Tokyo, which returned the stars to a draw with consecutive victories, aims for further progress on enemy territory

In the previous match, we won against Tosu and achieved our first home victory in the league. As a result, we have 2 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses, which is a balanced performance. From here on, we want to gradually change our points and goal difference to a positive value.

There have been no games without conceding a goal so far, and we would like to achieve a victory while keeping the goals conceded to a minimum if possible. However, Coach Massimo said, "Of course, we will aim to improve the quality both in attack and defense, but there may not be many games without conceding a goal in the J-League. It may not be due to the unique DNA of Japanese soccer." He emphasized the desire to win over the full 90 minutes. Tokyo made changes to the lineup from the previous match, with Morishige returning from suspension and Mita, Muto, and Takahashi, who had been participating in the activities of the Japanese national team, starting in the lineup. Edu, Yoshimoto, and Higashi started on the bench. Takahashi served as the anchor, with Yonemoto and Mita as the inside halves. Hirayama and Muto formed the front two. Kawano started as the attacking midfielder.　

Hiroshima, who is currently in 2nd place, will face them. They have been playing in the league while also participating in the ACL. So far, they have 4 wins, 1 draw, and only 1 loss.
In a 3-5-2 formation, the team is known for its strong defense, the forward Sato's speed, the midfielder Mikic's crosses, and the attacking power of players like forward Ishihara. This season, even defender Shiotani has already scored 6 goals. He has also been selected for the national team for the first time, showing his momentum and increasing the team's attacking versatility. Additionally, new signing Kashiwa will start as the left midfielder. Although it is an away game, the team has achieved victories at EDION Stadium Hiroshima in the past two seasons, indicating a good compatibility based on data. Above all, we want to aim for a 3-point victory against Hiroshima, who boast consecutive league titles, with an aggressive and fearless approach.

Sec. 7 will be held at the partly cloudy EDION Stadium Hiroshima. As evening approaches, a chill can be felt, and the match kicked off in Tokyo at 19:04.

In the first half, we created big chances but failed to score, so it's scoreless going into the second half

Three minutes into the start, Hattori dropped Kanda's kick in the opponent's territory, Muto dribbled into the center and Ota, who had moved up on the outside, carved out the side and crossed. However, it didn't connect in the far area. Still, Yonemoto connected with the loose ball and crossed from the right. From this flow, Muto forcefully tried to bring the ball into the right area and shoot, but it was blocked.
In the following 4 minutes, Hiroshima's right side midfielder Takahagi made an early cross, and Sato dived in with a header, but Tokyo's defense closed in tightly and Gonda made the catch.

On the other hand, Tokyo attacked in the 9th minute, with Mita advancing to a high position on the left front line and passing the ball to Hirayama just outside the left area. Hirayama controlled the ball and took a shot, but it hit the crossbar... The rebound was connected, and Kono took a shot from just outside the right area towards the top right corner of the goal, but it was saved by the goalkeeper. In the following 12th minute, Hirayama became the starting point on the left side of the midfield and made a long side change to Tokunaga who was moving up on the right. Tokunaga took a step forward and aimed for a shot, but it hit the opponent and went over the line. As 15 minutes passed, as a countermeasure against Hiroshima, Takahashi entered the center of the defense line, forming a shape similar to a 5-back formation. They pressed in the midfield and launched quick counterattacks to create big chances, but they were unable to convert them into goals. In terms of possession, Hiroshima was in a superior position.

30 minutes have passed. Allowing Hiroshima's dominance, they have repeatedly crossed to right MF Mitchell, but the central defense has not shown any gaps and has been fighting tenaciously. In the following 32nd minute, Morishige aimed for the gap between the front line and Hiroshima's DF with a ground vertical pass. Kono tried to control it and break through inside from the trap, but it was slightly too long and was blocked by Hiroshima's DF. Furthermore, in the 39th minute, Muto on the right side passed through the opponent's DF, and Kono broke through to the left area, one-on-one with the GK. However, the decisive shot was saved by the GK. As the ball bounced back, Hirayama followed up and pushed it in with a header, but it was cleared by the covering Hiroshima's DF...

In the latter part of the first half, Hiroshima continuously gave FK to the opponent, but the DF line repelled it and then defended against the offside.
Although they allowed Hiroshima to dominate, they solidified the center with Takahashi covering the defensive line in the midfield, preventing any goals from being scored.
On the contrary, Kawano, Muto, and others took advantage of Hiroshima's vulnerability and created big chances, but they couldn't score due to Hiroshima's excellent defense. It's scoreless going into the second half.

粘り強く戦っていたが、CKから失点を喫し敗戦

In the 51st minute after the start of the second half, Takahashi, Yonemoto, and Kono attempted to attack by putting numbers in the front line, but Hiroshima also strengthened the defense in the center and did not allow them to take a shot. They pushed up as a whole, and in the end, Tokunaga put in a right cross but it was blocked. After that, they pressed from the front line and neutralized Hiroshima's strengths, but their precision and coordination after winning the ball were not enough. They are in a state where they cannot bring it to a finish. In the 60th minute, Hayashi replaced Mita and entered the pitch.

At the 80th minute, from a vertical pass by Hiroshima DF Mizumoto, MF Kashiwa advances to the left area. Tokunaga clears the ball with a sliding tackle facing backwards, but the ball crosses the line, resulting in a corner kick. This is Hiroshima's left corner kick. MF Takahagi's kick is headed by DF Chiba, who jumps from far to near... and we have conceded the first goal.

In the 86th minute, Edu replaced Muto, and in the 88th minute, Higashi was substituted for Yonemoto. In the subsequent second half additional time, Ota overlapped with Kono on the left and won a left corner kick. Kanda also pushed forward, but Ota's kick was caught by the Hiroshima goalkeeper.

Tokyo had been fighting tenaciously, but they allowed the first goal from Hiroshima's corner kick. On the other hand, they couldn't take advantage of set-piece opportunities in their attacks. In the final stages, they launched a full-scale counterattack, but they were unable to break through Hiroshima's solid defense and suffered a 0-1 defeat.

[Player Comments]
"Hirayama"
"The game flow was not bad. If we had been able to score in the first half chances, we could have had more time for ourselves. However, in the second half, we had fewer shots. Hiroshima came to nullify our strengths and we couldn't find our rhythm. And then we conceded a goal from a corner kick... Hiroshima definitely capitalized on set plays, and we couldn't do the same. It was a really disappointing game."

"Hanyu"
"Until now, we have played Miller games and used a 5-back formation against teams like Hiroshima. This time, we chose to cover the width of Hiroshima's team with five players, which I think led to a closely contested match. As time passed, we respected the opponent, considering the maturity of the Hiroshima team, our position, and the fact that we were playing away. However, I didn't feel like we respected them too much, and there were also moments where we created chances by doing the opposite of Hiroshima. We had several chances from set plays as well. It shouldn't have been a situation where we couldn't do anything and just let them control the game. So, at the very least, we wanted to bring back 1 point, and we all talked about it on the pitch. I think it shows that we have become smarter in terms of making such decisions. However, if there was any complacency that made us think we could just end the game like this or let it be ended... that might have led to that goal we conceded. If we have the will to move forward, we need to truly become adults."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"I think we played very well in the first half and created many chances, but the opponent's goalkeeper made some good saves. I think it was a balanced game until the end, but we had fewer chances in the second half compared to the first half. We had a good game against a strong team like Hiroshima, who have won two consecutive championships, but in football, if you don't take advantage of decisive chances, the game becomes difficult. However, I think the team is heading in the right direction."

[Hiroshima - Coach Hajime Moriyasu's Press Conference Summary]
"I thought today's match would be tough and challenging, and it turned out to be just that. Tokyo had solid strategies against us, making it difficult to break through. However, our players fought patiently. I believe the match could have gone either way. It was a tough game to break Tokyo's strong defense, but I believed that if we fought patiently, we could surpass them. As a result, scoring a goal through a set piece and winning was a significant achievement."