A match aiming for 3 points away, with the momentum of consecutive victories

Sec. 9 of the league, we played against Sagan Tosu away. In the previous match against Kawasaki, we demonstrated speed and coordination in both offense and defense, with Lucas scoring in consecutive matches and Higashi marking his first goal in the league, while also keeping a clean sheet to secure the victory. With this consecutive win, we have climbed up to 6th place in the standings. Higashi said, "I scored my first goal in the league, but I feel the accomplishment of everyone defending and scoring together. That's why it's important to continue doing what we should do from now on," expressing his determination once again.

Sagan Tosu, the opponent, is currently in 13th place with 1 win, 4 draws, and 3 losses. Their only victory came in Sec. 3 against Kawasaki. Despite suffering 3 consecutive losses in Sec. 5-7, they have been regaining momentum with a speedy attack led by FW Toyota, creating chances and scoring 6 goals himself. We must also be cautious of FW Ikeda, side MF Noda and Okada's bold runs, as well as MF Fujita's long throws and accurate kicks in set plays. The key to victory will be maintaining concentration and enduring the full 90 minutes.

Tokyo has no changes in the lineup from the previous match. The key in the attack is how to score against the opponent's solid defense. We want to take advantage of the fluidity in the front line, with Lucas and Hasegawa creating opportunities from the sides and connecting to the goal. Furthermore, it is important to apply pressure from the front line in defense and not allow the opponent to play freely. We will assess the flow and situation of the game and aim for a third consecutive victory through unified efforts from everyone. The match started with Tokyo's kickoff at 18:04 at Best Amenity Stadium.

Tokyo takes the lead with a set piece goal! They go into halftime with the lead

Tokyo launches a strong attack from the start. From the kickoff, they connect the ball and Tokunaga, who went up the right side, changes the side. Hasegawa drops it, and Higashi in the center moves to the right area. There, Watanabe runs in and takes a shot in coordination, but it misses widely. In the 8th minute, Hasegawa tenaciously picks up the second ball and passes it to Yonemoto, who went up the left side. Yonemoto sends a low cross to the goalmouth, and Watanabe directly connects, but it hits the crossbar.

In the 23rd minute, Tokyo controlled Mori's long pass perfectly and faced the opponent's defender in a one-on-one situation in the left area. However, the intended pass in front of the goal was cut off at close range and did not go through. Tokyo tried to take advantage of their ball control and quick transition between offense and defense to create chances, but they couldn't create clear-cut opportunities. On the other hand, Tosu launched a counterattack and threatened Tokyo's goal. Furthermore, from there, midfielder Fujita attempted to assist forward Toyoda from long throws and corner kicks, but the defense concentrated and held their ground.

Then, in the 28th minute, Watanabe dribbled through the center. East, who was trying to break through the left side from there, was fouled outside the area and won a free kick. Hasegawa sent the ball to the center with a ground pass, and East controlled it and took a shot, which went through the players of both teams and found the bottom left corner, scoring the opening goal. However, the flow of the game remained with Tosu. They kept entering the area one after another, but we covered well and didn't let them score. We lead by one goal at halftime.

Watanabe's two goals pulled away and despite the persistence of Tosu in the final stages, they secured victory! They achieved a three-game winning streak.

The game starts moving from the second half. In the 46th minute, Watanabe competes with the opponent for a cleared ball, but Hasegawa follows up and steals it, quickly switching to an attack. Connecting with Higashi in the midfield, Higashi plays a through pass to the left forward. Watanabe takes advantage of this and breaks through, calmly evading the goalkeeper who came out in front in the left area and scores into the unguarded goal. Furthermore, in the 49th minute, from Gonda's long feed to the front line, Watanabe shoots a looping shot while entangled with the opponent's defender. The goalkeeper deflects it but it goes into the goal.

In the early stages, it seemed completely in Tokyo's favor with a 3-point lead, but then they faced a fierce comeback from Tosu. In the 57th minute, from Tosu's left SB Kan's early cross, FW Toyoda struck a header from the far side, but Gonda made the catch. In the 62nd minute, Lee was substituted for Lucas. Watanabe moved to the attacking midfield position and Higashi moved to the right side. Furthermore, in the 74th minute, Ishikawa was substituted for Watanabe. However, Tosu's momentum remained unchanged. In the 77th minute, Kaga committed a foul in the penalty area, resulting in a penalty kick. FW Toyoda scored from it, leading to a conceded goal.

In the 78th minute, Ishikawa, who entered the right area, cut back the opponent's DF to the outside and took a shot. Although it hit the bar, Lee reacted with a header but it went wide. In the 79th minute, from a right cross, Tosu FW Toyota's header hit the bar. In the 80th minute, Tokyo substituted Chang Hyun Soo to strengthen the defense. However, Tosu, who never gave up until the end, scored a goal in injury time by MF Mizunuma, narrowing the gap to one goal. They continued to launch wave attacks, but managed to hold on and secure a victory. They achieved their third consecutive win.

[Player Comments]
《Watanabe》
"The first goal, Higashi timed his pass perfectly and I was able to break away from the opponent. Just as planned. For the second goal, my teammates jokingly asked, 'Wasn't that offside?!' but I was able to skillfully evade the goalkeeper. I wanted to score the third goal as well, but I was substituted and more importantly, today we were under pressure from Tosu for a long time. There are lessons to be learned as a team."

(Jumped to the top of the scoring rankings, didn't you?) Not yet. The season is long. There are still many games to come, but I want to continue to strive to keep winning."

《East》
"Personally, I was able to achieve the result of scoring, but towards the end, the team became chaotic and there was an unpleasant atmosphere that seemed to lead to a draw. That is something that needs to be corrected, and we want to improve by communicating and supporting each other. Although we achieved three consecutive victories, we have not forgotten the difficulty of consecutive defeats, and we must fight with a greater sense of crisis. I want to make even better preparations, including our fighting spirit and mental aspect."

(After scoring a goal, Victor ran to the bench. We are fighting as a team. There are players who cannot participate and players who are not part of the squad, but we still came together and went to Tosu. With that feeling, I ran to the bench. Of course, I also respect the coach.)


[Coach's Press Conference Summary]
《Coach Popovic》
"I believe it was an interesting match for everyone. However, it was not the same for me. Many people came to support us during the Golden Week, and I think they enjoyed it. I do think that ending with a 3-0 victory would have been the best, but I believe it was a tense and exciting match until the end."

It was good in terms of getting a solid 3 points, but as a point of reflection, we should have finished the game properly before it became like this. We allowed the opponent to create chances in the last 10-15 minutes, and there was a period of time when we let them do it. However, I think we played well enough to deserve the win in today's match."


《鳥栖・YOON Jong Hwan coach》
"I feel very sorry for the disappointing result amidst the many cheers. Although we lost the game, we were able to find positive aspects within it. As the games continue, I believe that what lies ahead is crucial. (We allowed 2 goals in a similar manner?) I think it's something that can happen in a game. I believe it was fatal for the team to concede goals consecutively due to a lack of coordination."