the 77th minute, Tokunaga stole the right CK from the cross, and from this flow, Imano became free in the left area and took a decisive shot. Then, in the 78th minute, Bruno QUADROS hit a header from Nagatomo's left cross, but both were blocked by the Urawa GK's save.

　In the 84th minute, Tokunaga → Bruno QUADROS in the center aimed and hit a precise shot inside the frame, but it was also saved by the goalkeeper and escaped as a corner kick. In the 87th minute, Nagatomo → Hirayama's through pass allowed Akamine to break through and create a decisive chance, but the shot crossed the goal... They continued to attack the goal one after another, but they started to feel anxious against Urawa's defensive tactics, and they were unable to take advantage of their numerical advantage and scoring opportunities until the end. Without scoring, they suffered their first defeat since the 25th round against Kyoto on September 12th, and the Urawa match marks 14 consecutive winless matches...

　【Player Comment】《Imano》"Even if the opponent is reduced to 10 players, there is no change in our approach to playing football. The pressure from Urawa wasn't intense, but maybe we got a bit anxious because we couldn't convert our chances into goals. It would have been better if we could have pushed the opponent a little more and made them ball watchers before crossing, just like we usually do. Nevertheless, we were able to create opportunities. Whether or not we scored a goal there would have made a huge difference. If we could have used our heads a bit more and approached the game calmly, the outcome would have been different. Even if we are told 'it's difficult to move up if you don't score there,' there's nothing we can do."

　"I am very disappointed that I couldn't produce results. I don't think the performance was bad, but Urawa took advantage of the few chances they had and scored first. We tried to catch up, but the results didn't match the performance, and it's really frustrating. (What was the impact from the Nabisco final?) Playing consecutive matches is a given in football. In that sense, it's not a matter of time. Today's defeat has nothing to do with the Nabisco. It all comes down to not being able to capitalize on the chances, including myself. I'm really frustrated because I wanted to win... but I haven't given up on the league yet. I will switch gears from today's defeat and fight until the end, one good game at a time in the remaining three matches."

　[Summary of Coach Jofuku's Press Conference] "We had many people come to the game, but we couldn't produce results, and it's a very disappointing and frustrating loss. Looking back calmly, the 5 minutes when we conceded the goal were a game that deserved to be lost. It's difficult to accept the remaining 85 minutes. I would have liked to play with 11 players against 11 players, and if so, I think we could have had a fair game without feeling stressed by the referee. However, losing is definitely losing. We kept missing scoring opportunities and allowed the opponent to score one goal. We sincerely accept this fact and aim for consecutive victories in the remaining 3 matches. Many Tokyo fans came to support us, but despite being at home, we were continuously sung to by Urawa fans, and that is nothing but humiliation. The only thing we can do is to finish the season with a higher rank than Urawa. I believe that's the only option. (There seems to be fatigue from consecutive matches starting from the Nabisco Cup?) I think that depends on how people see it or the results. We have made preparations without regrets, but if we lose today, it will be blamed on the Nabisco Cup. That was also our position."

　[Summary of Urawa・Finke's press conference] "Many injured players were present in today's lineup, some of whom have not fully recovered from their injuries. Nevertheless, I believe we were able to show a solid performance. We particularly wanted to demonstrate our fighting spirit to the supporters, and all the players who stepped onto the pitch were able to put it into practice. Therefore, today's victory is a fair result. In the first half, we didn't allow the opponents many scoring opportunities, but it is also true that we couldn't create many chances ourselves. After halftime, we were able to make overall improvements, and in the second half, we were able to create several good scoring opportunities. Considering the plays during that period, I think it was fair that we scored the opening goal. Afterwards, we were reduced to 10 men, but we knew what we had to do in that situation. We tried to regain possession of the ball and keep it for as long as possible in a 4-4-1 system. (Is victory more a result of chance or inevitability?) Being one player down against eleven, away from home, and facing a team that has been in good form and achieving good results recently, it wouldn't be surprising to allow the opponents three to four chances. In football, luck is often a factor. Depending on the circumstances, a lack of even a small amount of luck can prevent us from scoring goals or lead to defeat. However, in today's match, we didn't need a lot of luck."