Stop the home losing streak and end the first half of the league with a victory

　As the conclusion of the first round of matches, Sec. 17 will be held, facing Gamba Osaka at home. In the previous match, we were taken the initiative by Iwata in both offense and defense, resulting in a consecutive loss of 2 games. We are in a difficult situation without producing results, but as a team, we want to stop the losing streak with our own style and direction. We definitely want to secure 3 points at home.

　G Osaka, on the other hand, is currently in 16th place with 13 points. After a change in coach to Matsunami at the beginning of the season, they were trying to turn things around and had been gaining momentum, but in the previous match against Kashiwa, they suffered a defeat with 6 goals conceded. At the same time, DF Nakazawa and FW Paulinho are injured and the team is facing difficulties.

　However, everyone recognizes the high individual abilities of G Osaka's players. That's why MF Endo's ability to develop and DF Imano's wide defensive range and quick approach forward, when fully utilized, will make Tokyo struggle. This match will inevitably attract attention to the matchup between G Osaka's DF Imano and Lucas' former team, but what will be tested is the team's strength. We want to aim for victory by coordinating as a whole and taking control in both offense and defense.

　Tokyo will be without Hyun Soo JANG, who is away for the activities of the Korean national team at the London Olympics, and Hyeongchan CHOI, who is away for the activities of the U-19 Japanese national team. In their absence, Nakamura, who is making his first start of the season, will be deployed as the left back. Hasegawa will move to the left side, and Tanabe will play as the attacking midfielder. The game started at 18:35 with G Osaka's kickoff, under unstable weather conditions with occasional heavy rain despite a temporary decrease in the intensity of the rain.

Nakamura, who made his first start, scored the opening goal just after the start! Lucas marked two magnificent goals!!

　Tokyo showed an aggressive attitude from the start and demonstrated momentum forward. In the 3rd minute, Nakamura on the left side initiated a dribble after a midfield pass exchange, attempting to bring the ball to the finish from the left area. Although initially blocked by G Osaka, Nakamura tenaciously pressed the opponent's defense, regained possession of the ball, broke through, and shot with his right foot, slipping the ball between the opponent's goalkeeper's legs! Nakamura took full advantage of his first starting opportunity this season and scored the opening goal in the early stages!

　However, G Osaka did not look down and in the 9th minute, FW Abe took a shot. In the 10th minute, FW Sato was sent forward on the left side and brought the ball into the area freely. In the 12th minute, a left cross almost reached FW Sato in the far post, but he held his concentration and controlled it. Then, in the 17th minute, Lucas received a pass from midfielder Takahashi, who connected from the defense line, and dropped back momentarily. He exchanged passes with Nakamura on the left side. And as there was no pressure, he boldly aimed for a shot from slightly left of the opponent's field! The shot without spin dropped just before the goal and went into the net! They scored an additional goal at a good time.

　Tokyo, who grasped the flow of the game with this. In the 24th minute, Hasegawa, who was trying to go up the right side from Takahashi, changed sides. He carried it all the way to the right area, but escaped with a corner kick just before the shot. In the 30th minute, Hasegawa took a shot from the flow of a free kick. However, immediately after missing the chance, G Osaka MF Nikawa sent a pass to FW Abe in the front line, who jumped into the area. In response to this, Kanda was judged to have held him down with a foul, and a penalty kick was given. In the 31st minute, this penalty kick was calmly scored by G Osaka MF Endo, allowing them to catch up.

　However, without letting the opponent grasp the rhythm here, Tokyo also launches their own soccer. In the 37th minute, they cut off the opponent's ball and counterattack. Hasegawa -> Lucas on the right side moves towards the goal, and the ball is passed to Tanihara who moved up on the inside, who then takes a decisive shot. Although it missed the frame, they score an additional point in the 44th minute just before the end of the first half.

　Kaga from our own goal → Takahashi's pass is connected by Tanizawa, who sends a floating pass to Lucas, who is trying to break through the opponent's defense between the center circle and the front line. Showing a coordinated combination, he evades the G Osaka DF with a trap, carefully judges the GK, and smoothly shoots a soft shot into the goal!! Lucas skillfully scores his second goal of the day, taking G Osaka further away, and heading into the second half.

Conceded the second goal and allowed G Osaka to catch up, but won with three goals

　In the second half, Tokyo launched a strong attack in the early stages. In the 49th minute, Julian initiated a powerful counterattack and dribbled towards the front line. He attracted the opponent's defender near the area and sent a final pass to Takumi HASEGAWA, who was free in the right area. From there, Takumi HASEGAWA attempted a looping shot at the goal, but it was saved by the goalkeeper... In the 57th minute, Takumi HASEGAWA brought the ball to a high position on the left area and sent a final pass to Tanabe, who closed in on the near side, but it was intercepted by G Osaka defender, Imamura, and the shot could not be completed.

　Unable to take advantage of the chance, on the contrary, in the 62nd minute, G Osaka left back Fujiharu attacked and was stuck in the front line, giving a left corner kick. This corner kick was connected with a short pass, and the distance was measured by the dribble of DF Fujiharu from the pass exchange with MF Endo, and an easy cross was raised. Tokyo was unable to clear this, and the ball that fell at the feet of Morishige was combined with the feet of G Osaka FW Sato behind... They conceded the second goal in a form that lost concentration.

　After being reduced to a one-point difference again, G Osaka dominated the ball and faced a fierce counterattack. In the 79th minute, G Osaka's long ball penetrated behind Tokyo's side, and MF Endo was released in a high position in the area. Although they couldn't catch it, they created a decisive opportunity... Finally, Tokunaga managed to escape with a sliding tackle and a corner kick. In the 88th minute, they tried to intercept G Osaka's passing play, but couldn't steal the ball, and the ball passed to G Osaka's MF Myojin, who aimed for a shot from just before the right area, but it went over the bar.

　In stoppage time, G Osaka was given a free kick, and MF Endo sent a kick from the left side to the front line, which was punched by Konda. The loose ball went to G Osaka FW Sato in the left area, but it ended in a miss... In the final stages, we lost our rhythm and couldn't connect passes, and ended up being pushed back, but we didn't allow any goals in the end. We scored 3 goals for the first time since the Tosu match on May 20th and won our first game in 3 matches. We took 3 points at home.

　【Player Comment】《Lucas》"(My) first goal was from a distance that is within my shooting range, and I was able to make a good impact. The second goal was a really good pass from Tanabe. I was able to control the important first touch well and then calmly finish. I prefer the second goal. It was because of everyone's teamwork. It was a goal that came from everyone's involvement in passing, so I'm happy. We are aiming high. Today, regardless of the opponent, we had the feeling that we absolutely cannot lose in order to keep up with the top teams from here."

　"Nakamura" "It was my first start of the season, but mentally I felt the same as always, and I stepped onto the pitch with the intention of winning for the team... The opening goal was also lucky, but I think it was good that I was able to get up there and take a shot. However, I believe that producing results means keeping a clean sheet. Especially in the second half, I wanted to connect a little more, but G Osaka's midfield is skillful, and their fullbacks also positioned themselves high, making it difficult to build up play. There are many points to reflect on."

　[Summary of Coach Popovich's Press Conference] "Considering the current team situation, we must be satisfied with taking 3 points today. I think we were able to control the game for the majority of it, but we let our guard down and created a situation where we struggled on our own after taking the lead. Of course, we have respect for G Osaka, but we ourselves became the most dangerous presence. In the second half, there were moments where we were afraid to continue our connecting play that we had been doing, and there were also scenes where we kicked the ball out easily."

　Of course, G Osaka also has many wonderful players and is a high-quality team, but we haven't been able to do what we have been working on so far. We haven't done it. We ended up helping G Osaka. As for one player, he ran into individual play without understanding team play. We must understand that if we show a gap in careless play, a 2-point lead will instead make us suffer. It is difficult to go up as long as we are leading, so I want you to tighten your focus and learn to do it for the team. If you can't do that, it will be difficult to go up no matter how long it takes. I want to confirm about the PK again, but I wonder how it was...

　[Summary of G Osaka Coach Matsunami's Press Conference] "In the previous match, we conceded a lot of goals, so this week we focused on defense during training. We had the overall awareness of that from the start, but we conceded an early goal and had to chase the game. As for the second half, I think the players understood that if we could score, we could turn the game around. However, if we concede goals as easily as we did for the first and third goals, it takes a lot of power to turn the game around. We need to improve the quality of individual and group defense, such as pressing. We have attacking power as a weapon, but we can't produce results if we don't score while maintaining a balance in defense. Good defense is necessary for a good attacking rhythm to develop. If we can't control the start and the end of the match, I think we will continue to face tough battles."