Facing Kobe, who is striving for a chance to participate in the ACL and fighting to avoid relegation

　After a break of about 10 days, the league's 32nd round will be held. We will face Vissel Kobe at home. In the previous round, we conceded a goal from a set piece and failed to break Nagoya's solid defense, resulting in a defeat with no goals scored. However, our J1 survival has been secured due to the results of other matches. The 5-point gap with the 3rd place, which guarantees a spot in the ACL, remains the same. The players, with renewed determination, will continue to pursue it as long as there is a possibility (Kanda), and fight through the last 3 matches from here.

　This round, Hasegawa's suspension has ended and he returns to the starting lineup. Takahashi and Gonda, who have just returned from the Japan national team's World Cup qualifiers, also make the starting lineup, and Takahashi and Hasegawa form a double pivot formation.

　Kobe, on the other hand, is currently in 15th place with 36 points. After the 22nd round on August 18th, they have been winless for 9 matches and have welcomed new coach Ryo Adachi after the last round. For Tokyo, the past J1 league matches against Kobe have remained undefeated for 16 games since 2002, so it can be said that they have no sense of weakness. However, Kobe is expected to come with a strong determination to escape the relegation zone. The strength and unity in crucial moments, as well as the memory of the survival battle two years ago, cannot be underestimated.

　The team led by new coach Adachi is a 3-top on the member table, but the formation remains the same as before with FW Okubo and Tokura as the 2-top, MF Nozawa and FW Ogawa on both sides. MF Hashimoto and Tanaka as the double pivot. The formation consists of CB Inoha and Kitamoto as the center-backs.

　To surpass Kobe's fighting spirit, we first want to win the battle of ball control and second balls, take control of the game, and aim for victory. Show a commitment to growth and competition, and seize the opportunity to take 3 points at home! It was raining heavily since morning, and the game started at 17:04 with a kickoff in Tokyo, under the weather that made us feel the arrival of winter.

While maintaining awareness of the ball and transitioning between offense and defense, we conceded the first goal...

　Concentrate and enter the game, and grasp the rhythm at the beginning. In the first minute, Lucas and Kajiyama connect, and Tanabe on the left side takes a step inside and aims for the goal. In the 4th minute, a counterattack is launched from the right side of our own team after Ishikawa's interception, and Kajiyama -> Ishikawa delivers a sharp ground cross from the right front line. Tanabe jumped in from the far side to match this, but narrowly missed. In the 8th minute, Ishikawa -> Hasegawa connects, and Tokunaga, who went up the right side, dribbles into the area and finally makes a last pass to the center. This was blocked by the Kobe DF, but we calmly defended against Kobe's long ball and immediately switched to an attack and launched it speedily.

　In the 10th minute, Soma, the left back of Kobe, advanced to the center and took a shot, but the Tokyo DF blocked it, and Kajiyama distributed it to Ishikawa on the right directly. Ishikawa went up the center again, and Kajiyama shot freely from just before the penalty arc, but it went over the bar. In the 14th minute, from Hasegawa's interception, Ishikawa ran up the right side and crossed. Lucas, who jumped in from the side, created a good opportunity, but couldn't finish it.

　The awareness of second balls and the battle for possession was high, and Kobe did not allow any clear chances. However, in the 22nd minute, Kobe MF Tanaka made a vertical pass to FW Tokura in front of the area. FW Tokura controlled the ball at his feet and quickly turned to take a shot. Despite creating an attacking opportunity and reaching the finish, Gonda made a safe save.

　However, in the 27th minute, Okui, the right back of Kobe, intercepted the pass sent by Takahashi to the front line. He dribbled up and passed it to forward Ogawa in the center of the front line. Ogawa skillfully evaded Jang Hyun Soo with a trap and returned the ball to defender Okui. Tokyo failed to catch this attacking move from the one-two pass. Okui advanced forward and unleashed a shot with speed from just outside the penalty area... The ball went into the bottom left corner of the goal. Once again, despite finding their rhythm, they conceded the opening goal.

　In the 35th minute, Ota, who has not played since the 14th round on June 16th, replaced Nakamura and entered the field. He tried to regain the momentum, but the rain intensified around this time and water accumulated on the pitch. Nevertheless, in injury time, Ota carved through the left side and entered the area. From a close distance, he sent a last pass in front of the goal, creating a decisive chance, but... Kajiyama's shot did not hit. Carrying a one-point deficit, they headed into the second half.

On a pitch where water splashes and the ball stops... a winless streak with no goals

　In the 2nd minute of the second half, Kajiyama, who went up the right side, sent a lobbed pass to the goal area, and Tanabe in the center took a decisive shot directly from the chest trap, but... it was blocked by the goalkeeper's save, and Ishikawa's shot, which took the loose ball in the area, was also blocked. In the 50th minute, Ota aimed for a long shot from the loose ball from the right side FK, but it curved to the left.

　After that, the pitch condition became so bad that water splashes violently and the ball stops. Both teams struggled and it turned into a battle of attrition. However, in the 55th minute, Susumu WATANABE was substituted. Despite the repeated stops and starts, they tried to gather the ball in the front line and break through.

　As planned, in the 62nd minute, Watanabe scored a header from a right cross. In the 68th minute, Watanabe received a pass outside the right area and dribbled forward, then took a sharp shot towards the goal, but it grazed the bar and went wide... In the 75th minute, after a series of passes, Ishikawa from the right area took a powerful shot, but it was saved by the goalkeeper and Hasegawa couldn't react to the rebound.

　In the 76th minute, Nemanja VUCICEVIC was brought on. He immediately showed his determination to go towards the goal. In the 78th minute, VUCICEVIC quickly closed in on the loose ball just in front of the right area and took a controlled shot, but it went straight to the goalkeeper... In the 83rd minute, Watanabe broke through the right front line himself. Ishikawa and Lucas took consecutive shots at the cross from the center, earning a corner kick. From this right corner kick, Lucas made a perfect header... but it was blocked by a great save from the goalkeeper.

　Continuing to push Kobe, who tried to defend without attacking forcefully, Tokyo shot 9 times in the second half against Kobe's one shot, but couldn't score a goal and suffered a consecutive defeat with no points... In the match against Kobe in the J1 League, it was the first defeat since August 10, 2002, and as a result, the possibility of finishing in the top 4 this season has disappeared.

　【Player Comment】《Hasegawa》"We were all careful not to concede a goal first... But we allowed the opening goal, and the pitch conditions worsened, making the game difficult. This season, we often concede goals before we can score. I definitely want to fix that. In the second half, we created chances from a ball that stopped behind the goal and also had a heading shot from a set piece. I think we were able to carry out our plans. I want to somehow convert that into a goal. In the remaining two matches, I want to play in Tokyo's style and win."

　《Watanabe》"In the midst of not being able to connect the ball, I wanted to show a proactive attitude and bring out the team's momentum. We tried to score the first goal somehow, but... it didn't go well. There may have been chances that could be called scoring opportunities, but we couldn't convert them and couldn't produce results, which is very disappointing. I wanted to contribute to the team by exerting my own strength. I want to do my best to earn 3 points by firmly exerting my own strength."

　[Summary of Coach Popovich's Press Conference] "It is very difficult to talk about football. We were not prepared to fight water polo. I would like to congratulate our opponents on the result. We were creating chances before conceding a goal, but we couldn't capitalize on them. That's the challenge. However, we continued to show the attitude of not giving up and aiming for the goal until the end of the game. We created chances and approached the goal, but couldn't finish. It can be said that we lacked goals. I think we can appreciate the players' feelings and attitude towards the goal."

　[Kobe-Coach Adachi's Press Conference Summary] "In the first half, both teams had a desire to play football even in the rain. In the second half, due to the weather and pitch conditions, it became a battle of physicality and duels. In terms of the first half, we were able to play the game as planned. Tokyo plays fair and high-quality football. In response, we approached the game more from a defensive standpoint. The pitch was wet, and DF Okui scored a good shot at a good time, which became the winning goal and allowed us to earn 3 points. However, it was a very intense match, so I am a little worried about injuries. Tokyo often sprinkles water on the pitch even during regular training, so we have taken some measures against slippery conditions, but we did not expect such heavy rain and the formation of puddles that would hinder the ball's movement."