Return home and give it your all to stop the losing streak

Sec. 7 of the league will be held after a one-week interval, with Nagoya Grampus hosting the match at home. The team has suffered four consecutive losses in the league. The last victory, including the Nabisco Cup, was achieved on 3/23 against Kashima (Sec. 2 of the Nabisco Cup qualifiers). Although the performance in the matches is considered "good," the team has been distant from victory for about a month. That is why the players have been searching for the reasons for their defeats and making adjustments to the details during the one-week period.

There is no change in our commitment to playing our own football and aiming for victory, but we will once again regain our awareness of scoring goals, pressing from the front line, strength in duels, and quick transitions as we head into this match.

Nagoya, who is facing them, is in 4th place with 3 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss. Although they didn't start well in the early stages, they have improved their condition in actual matches and are currently on a 3-game winning streak, making a comeback. Nagoya also faced them in the Nabisco Cup on 4/3, which ended in a scoreless draw, but the current situations of both teams can be said to be contrasting.

Still, Tokyo will face the match with the same starting lineup as the previous match, based on the feeling they got from the Sendai match. Nagoya, on the other hand, will have FW Kennedy, who made a comeback from injury, starting for the first time this season, despite coming off the bench in the previous match. It will be a match where Tokyo aims for victory by surpassing Nagoya's advantage of "height" with a sense of unity and aggressiveness in both offense and defense.

Ajinomoto Stadium, where the cold is severe and light rain is starting to fall. The match started at 14:04 with Nagoya's kickoff.

Although they conceded the first goal, they equalized with Lucas' penalty kick just before the end of the first half.

From the beginning, they quickly carried the ball and threatened the Nagoya goal from the side. In the 3rd minute, a cross sent by Lucas from a right throw-in was met by Watanabe in front of the goal, who shot with his right foot. In the 5th minute, Tokunaga passed to Lucas, who once again broke through the right front line, and then passed to Higashi in the center of the area. It was a great scoring opportunity, but Higashi's direct shot missed the target.

After that, Tokyo continued to dominate the ball and take the initiative, but Nagoya also calmly transitioned from solid defense to attack. In the 25th minute, Yonemoto sent a long pass from the left side of the midfield to the right area. Lucas broke through here and controlled the ball with a trap, but immediately after that, he was blocked by a defender and couldn't shoot. From here, Nagoya launched a counterattack, and Yano, who moved up on the right, crossed the ball. Kaga managed to escape with a header, but from here, Nagoya was pushed back.

28 minutes, Nagoya - Kennedy dropped the right cross and MF Ogawa ran into the area from behind and took a shot from close range, but Gonda saved it! In the 30th minute, Gonda punched away Nagoya's right corner kick, but MF Ogawa in front of the left area connected with a sharp cross from MF Danilson. From here, FW Kennedy in front of the goal was able to score a high header. We couldn't stop Nagoya's momentum and ended up conceding the first goal.

However, today Tokyo expressed a strong determination in their play and launched a counterattack. In the 33rd minute, Watanabe jumped and headed the ball into the net, connecting with Tokunaga's cross. In the 34th minute, there was a clash with Nagoya's defender, and Higashi got a cut on his forehead, temporarily leaving the pitch but quickly returning. In the 39th minute, Morishige advanced to the right area and delivered a sharp cross. It hit the defender and then evaded the goalkeeper's punching, but Watanabe in the center reacted to the loose ball and took a shot. It appeared that the Nagoya defender in the penalty area blocked it with his hand, but there was no whistle.

However, in the first half injury time, the attack that started from the side bore fruit. In the 90th minute +4, Nagoya DF committed a foul against Tokunaga, who broke through behind the right area DF, and earned a penalty kick. Lucas took the penalty kick, grazing past Nagoya GK Narazaki's hand and into the bottom left corner. They equalized before the end of the first half and returned to square one for the second half.

In the second half, we also obtained a penalty kick, and Watanabe pushed through, leading to a thrilling match and a come-from-behind victory.

In the second half, we continued to focus and entered the game, creating a big chance early on. In the 48th minute, Watanabe intercepted Nagoya DF's back pass and took it to the right area to take a shot. It missed the target, but in the following 50th minute, MoriShige made a dash to the left area from the quick passing play between Ota, Higashi, and Hasegawa in the midfield. He was fouled and we obtained another penalty kick. Lucas calmly converted it and succeeded in taking the lead!

Tokyo, who completely grasped the rhythm, crossed in the 59th minute with Hasegawa, who had moved up to the left front line. Lucas in the center of the area headed the ball perfectly, but it hit the goalkeeper's face. However, from here, the Nagoya goalkeeper threw the ball to the left side of his own goal. Nagoya DF received the ball and Tokunaga aggressively pressed and stole the ball, sending a pass to the center. Watanabe controlled it with a one-touch trap, carried it outside, and shot with his right foot, piercing the near side of the goal!!

When the lead was extended, in the 63rd minute, Hyun Soo JANG replaced Ota as a center back. Kaga played as a right full-back and Tokunaga played on the left, changing the formation. They calmly defended and launched sharp counter-attacks. In the 68th minute, Lucas dribbled through the center. He received a return pass from Higashi, who had broken through on the right side, and took a precise shot from the center of the area, hitting the post...

73 minutes, Yamamoto connects from the defense line and Takahashi sends a through pass to the front line. Lee, who came on as a substitute, timed his run but the pass was slightly too long. They couldn't score a fourth goal, but on the other hand, warnings were issued one after another for fouls committed by both teams, and in the 85th minute, Nagoya MF Taguchi received his second warning and was sent off. However, Tokyo remained calm, assessed the situation well, and closed out the game. They turned the game around and stopped their losing streak with a victory, their first since the second section of the league.


[Player Comments]
《Lucas》"Even at this age, I still get nervous in penalty kick situations. I have taken about 15-16 penalty kicks in the J-League, but I have a memory of missing only once in the past, and it was against Nagoya. The opposing goalkeeper was Naraizaki. That came to mind today, but I had confidence in scoring, so I kicked it a bit stronger than usual. The goalkeeper, Naraizaki, touched it, but I was able to kick the second penalty kick more calmly."

PK aside, I think I was able to make good plays from the combination with player Tokunaga on the right side. I was also conscious of going inside. I think the whole team was able to play well. The next league match is the "Clasico". Both teams should have high motivation to win this match. However, since it is our home, we will fight together with the stands and definitely want to win."

"Mori Shige" "While the team was in a situation of 4 consecutive losses despite playing good soccer, today I was thinking of fully demonstrating my own strengths. The opponent won't collapse unless we take risks. So I wanted to add some accent, and I tried to challenge for that. In hindsight, it went in a good direction, but taking risks can also lead to bad results. Today, when I went up, the two central midfielders always supported me by keeping the balance."

[Coach's Press Conference Summary]
《Coach Popovich》"Looking at the result, it was fantastic, and we were able to show fantastic game quality and the strength of both football and mentality. I think it was a game that left doubts outside of football, but we want to continue showing football like today. We want to continue showing games with both quality and results."

I think the club was able to face this match as one unit, and everyone fought together. There were times when the results did not come, but the fans and supporters supported us firmly. I am grateful for that, and I think that winning 3 points with this kind of performance is also a gift from the club."

"First of all, congratulations to FC Tokyo. We sent a fresh air to the team that had lost four consecutive games. We brought fresh oxygen. We made a lot of mistakes in this game, so I think it's fair that we ended up with this result." - Stojkovic (Manager)