I want to stop the losing streak at the last home game of Golden Week

Sec. 12, which will be played in 2 days, will see Omiya Ardija face off against the home team. In the previous match, just like in Sec. 10 against Nagoya Grampus, they conceded a goal from a corner kick and suffered a defeat. Improving their defense against set pieces is urgent, but Coach Massimo says, "Unexpected things always come up when building a team. We want to overcome those challenges." He particularly praised the team for creating chances by "creating space for themselves" in the attack. He continued, "We want to improve the quality of our finishes and minimize mistakes to achieve results." He also expects the attacking line, which has been scoreless in the past 2 matches, to step up.

Omiya, who is currently in 15th place with 9 points, will face Ajinomoto. Starting this season, as you know, they welcomed coach Kiyoshi OKUMA and started a new chapter, but they haven't won a league match since Sec. 5, with 7 consecutive winless games. However, in the past few matches, they have changed to a 3-back formation. They have shown resilience in a 3-4-2-1 lineup and managed to draw against C Osaka and Niigata. It becomes difficult for Omiya, who defends with a 5-back formation, if they concede a goal first. Therefore, whether they can take the lead is the key. Above all, Omiya has not been able to achieve victory against Ajinomoto Stadium for 3 seasons since 2010. Concentration and resilience for the full 90 minutes will be required, but with the support of the home crowd, they will strive for victory with an aggressive playstyle. Tokyo made one change to the starting lineup from the previous match, with DF Yoshimoto starting.

The match started at 13:03 with a mix of light rain and lingering chill in the weather before the game, with the kickoff in Omiya.

Unable to make the most of the chances, the first half ends scoreless

2 minutes into the game, Tokyo's free kick was blocked, but they picked up the second ball and connected it. Ota dribbled past the left side and made a negative pass. Takahashi, who closed in on the clearance, took a shot. The shot hit the opposing defender in the front line, but the ball spilled out. East reacted to the loose ball and took a shot from close range, but it went over the bar... In the 6th minute, Watanabe entered the right area. He cut inside the opposing defender and took a shot. In the 8th minute, Yonemoto chased the ball well and Muto, who had circled around from the right, aimed for the goal from just outside the area. They dominated the ball and attacked from the beginning, but all their shots were blocked by the Omiya defenders who put their bodies on the line in front of the goal.

Omiya gradually created a simple attacking shape, and in the 13th minute, right wing DF Imai crossed the ball. It was headed by central FW Tomiyama, but caught by Gonda. In the 16th minute, FW Zlatan suffered an injury and had to be substituted, causing an unexpected incident. As a result, FW Hasegawa was brought in. In the 21st minute, from the development of Omiya MF Ienaga, DF Imai advanced and played a ground pass near the goal. Hasegawa jumped in for the ball, but Tokyo defended well and escaped with a corner kick. Immediately after, from this corner kick by Omiya, DF Kikuchi had his pass intercepted by Kimoto on the left side, creating an angle for a shot. However, Gonda made the save. Omiya also started to attack boldly, and in the 27th minute, DF Nakamura and then MF Hasegawa took shots from outside the box, but both missed the target and were not in a decisive position.

In the final stage, Tokyo regained control of the rhythm again, and in the 36th minute, Takahashi connected the opponent's defender's clearance with a header, and Hirayama turned around and took a shot from just outside the area. In the 42nd minute, Tokyo advanced towards the goal while passing the ball. They tried to break down the defense with skillful coordination, and in the end, Hirayama from the far side tried to connect with Watanabe's cross from the right. However, they couldn't make the most of the chance and ended the first half with a scoreless draw.

Completely dominated the ball and pushed it in, but was caught off guard near the end...

In the beginning of the second half, Ota connected the kickoff ball and changed sides. Muto broke through the right front line from Hirayama on the right side. He sent a minus pass into the area, and Watanabe created a decisive opportunity with a direct shot. Although it slightly curved to the left and couldn't score a goal, this allowed us to almost completely dominate the ball and progress the game in the Omiya territory. However, in the 58th minute, Hirayama from the far side of the left side tried to jump in and follow up on East's cross, but couldn't finish it. After that, we continued to look for chances while passing the ball, but couldn't take advantage of Ota's crosses or restart opportunities in front of Omiya's solid defense, and the time without being able to bring it to a finish continued.

Therefore, in the 62nd minute, Kono was substituted for Watanabe and tried to switch the attack up front. In the 66th minute, from a left throw-in, Hirayama in the center connected with Muto on the left, who moved forward to escape from the opponent in the penalty area and entered a shooting position but was blocked. In the 68th minute, Ota's sharp cross was met by Hirayama's diving header, but the ball went behind and slipped through the gap between Higashi and Muto in the far side. In the 70th minute, Muto broke through on the left front line. Kono jumped on a negative pass and created a decisive opportunity, but was blocked by the goalkeeper. In the 73rd minute, Takahashi seized the loose ball from Ota's through pass, received a return pass from Muto, and took a shot but missed the target. Omiya created a series of chances without allowing a counterattack and could not break the goal no matter what.

In the 86th minute, Edu was substituted for Muto. We aimed for 3 points until the end and attacked the Omiya goal in the 4 minutes of additional time... In the 90th minute +3, Edu's cross was caught by the Omiya goalkeeper, and from here a long kick was sent to the front line. Omiya FW Hasegawa moved forward in response to this. Morishige was marking him, but he was turned around and escaped to the front, and Yoshimoto slid in at the drop of the ball, but a shot was taken from above... The sharp ball went into the net... We conceded a goal in a form where we were far from scoring a point and took our third consecutive loss in an instant of vulnerability.

[Player Comments]
"Mori Shige"
"The goal was completely my mistake. I'm really sorry. I was hesitating whether to leave it to Yoshimoto or to follow it myself... I made a judgment mistake. There wouldn't have been any problem if I had just cleared it normally. I can't make excuses. However, the next game is coming soon, so I have to switch gears properly. The attacking unit is also doing well, so I think it's most important to continue. Personally, I want to make a play to make up for my mistake."

《Yoshimoto》
"We were going for 3 points, of course, but if we didn't concede, we could have obtained 1 point. We absolutely couldn't afford to concede at that point. It's even more frustrating because we were playing well. Even if people say we're weak in crucial moments, we have to accept that as the current situation. However, when we have a losing streak and end up in this kind of situation, we tend to blame others. But right now, I don't think anyone is blaming others, and as a team, we haven't fallen apart. I have confidence that we can turn things around here. We want to switch gears and move forward."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's Press Conference]
"There were two decisive chances in the first half. In the second half, we were attacking for most of the time and were able to play our game. The opponent played most of the time in their own penalty area. But that's how football is, even if we attack for 90 minutes, we can lose with one mistake, one shot. Unfortunately, this is both the beauty and the tough part of football. The players showed such a performance that it wouldn't be strange if we had gotten the result. I think the Omiya coach would have the same opinion, but sometimes a team that hardly shoots can beat a team that dominates the game. That's what sets it apart from other sports. We need to overcome today's defeat as a team, and regarding Captain Morishige, he had been playing brilliantly, but mistakes like this can happen. I believe that a strong team can be built when we overcome this difficult situation together as one."

[Summary of Omiya - Coach Kiyoshi OKUMA's Press Conference]
"We always send out players to play with passion. It was a really tough period, including the second half, and there were injured players, but that kind of passion led to the opponent's shots missing and we managed to pull off a victory while enduring. In the past, the work and roles of the starting players and substitutes didn't always lead to results, but today the player who replaced the injured player did a great job. It was very good for the team. I think that giving 100% or more of their power, including the substitute players, helps develop the players and the team. I want to continue to work hard so that we can have more games like this in the future. Coming to Ajinomoto Stadium has a unique atmosphere and familiar aspects. I wanted to somehow have a good game and convey that 'we are also working hard.' I had the desire to report 3 points to our fans and supporters, but I want to continue to do my best in the future."