Secure consecutive victories at home Ajinomoto Stadium and advance to the top!

　Entering the 10th match, which accounts for almost a quarter of the league season, the Sec. 17 match against Tokushima Vortis will be held at Ajinomoto Stadium. Following Ehime and Kumamoto, it will be the first match against Tokushima, but it is a game where we aim to take the lead by playing our own soccer and score additional goals to achieve a winning streak that we have not accomplished this season. In this match, Gonda will be absent as he will be participating in the Olympic Asia 2nd Qualifiers as a member of the U-22 Japan national team. Shioda will start as the goalkeeper for the first time since the opening match. On the other hand, the field players will face the match with the same lineup as the previous match.

　Tokushima, on the other hand, is currently in 6th place with 18 points. Naohiko MINOBE is the coach, in his 4th season. In the last 3 games, they have had 2 draws and 1 loss, unable to secure a win, but steadily building up the team's strength and staying in the upper ranks. Today, according to the lineup, it is a 4-3-3 formation with FW Tsuda and DOUGLAS as the two forwards. MF Shimada on the right midfield, FW Kakitani on the left. MF Hamada and Kurakuni form a double pivot in the midfield, utilizing each individual's characteristics to play soccer and aiming for a victory after 4 games, they should aggressively press forward from the away side.

　If we lose the ball here, it will be difficult for Tokyo to grasp the rhythm. We want to calmly assess the situation and connect passes to establish our own pace. It's cloudy but humid, and in the midst of feeling the mugginess, the match started with Tokushima's kickoff at 18:04.

Tokyo Aim For Consecutive Wins

Tokushima Vortis were the visitors to Ajinomoto Stadium for the 10th. fixture of the year, originally scheduled as the 17th.game. It was the first ever meeting between the sides and, following a hard-fought victory over Kumamoto in the rain in Kyushu, Tokyo were aiming for a win that would give the side consecutive wins for the first time this year. 
Gonda was away on duty with the U-22 Olympic team, allowing Shiota his first appearance since the opening game of the season. The outfield players were unchanged from the previous week. Visitors Tokushima lay in 6th.place with 18 points at kick off. The side had shown steady improvement under fourth-year manager Naohiko Minobe but was winless in four outings, having drawn 2 and lost one of the last three games. The side was registered in a 4-3-3 formation on the team sheet but on the field played 4-4-2 with striker Kakitani on the left wing behind forwards Tsuda and Douglas. Midfielder Shimada played on the right with double defensive midfielder pairing of Hamada and Kuranuki in the centre. Tokushima were expected to play a hard-pressing game from the front. Tokyo would need to retain possession, remain patient and pass the ball around to find a rhythm. 
The visitors kicked off shortly after 6pm on a cloudy, humid evening.

Finally, Kajiyama scores a goal just before the end of the first half to take the lead!

　Tokyo almost dominated the ball and tried to move forward without giving Tokushima the freedom to play from the start. In the 12th minute, Roberto CESAR and Tanizawa connected passes and entered a dangerous area. Although initially blocked by the Tokushima defenders, the ball fell to Takahashi, who then passed it to Kajiyama just before the area, and he took a shot after feinting the opponent. In the 16th minute, CESAR brought the ball in from the left side and took a dribble shot.

　After that, there was a period of time where we couldn't create any decisive chances despite attacking, and we also faced Tokushima's counterattacks. However, we regained our rhythm from stable defense, and in the 27th minute, Imakano quickly restarted the game with a left free kick and passed it to the front line. Morishige, who had moved up at the right timing, headed the ball but it went wide of the goal... In the 33rd minute, Tanizawa made a decisive opportunity by running in from the right side and receiving a last pass from Tokunaga in the center, but his shot went wide of the goal... In the 37th minute, Takahashi aimed for the goal from the left side where Cesar had drifted to, but he also couldn't find the target.

　However, in the added time, Saltada quickly connected the ball and sped up as it entered the midfield. Takahashi -> Tokunaga on the right side -> Kajiyama in the center, passed to Hayu who was running on the right front line. Although it was cleared by the opponent's DF once, the loose ball went to Yuzawa on the right side. From there, Yuzawa lifted a right cross, which was headed down by Cesar in the far position, and Kajiyama in the center pushed it in with his right foot, GOAL!! Shaking the opponent's DF, they finally took the lead and turned to the second half with a score of 1-0.

Kajiyama Gives Tokyo Lead On The Stroke Of Half Time

Tokyo shackled the visitors from the start, controlling possession and attempting to play the ball forward. In the 12th.minute Cesar and Yazawa exchanged passes and moved into a threatening area before running into trouble and losing the ball. Takahashi regained possession and picked out Kajiyama on the edge of the penalty area; Kajiyama neatly sidestepped a defender and managed to get a shot away despite tight marking. In the 16th.minute Cesar cut inside from the right and shot. 
Following those two early chances Tokyo struggled to create decisive openings despite largely controlling the ball. Tokushima threatened occasionally on the counter attack but the Tokyo defence dealt with any potential danger. In the 27th.minute Morishige headed Konno's quickly taken free quick narrowly wide. In the 33rd.minute Tokunaga whipped a low cross into the danger area between the Tokushima defence and the goalkeeper, Yazawa made a darting run to beat a defender to the ball at the near post but scooped his shot over the bar. In the 37th.minute Tokyo moved the ball smoothly down the left, Cesar played it infield to Takahashi and the midfielder fired a volley narrowly over the bar from the edge of the area. 
Tokyo finally made the breakthrough as the first half moved into additional time. Shiota bowled the ball out and Tokyo produced a high-tempo, incisive move as Takahashi found Tokunaga on the right, Tokunaga moved the ball infield and Kajiyama stroked it forward to meet Hanyu's run into the Tokushima penalty area. A defender slid in to clear the ball but the clearance fell kindly to Yazawa on the right. Yazawa curled a weighted cross to Cesar beyond the far post where the Brazilian striker cushioned a header back to Kajiyama who prodded a bounding volley past Oh. Sharp movement and crisp passing had torn the visitors’ defence apart and given Tokyo the lead moments before the half time whistle. 

Despite leaving issues without being able to score additional points, they secure their first consecutive victory and move up to 4th place.

　'Even in the second half, which focused on "additional points," we pressed from the front and took control of the pace. In the 54th minute, MoriShige from the far side shot after the ball spilled from TaniZawa's left corner kick, but it was blocked. MoriShige, who took the ball again, passed it to Cesar, who was free in the left area. Cesar, in shooting position, passed it through to Takahashi on the right. It was a great chance, but Takahashi's shot ended up being a miss...'

　In the 62nd minute, Julian from the central area received a short pass from Tanabe and took a shot as soon as he turned forward, but it hit the defender and resulted in a corner kick. In the 65th minute, Hyun Soo JANG received a pass from Morishige and, with a reverse movement, left the opposing defender behind and took a free shot, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper... Unable to convert the chance, time passed.

　In an attempt to break the situation, Ishikawa was substituted for Tanabe in the 71st minute. On the other hand, Tokushima also made player substitutions to launch a speedy attack. In the 79th minute, Tokyo had their pass intercepted and suffered a counterattack. Tokushima's FW Tsuda received a pass in the area from FW Sato, who had hit the post. A decisive shot was taken by FW Kakitani, who had made a run from the left to cross, but it missed the target and the danger was averted... In the 84th minute, Tokushima's DF Elizeu sent a high ball to the front line. FW received it and FW Kakitani took a shot, but Shioda made a save.

　However, apart from this situation, they did not allow any chances. In the 86th minute, Uchida was replaced by Kamisato, and in injury time, Tanizawa was replaced by Shimoda. Although they were unable to score an additional goal due to a lack of precision in the last play, they defended safely and the game ended 1-0. They achieved their first consecutive victory of the season and rose to 4th place in the standings.

　【Player Comment】《Kajiyama》"(About the goal) At first, I was preparing for a shot, thinking that a pass would come from Yuzawa on the right side. As a result, it turned out that Roberto CESAR on the left side dropped the ball for me, but I was prepared, so I think CESAR saw me too. It reached me just in time and was scored in a good position. I was happy about that. The challenge is still the "second goal". The accuracy is still lacking. If we can score an additional goal, we can have an easier game and we don't know what will happen with just a one-point lead. I want to resolve the challenge and continue winning."

　"Shiota: "The atmosphere of the stadium is really great, and I would like to express my gratitude once again to the fans and supporters. In the first half, there were times when the tempo didn't pick up, but in the second half, the tempo increased and there were more opportunities in front of the goal. We were able to penetrate the opponent's block while connecting firmly. This gives us confidence as a team, and we want to continue pushing for the "second goal" from here. We have players in the front line who can break through, so I think our way of passing has become clearer, not just passing the ball but also finding spaces."

　[Summary of Coach Okuma's Press Conference] "If we don't eliminate the continuous mistakes, the team's rhythm won't come out. Today, we had possession of the ball, but some players couldn't find their rhythm due to those mistakes, and the opponent created counter-attacking opportunities. That's unfortunate. Also, our ball possession was quite high, but when our feet stopped, we lacked fear, ideas, numbers, and combinations. I feel that it is necessary to break down the opponent, including player substitutions. We must continue to build as a team in order to score the second goal. However, today, including the substitute members and Kajiyama, the midfielders' feet didn't stop. We want to continue and maintain that, and keep playing the game."

　[Summary of Tokushima Minobe's press conference] "We lost, but the players fought well. Before the game, I felt FC Tokyo's possession and their ability to not lose individual balls, so the theme for the first half was to create a block and defend firmly. We wanted to keep it at zero, but we conceded a goal just before the end. That was the biggest reason for our loss. Considering the timing, we shouldn't have lost the ball there. We were able to compact in the first half, but in the second half, we wanted to compact even more and increase the pressure to win the ball."

　I was a little afraid to move the ball from the first half and became timid. I don't know how much the players felt the pressure, but from the outside, there were scenes where they were afraid and lost the ball even though they could move it more. That will be the point to fix in the second half, and we were able to move the ball and had shooting chances... But we couldn't score in the end, and it became a disappointing game. However, we haven't given up yet, even though we dropped in the rankings in the midst of a fierce battle. We want to regroup and move forward to the next game."

Issues Remain As Tokyo Move Up To 4th.

Tokyo continued to dominate as the second half began, pressing from the front in search of a second goal. In the 54th.minute Yazawa's deep corner from the left reached Morishige beyond the far post; Morishige shot and the ball cannoned back to him via a defender's legs. Morishige then elected to chip the ball over the Tokushima defence to Cesar on the left; Cesar skipped inside past a defender and faked a shot before stroking a low pass through the ruck of bodies in the goalmouth to Takahashi, unmarked at the far post. With the goal gaping Takahashi missed his kick entirely and the ball rolled out for a goal kick. 
In the 62nd.minute Yazawa received the ball from Tanabe, turned neatly and unleashed a fierce drive in the same movement that clipped a defender and deflected out for a corner. Three minutes later Hanyu received the ball from Morishige on the corner of the Tokushima area, deceived a defender with a slick turn and fired a hard, low shot to the near post that drew a sharp save from Oh. 
In an attempt to inspire a second goal Tokyo replaced Tanabe with Ishikawa in the 71st.minute. Tokushima responded with substitutions of their own and increased the tempo of their attacks. The visitors' best chance of the game came in the 79th.minute after Tokyo had misplaced a pass in midfield, allowing rapid interplay between Sato and Tsuda to set up Kakitani, unmarked in front of goal. Kakitani snatched at his shot and the ball sailed harmlessly wide. In the 84th.minute Elizeu hoisted a long ball forward and Kakitani pounced on the knock-down, drawing a good save from Shiota, low to his right. 
That was the final chance of the game for Tokushima. Tokyo made a pair of late substitutions and comfortably ran down the three minutes of additional time. Despite lacking the decisive finish needed to conjure a second goal Tokyo defended well enough to earn a second consecutive win that lifted them up to 4th. in the league ranking. 


Players' comments
Kajiyama
"At first I thought Yazawa was going to cross the ball to me and I prepared to shoot. He crossed to Roberto Cesar instead though, but I thought he had seen me and I was ready when the ball came. I stretched and just about made contact with it. It was a great time to score, and I was very pleased with it. The problem is still scoring that second goal, though. We're just lacking in accuracy at the moment. If we could score again, then it would make the game much easier as you never know what's going to happen with only a one-goal lead. We want to find an answer to these issues and keep on winning games".

Shiota
"There was a fantastic atmosphere in the stadium and once again I'd like to express my thanks to the supporters. In the first half there were times when we couldn't raise the tempo but in the second half we sped up the play and created far more chances. We passed the ball solidly and broke our opponents' lines. That will boost our confidence so from here we want to follow through and score the second goal. We have the players up front to do that. It's not a case of simply moving the ball around but moving it around to find space. We have a far clearer picture of what we should be doing".

FC Tokyo manager Kiyoshi Okuma
"If we don't cut out the mistakes this team can't find a rhythm. We enjoyed a lot of possession today but several players made mistakes that prevented us from finding a rhythm and allowed our opponents to counter attack. That was disappointing. At times we stopped running and lacked a threat and lacked ideas. We didn't get enough bodies forward and our combination play suffered. I really felt our need for ways to decisively open our opponents up. On the other hand the midfield, including Kajiyama and the substitutes, kept going the whole time and I hope that will continue".

Tokushima Vortis manager Naohiko Minobe 
"We may have lost but I thought the team performed well today. We knew Tokyo's ability to retain possession and individual players’ skill at not losing it so set up in blocks and attempted to defend solidly in the first half. We had wanted to keep them out but then conceded just before half time and that was the main reason we lost today. Considering the time we should never have lost the ball when we did. We kept a compact formation in the first half, continued in the second and we wanted to apply more pressure and win the ball. 
We seemed nervous about moving the ball around in the first half and were a little timid. I don't know how heavy the players felt the pressing was but from the sideline it seemed they were reluctant to play the ball around and that led to us losing possession. We fixed that at half time, moved the ball around more and created shooting opportunities. We couldn't put those chances away and that was disappointing. Even though we've fallen in the rankings we're still in the mix and aren't about to give up yet. We have to reorganize and look forward to the next match".