Focus on the upcoming match and aim for 3 points away from home

Sec. 30 of the league, we played against Ventforet Kofu away. In the previous match against Niigata, we endured where we needed to and achieved victory with Ota's free kick and Lucas' goal. It was a match where we were able to demonstrate the team's accumulation in terms of the balance between offense and defense and playing according to the situation. As Tokunaga said, "It is important to judge the situation and play according to the flow regardless of the opponent's countermeasures or formation," we will further mature and concentrate on each match as we head towards the remaining 5 matches.

FC Tokyo, currently in 15th place with 30 points, will face Kofu. In the middle of the season, they suffered 8 consecutive losses, but after the addition of FW PATRIC and MF Elsinho, they changed their formation to a 3-back. They have made adjustments in both offense and defense, defeating top teams such as C Osaka, Hiroshima, and Kashima. Especially since August, they have not experienced any consecutive losses, and their total goals conceded so far is the same as Tokyo's, which is 39, ranking them 5th in the league (tied with Tokyo and Niigata). In this match, FW PATRIC will be suspended. Additionally, MF Hanabusa, who is on loan from Tokyo, will not be able to play. However, even though they are in a lower position, they should not be underestimated.

Tokyo, center back Hyun Soo JANG returns. In the attack, the key is how to break the opponent's solid defense. Takahashi says, "It may not be easy to break the 5-back, but I don't want to enter the game with the image of 'it's difficult to break'. I want to continue doing things that the opponent dislikes, such as dynamic plays and quickly penetrating the space between the opponent's DF and wing backs after stealing the ball, not just passing."

In addition, it will be necessary to manage the risk against Kofu's counterattacks and switch to an offensive play. It will require adaptability to read the flow of the game based on past experiences and respond accordingly. If we concede the first goal, there is a possibility that the defense will become even stronger, so we want to score the opening goal and aim for victory. The match started at 13:04 at Yamanashi Chuginkan Stadium with Tokyo's kickoff.

The game proceeded throughout at the opponent's pace, allowing them to take the lead and then equalizing.

From the start of the match, Tokyo lacked aggressiveness and became passive in response to Kofu's momentum. In the 4th minute, Kofu midfielder Yamamoto sent a right free kick to the front line, which was initially cleared but then picked up by Yamamoto again, who took a shot at the goal, but Gonda made the catch. In the 6th minute, Kofu's left side was stolen by midfielder Jiushinho, allowing him to dribble forward and take a shot, but Gonda made the save. In the 15th minute, Kofu forward Hiramoto was connected on the right side from a counterattack, but Tokyo's defense managed to hold them back.

Tokyo's tempo and movement after winning the ball are slow, and they are unable to create any rhythm after receiving a counterattack from Pazmis. Then, in the 28th minute, Yamanashi's right corner kick is cleared once, but the second ball is picked up by the right side midfielder, Jiushinho, who crosses it. It is headed in a low position in the center, and although the ball goes wide, Yamanashi's forward, Hiramoto, follows up from the far side and shoots from the left area. They concede the first goal by allowing this to happen. They were unable to stop the chances from Yamanashi's consecutive corner kicks.

Tokyo gradually started to pass the ball after 30 minutes. In the 31st minute, Yonemoto stole the ball near the area and dribbled forward on the right side. He sent a cross inside, Lucas let it go through, and Higashi took a shot, but it was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper and resulted in a corner kick. In the 45th minute, from Lucas' drop, Takahashi made a vertical pass into the penalty area. Hasegawa stretched his leg while losing his balance and took a direct shot, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper's save. The first half ended like this. They will turn around in the second half, trailing behind.

Despite creating numerous scoring opportunities, they were unable to convert and ended up with a draw.

Tokyo took control of the game as soon as the second half began. In the 48th minute, Lucas broke through the opponent's defense and faced the goalkeeper one-on-one. He timed his shot with the bounce of the ball, but it went straight to the goalkeeper. In the 53rd minute, there was an interception in the midfield. Watanabe, who was trying to launch a counterattack, was fouled, but Hasegawa quickly made a move and passed to Lucas on the right. He then switched sides and tried to control the ball with a trap in the left area, but was blocked by the Kofu defense.

Kofu tightens the defense with everyone and aims for counterattacks from there. In the 62nd minute, Hirayama was substituted for Watanabe. In the 68th minute, Hirayama's attempted shot hit the opponent's hand, resulting in a free kick from inside the penalty area. Ota pretended to take the kick, and then Higashi attempted a shot from behind, but it missed the target. In the 72nd minute, Tokunaga dribbled up the right side and crossed early. Higashi received the ball in front of the goal, controlled it with his chest, and took a volley shot, but it also went wide. Immediately after that, Nemanja VUCICEVIC was substituted for Lucas.

The game continues completely inside the Kofu team, and Tokyo keeps launching fierce attacks one after another. In the 77th minute, Ota's left cross finds East, who is free on the opposite side. He controls it and aims carefully to take a shot, but is blocked by the defending player who covered the goal. Then, in the 80th minute, Tokunaga dribbles up and receives a return pass from East on the right front line. He boldly takes a shot in the right area. The powerful shot grazes the left post and finds the net, equalizing the score with Tokunaga's first goal of the season.

Tokyo, who continued to press, substituted Kono for Higashi. In the 87th minute, a pass was sent to Kono, who had run out to the left area, and he immediately turned towards the goal to take a direct shot, but it was blocked by the opposing goalkeeper who had come out. In the 89th minute, Takahashi redirected Vucicevic's left corner kick, and Morishige's header from the far side hit the crossbar. Hirayama picked up the rebound and took a powerful shot from close range, but it was blocked by a last-ditch defensive effort right on the goal line. Although they managed to equalize, they were unable to score an additional goal against Kofu's solid defense before the final whistle. It ended in a frustrating draw.


[Player Comments]
《Tokunaga》
"The shot went as planned. The opponent was defending deep, so I was thinking of carrying the ball to a high position and also making a run myself. Besides that situation, I could have created a 2-on-1 situation with Keigo. I saw the opening, so I swung my leg. There was no pressure from the opponent, and I didn't put much power into it. If I can relax and hit the ball like that, it will fly into the goal. I think we were able to equalize and give momentum to the team, but we couldn't turn the game around."

《Yonehara》
"The opponent will also come up with various countermeasures. So, I think there are some things that can't be helped, but I wish we could have come up with more ideas ourselves. Since we were being pushed back so much, I was thinking of targeting the opponent's back from the first half. I was also thinking of picking up the second ball from there, and I think it led to a chance when we actually took it. However, I felt like we were being cleverly manipulated by Kofu in the first half. Still, I thought we could push them back in the second half. It turned out that way and we were able to score a goal. In that flow, we couldn't turn the game around..."


[Coach Popovich's Press Conference Summary]
"Looking back on today's match, we couldn't get into the game in the first 30 minutes. Maybe it was because of the weather or we were still sleeping. I think that kind of expression applies. As for the next 60 minutes, we dominated the game and played aggressively. I think we were able to show the attitude of continuing to strive for victory, which is what we aim for. The first 30 minutes of the game were a problem because we were too passive and conceded a goal during that time. We managed to equalize afterwards and had a chance to turn the game around, but we couldn't convert our scoring opportunities today."

There were also parts where luck abandoned us. I think today was one of those days. However, I believe that in the next game, we need to improve the accuracy of finishing chances as a team. Continuing to show the attitude of striving for victory until the end and expressing it in our play is something that I believe will contribute to the future of Tokyo. Today, our desire for victory was strong, but looking back now, I feel that maybe that desire was too strong and I couldn't control it. Having a strong desire for victory is very important, but I think it is important to control oneself in order to play efficiently and calmly on the pitch."


[Kofu - Summary of Manager Hiroshi Jofuku's Press Conference]
"We were able to play in front of a nearly full crowd thanks to the support of many fans. It would be great if we could do this for every game, but today the players showed their passion and I think we could have created an even more exciting cycle of football in this area if we had won. It's honestly disappointing that we couldn't finish with a win."

Certainly, I admit that there were moments in the last 10 minutes where the ball was stopped on the goal line. However, considering the clear difference in strength compared to the previous match, where we were no match for the opponent, the players have been training while facing various things since that game. I thought it was a great opponent to measure how much progress we have made since then. Of course, there was a possibility of losing, but I also wanted to praise the players for the possibility of winning, and I wanted to give them 3 points for their hard work."