Enhance the defensive awareness of all players and aim for victory by suppressing goals conceded

Sec. 30 of the league, which is played three days after the previous match. We will face Gamba Osaka away. In the Hiroshima match, we scored multiple goals for the first time in three games and secured a victory. Our ranking remains 6th, but the point difference with the 3rd place is "6". In preparation for this match, we have held closed training sessions for two days considering the consecutive matches. Coach Massimo stated that he wanted to focus on tactics within the short time. Canini will continue to start as a CB for Tokyo. Mita will be in the midfield, and Watanabe will be in the front line as starters. Kono will play as an attacking midfielder in a 4-1-2-3 formation.

G Osaka, on the other hand, is currently in 2nd place with 52 points. Although they lost to Kashiwa in the previous match, they had a great momentum with 7 consecutive wins before that. With their strong performance, Tokyo players are becoming more cautious, considering G Osaka as the "strongest team at the moment". G Osaka has scored a total of 51 goals so far, ranking 2nd in the league. As you may know, FW Usami and Patrick have been showing outstanding scoring ability, but on the other hand, they have also conceded only 28 goals, which is the 4th fewest in the league. It can be said that they have a good balance between offense and defense. In terms of the lineup, CB Kim replaces DF Iwashita, who is suspended. DF Fujiharu and MF Abe start on the bench. MF Endo and Imamura form a double pivot in the midfield. MF Kurata and Omori are positioned on both sides.　

On the other hand, Tokyo, who has the fewest goals conceded in the league (25), relies on their usual resilient defense to exploit their opponents' weaknesses. It is crucial to not give space to G Osaka's attacking line, and to pay close attention to the offensive contributions from MF Hikaru ENDO and the overlapping runs of the fullbacks. The aim is to enhance the defensive awareness of all players and start the game by preventing goals from being conceded.

The match started at 19:04 with a kickoff in Tokyo, at the Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium in Osaka, where the weather was neither hot nor cold, but rather mild.

Without any flaws in the defense line, it remains scoreless as we head into the second half

The game started with 9 minutes on the clock, when G Osaka's forward Usami sprinted into the space on the left side from a loose ball in the midfield, and delivered a final pass near the goal. Despite the tight defense, Gonda made a one-handed save! The loose ball was cleared again with determination, and it resulted in a corner kick. After that, G Osaka was awarded consecutive corner kicks, but in the end, it ended with a missed shot, and Tokyo escaped the danger.

15 minutes have passed, and we had a chance to restart right after the start, but we couldn't take full advantage of it. We are gradually allowing G Osaka to dominate the ball. In the 19th minute, Tokyo's attack. Muto broke through to the front line and was surrounded by the opponent's defenders, but managed to maintain his balance and took a direct shot from the turnaround, only to be saved by the goalkeeper.

In the 21st minute, G Osaka quickly switched to an attack after losing the ball in the midfield. FW Usami aimed a powerful shot from mid-range, but it went wide to the right. In the following 22nd minute, G Osaka's left FW Usami passed to Patrick in the right area. They exchanged passes, and a decisive final pass was sent to G Osaka's left FW Usami, but Tokunaga cleared it with a sliding tackle just before shooting. They escaped with a corner kick and defended. 30 minutes have passed, and while Tokyo has not shown any defensive weaknesses, they have been unable to move the ball forward. They couldn't pick up the second ball either, and G Osaka took control and pushed Tokyo back. In the 32nd minute, there was a chance for a free kick. It was a free kick from just under 30 meters away, but Ota aimed directly at the goal. He shot the ball towards the top right corner, but the opponent's GK made a save.

In the 38th minute, G Osaka FW Usami dribbled into the right area and made a last pass to the far side. He was left free in the left area and took a shot, but it was blocked in front of the goal. The rebound went back to the right and both sides attacked, but they defended persistently! In the 43rd minute, Mita persisted on the left front line and crossed in front of the goal. Muto in the central area attempted a bicycle-like jumping volley, but it went straight to the opponent's goalkeeper.

Additional time, G Osaka FW Usami breaks through the left side and delivers a decisive last pass in front of the goal. However, Canini cuts it off. The ball hits the previous Yonemoto and gives a left corner kick, but G Osaka commits a foul in this corner kick situation. Kanda gets injured. G Osaka takes control and difficult times continue. Even when they steal the ball in their own half, they can hardly connect it forward. They couldn't take advantage of the few counterattacks or set-piece opportunities. However, the defense line holds up without showing any weaknesses and the score remains 0-0 into the second half. However, Kanda gets injured in the last play and is taken off the pitch on a stretcher...

Unable to achieve consecutive victories due to being overpowered...

From the start of the second half, Shioda replaced the injured Gonda as a substitute. In the 48th minute of the game, Usami, the forward on the right side for G Osaka, dribbled up while speeding up with a one-two pass with forward Patric in the center of the area, and broke through to the right area. He was able to take a decisive shot, but it narrowly missed the outside of the side net...

53 minutes, Takahashi's vertical pass was intercepted and G Osaka's attack began. They tried to regain possession in their own right, but Takahashi was approached and fell. There was no foul by G Osaka here. The loose ball was picked up by G Osaka's midfielder and played out to the right, where MF Omori aimed and scored a precise ground shot in front of the right area... resulting in a goal against.

59 minutes, Tokyo substitutes Kono and Mita with Edu and Matsuda. However, immediately after the substitution, G Osaka MF Endo directly aims for the free kick given before the substitution. And from an angleless position, he skillfully kicks it directly above the near post and scores... Tokyo lost the second goal.

After that, Tokyo's formation consists of a 3-back with Tokunaga on the right, Morishige on the left, and Canini in the center. Matsuda and Ota as the wide players. Takahashi and Yonemoto as the double pivot. Edu up front, with Watanabe on the right and Muto on the left in a 3-4-3 formation. In the 66th minute, Tokyo's attack. Ota's early cross finds Matsuda on the far side, who pushes it into the goal from just outside the goal line. GOAL!! Matsuda's first professional goal brings Tokyo within one goal!!

76 minutes, Matsuda and Takahashi also moved up to the right front line, and from the pass exchange there, Watanabe in a slightly withdrawn position took a controlled middle shot, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper on the lower left... In the midst of a difficult situation, using up all player substitutions and taking advantage of formation changes, Matsuda's first goal narrowed the gap to one point... Unable to create chances that seemed like chances against G Osaka's skillful game management. Unable to win with strength and dropped to 7th place in the rankings.

【Player Comment】
《Matsuda》
"I'm happy to score my first goal, but I can't be completely happy. To be honest, the frustration of losing is greater. As for the goal, I believed that the ball would definitely come, so I jumped behind Mr. Watanabe. Mr. Ota sent it to me with his right foot just as I expected, and I was able to touch it well. I wanted to come on as a substitute and change the flow of the game, and I think I was able to do that a little."
However, it was necessary to find a way to bring out the ball more and also improve the quality of movements aimed at the opponent's back.

《Ota》
"I think we were able to take care of the space behind the G Osaka FW Patrick player well. However, rather than how G Osaka was... we couldn't calm the game down ourselves. There were also many mistakes overall, and we were in a hurry. We couldn't play soccer like connecting from the side and attacking simply. It felt like the 90 minutes ended without being able to do anything... It was also a restless 90 minutes. There should be things that can be seen in this kind of defeat, but I think we need to show a stronger mentality and intensity in the ball and in a posture that anyone can understand. I want to work harder with a stronger mentality to win the remaining 4 matches."

[Summary of Coach Massimo FICCADENTI's Press Conference]
"I think the first half went well in terms of balance. There wasn't much space, but we were able to execute our tactics properly. The opponent had a few chances, and we had some chances as well. After that, Kanda, who received a dangerous foul, got injured. In the second half, Shioda came on as a substitute and was able to get into the game properly. There were a few mistakes, but we were able to react properly afterwards. We managed to score a goal and fought until the end believing in victory. It's a great pride for the team and we were able to show a never-give-up attitude. We have things to learn from experienced teams like G Osaka and Urawa. We want to make use of these experiences in the future. It is definitely necessary for us to grow."

[Summary of G Osaka Coach Kenta Hasegawa's Press Conference]
"Despite it being Sunday, many supporters came to Banpaku. It was great to be able to present a victory to those supporters. Today's game was very important. We had lost the previous match and we knew that we couldn't afford to lose any games from now on. We expected FC Tokyo to have a strong defense, making it a difficult game. I think we were able to play aggressively from the start. In particular, the speed of FW Usami was fantastic. We just needed to score goals. Not only FW Usami, but also MF Konno, MF Endo, and DF Kane who joined the defense, they all stayed focused until the end. Including the bench, today's game was a united effort and we were able to defeat FC Tokyo."