Entering the final stage of the league, a team that can win until the end

Sec. 25 of the league, which will be played two days after the previous match, will be held at home against Tokushima Vortis. The Kawasaki match was a fierce battle, but it ended in a scoreless draw, making it the club's record of 12 consecutive matches without a loss. However, there are still 10 matches left in this season's league. The focus now is on how to continue building up and how to secure 3 points from here.

Tokushima, currently in 18th place with 12 points, has not been able to rise from the bottom since the start of the season. However, DF Muramatsu, MF Esteban, and FW Adriano joined the team in the middle of the season. In addition, FW Takasaki, the lone striker, has scored goals and achieved 3 victories. Above all, in the away game of the first half, they were unable to break through Tokushima's solid defense and ended up with a draw. Therefore, Coach Massimo also approaches the game with the mindset that "Tokushima is a team that can fight. To win against them, we need to give our all and show our quality."

Unfortunately, Mita suffered an injury and had to withdraw, and Coach Massimo expressed his regret, saying, "The attacking line cannot be rotated, and there are no options," but also mentioned that "the condition of each player is not bad, and the team is playing well." The starting lineup will be the same as the previous match. Additionally, Sasaki (U-18) made it to the bench for the second consecutive game. Tokushima is missing FW Adriano, but they have a lineup that can be considered almost the best. It can be expected that Tokushima will tighten their defense, but it is a match where we want to achieve the first goal and lead it to victory by any means necessary.

Ajinomoto Stadium, with clear autumn weather, the match started with a Tokyo kickoff at 15:03.

Edu and Kono break the deadlock and take the lead!

Tokyo dominated the ball from the start. They tried to shake Tokushima wide while being conscious of side changes and progressed the game in the opponent's half. However, they couldn't break Tokushima's solid defense. There were opportunities to cross, take free kicks, and corner kicks, but they lacked the finishing touch. However, the press from the front line worked. In the 27th minute, a back pass from Tokushima's defender flowed to Edu in the front line. Edu rushed towards the goal. He tried to feint and shoot after cutting back the approaching opponent's defender, but he was blocked by the returning Tokushima defender... They created a decisive opportunity without missing the opponent's mistake, but it only resulted in a corner kick.

But in the 33rd minute, Muto from the back quickly moved up the field, passing to Hayabusa on the right side. Edu, on the right area, forcefully made a vertical move and sent a final pass in front of the opponent's defense. Kono, who was waiting freely in the left goal area, easily pushed it in with his right foot. GOAL!! Edu and Kono broke through the deadlock situation created by Hayabusa's play and finally scored the opening goal.

In the 35th minute, Edu in the area reversed the right cross from Hayu with a chest trap and took a volley shot, but it went wide. In the 37th minute, Edu again received a ground pass from Hayu, ran into the area, but the trap was off and he couldn't finish. Missing the chance for an additional goal, they couldn't clear Tokushima's ball and were pushed back. In the 39th minute, Tokushima MF Hamada, who ran to the right front line, took a shot from an angleless position. Konda saved it safely, but they couldn't connect forward from here, and again Tokushima's cross was cleared and MF Estepan took a shot from the middle, but it went over the bar. It became a slightly panicked development, but Tokushima lacked accuracy, so they maintained a 1-point lead and ended the first half.

After the introduction of Watanabe and Kajiyama, Sasaki also made his debut, and the FW team continued to score goals.

In the second half, after aiming for an additional point, they launched a strong attack from the beginning. In the 51st minute, Yonemoto from Ota's left throw-in → Hanyu broke through the opponent's defense and sent a well-aimed through pass. Kono, who broke free, caught up with the sideline and made a last pass to the center. Edu, who tried to score, was fouled and knocked down, earning a penalty kick. In the 52nd minute, Edu scored this penalty kick spectacularly, successfully securing the second point.

On the other hand, Tokushima made two substitutions in the 58th minute and started attacking, but Tokyo calmly responded and took advantage of the opponent's gaps to launch counterattacks one after another. In the 68th minute, Kono's pass from a quick attack reached Edu in the left area, but he couldn't shoot directly. In the 72nd minute, Muto in the right front of the area passed to Edu in the center and circled around to the left. Edu skillfully evaded the opponent with the sole of his foot and passed to Kono in front of the goal again, but the cross for a shot went wide.

Substitute Watanabe for Edu in the 73rd minute. In the following 77th minute, Tokunaga steals the ball from a low position on the right side of their own field and passes it to Hayashi who connects with Kawano in front. Despite almost being dispossessed by the opponent, Kawano carries the ball with a powerful dribble and plays a through pass to the front line. Muto takes advantage of his speed to bring the ball into the area, drifts to the left to evade the opponent's defender and goalkeeper, and scores! He successfully gets the third goal in the intended manner, utilizing his speed.

In the 78th minute immediately after, Kajiyama was substituted for Kono as the attacking midfielder. This move aimed to push Tokushima further by creating time in the front line. In the 87th minute, Sasaki, who made his J-League debut, replaced Muto. And just after entering the 4 minutes of additional time, Sasaki aggressively pressed the opponent's goalkeeper. The resulting kick reached Yonemoto in the Tokushima's penalty area, and Kajiyama in front quickly passed the ball into the area. Wakabayashi rushed in here. He skillfully evaded the defenders and took the ball forward on the left side, then scored with his left foot, making a goal!

In defense, they kept a clean sheet and achieved a victory while utilizing the strengths of Kajiyama and debutant Sasaki, maintaining a sense of unity among all players. This also led to the club's record of 13 consecutive matches without a loss and earned 3 points in the league for the first time in 5 matches.

[Player Comments]
"Edu"
"I couldn't score in the flow of the game and I feel frustrated for missing chances. However, even though my contribution to the team may be low, I was thinking of helping the team by defending and running if I couldn't score. I think not losing my aggressiveness led to the opening goal. I will give my all with the power I have right now. I have been approaching the game with that mindset so far, and I promise to continue fighting with 100% of my strength."

《Ryo WATANABE》
"When Kajiyama received the ball, I immediately thought about moving. It was easy to demonstrate my aim, and he gave me a good vertical pass as I expected. After that, I focused on finishing it myself. There are many injured players now, but for healthy players, it's actually an opportunity. Once you participate, you have to perform well. Even in a short playing time, there will be at least one chance, so it's important to make the most of those few opportunities. That will increase competitiveness and contribute to improving the team's strength."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"Tokushima sets up with a front line of 3 forwards and leaves 5 at the back. I expected it to be difficult to change sides, and it turned out exactly as I predicted. After taking the lead, the opponent pressed forward, creating more space and making it a bit easier for us. We scored 2 or 3 goals, which made it even easier. What I want to emphasize is the players' mentality. As a fundamental principle of the team, we always convey the message that we should give 100% effort, whether the opponent is in last place or first place, and the players have been talking about it among themselves. Through the way we started the game and played, they truly showed it."

[Tokushima - Coach Shinji KOBAYASHI's Press Conference Summary]
"I feel that it was a tough game. In the first 20 minutes, especially for 10 minutes, we were a bit disorganized, but I think our defense in our own half went well. The opponent struggled to attack, and we were able to create chances. However, at a moment when we didn't know which way it would go, we momentarily stopped and conceded the first goal from a counterattack. It was a big waste. However, in the previous match, we collapsed here, so it was good that we could turn around the first half with a score of 0-1. I believed that if we patiently defended without being able to score, there would be chances. Everything changed with the second goal. The third goal came from a counterattack after our attack, and the fourth goal came from our own mistake. It's not that we were beaten, but it's very disappointing that we couldn't take care of it. Also, when we broke through, we went back when we had to decide whether to cross or shoot. There were situations where we attacked from the front and crossed, but we couldn't create such situations on the side. Going back easily is a matter of individual skill. I think it's okay to challenge more strongly, but it's a waste that we can't. In a situation where we can't score easily, conceding one goal is very heavy, and the second goal was very heavy. Today, we fell into a pattern of starting from Tokyo's defense. When we conceded the second goal, we had to attack, but we couldn't create opportunities. We couldn't push Tokyo into a corner."