Each representative member also joins, and the league match resumes

After a one-week interval from the Nabisco Cup, the league match resumes. In Sec. 4, Ventforet Kofu will face Ajinomoto Stadium. The Nabisco Matsumoto match ended in a draw, making it 5 consecutive matches without a loss in official matches this season. During this time, Gonda, Morishige, Ota, Muto, Nara, and Nakajima, who were participating in the activities of the Japan national team and the U-22 Japan national team, have joined the team. The team will face this match with all members present.

However, during the midweek practice, Higashi injured his ankle. He will be absent for this match as the pain still remains. On the other hand, four players from the Japanese national team returned to the starting lineup. Ishikawa (since the Nabisco Niigata match on March 18) and Mita (since the Nabisco Matsumoto match in the previous round) made their first league starts, forming a lineup with Muto and Ishikawa as the front two. Hayashi, who has recovered from injury, also made it onto the bench.

Tokyo will face Kofu this season with new coach Yasuhiro HIGUCHI, who has built a solid defense and counter-attacking style. However, in the previous season's matches, both ended in draws. To secure a victory, Tokyo will need to break through Kofu's "5-back defense that eliminates space". It will be a crucial factor. Tokyo aims to increase the number of shots and chances through aggressive play and seize their first home league win.

Although it's already April, Ajinomoto Stadium is still chilly. The match started at 16:03 with Tokyo's kickoff.

In the league match, Kelly scored her second goal of the season after a year and four months, taking the lead!

Immediately after the start, Kajiyama attacked and won a corner kick. Showing an aggressive attitude, in the 3rd minute, Kono ran into the ball that flowed to the opposite side from Ishikawa on the right front line and aimed from the left area. In the 6th minute, the opponent's forward, Abe Takuma, used his speed to break through on the right front line. He tried to return a short pass in front of the goal, but the Tokyo DF calmly cut it off and escaped with a corner kick. In the 10th minute, Tokunaga crossed from Yonemoto's side change. In the 14th minute, Yonemoto dropped Muto's ball to the right, Ishikawa dropped it to the center, and Kono took it out to the left by going around from behind, but the shot missed the target. In the 15th minute, Muto broke through the opponent's defense and escaped to the left area, but was cleared just before the shot.

Although they couldn't take advantage of the chances so far, in the next 15 minutes, Ota cleared the ball that Kofu spread to the side with a header. Yonehara near the halfway line immediately sent a lofted pass to the front line. In response to this, Ishikawa skillfully slipped behind the defenders, controlled the ball with his right foot, and swung his left foot from the left area! The shot, which made a beautiful arc, cleanly found the net, and Ishikawa took the lead with his second goal of the season following his Nabisco Niigata match. It is his first league goal since the 33rd round of the 2013 season.

After that, he continued to attack quickly, and in the 30th minute, Ishikawa was fouled near the left area and won a free kick. Morishige took a direct shot, but the goalkeeper caught it. In the 31st minute, Kajiyama quickly reacted to a loose ball from a throw-in by Tokyo inside the Kofu territory. He made it his ball and sent a long pass to Muto on the right front line. Muto slid to the center, evading the opposing defender, and aimed for the bottom right corner with a shot, but it slightly curved to the right.

Kofu did not allow any clear chances for Chang Hyun Soo. However, in the 33rd minute, the opponent's right corner kick was cleared high, and Kofu midfielder Shimoda took a direct shot. In the 35th minute, Shimoda was again shot by Kofu from a loose ball from a free kick, but both shots missed the target and avoided conceding a goal. In the 39th minute, Kajiyama, who had moved up the center from the right side of Ishikawa, brought the ball into the right area and Ota ran in from the left to take a shot, but it went over the bar. They couldn't score an additional goal, but they maintained the lead and ended the first half.

Defending with high concentration and securing one goal, two consecutive wins in the league!

An accident occurred at the start of the second half. Muto, who had been suffering from a back injury since the first half, was unable to continue playing and was forced to be substituted. Maeda came in at the 51st minute. Nevertheless, he continued to make speedy attacks, and in the 60th minute, Ishikawa broke through from Maeda's pass on the right side. Mita, who had moved up on the inside, dropped the ball, and Yonemoto provided support in the area. From quick passing, they launched a strong attack, but they were unable to finish in the end.

There was also a counterattack from the opponent, and as the ball went back and forth, in the 72nd minute, Ota sent a free kick from the right area just before the handball into the penalty area. The cleared ball by Kofu hit the opponent's defender's hand again, resulting in a handball foul and a penalty kick. However, Morishige's penalty kick hit the left bottom post of the goal... Unable to score an additional point, immediately after that, Hayashi was substituted for Kono. With Hayashi and Mita on both sides, Yonehara and Kajiyama formed a double defensive midfield in a 4-4-2 formation.

However, Kofu also counterattacked by sending a long ball to substitute FW Morita. Tokyo was unable to connect their passes and the game became hectic. In the 74th minute, they were unable to stop the powerful dribble of Kofu FW Abe Takuma and a through pass was played behind the defense. FW Adriano rushed towards the goal, but Canini cut off the shot just before and it resulted in a corner kick.

In the 79th minute, Hayu fought hard on the front line and earned a right corner kick. MoriShige jumped in on Ishikawa's kick and unleashed a powerful header, but... it was blocked by the upper right post of the goal. After that, there was a period of time when they couldn't break the rhythm of Kofu, but in the 88th minute, Takahashi was brought in. In the final stage, they took a defensive formation with 5 backs, maintained concentration and physicality, and kept a clean sheet until the end. They held on to Ishikawa's goal and grabbed their first home victory in the league.

[Player Comments]
《Ishikawa》
「Since we hadn't been able to win at Ajinomoto Stadium in the league matches, I really wanted to win this time. I think everyone was able to show a strong desire for victory throughout the 90 minutes.
（What about the goal?）
I had been aiming for that shape many times. There were also scenes where I was offside, and even if the pass didn't come out, I always tried to pull the opponent's DF and break through behind. In the scoring scene, I was able to calmly break through, trap, and shoot. Last season, I spent frustrating time, but I think that the accumulation of what I did at that time has led to today's result. It is necessary to keep moving forward here and continue to shape it.

《Yonemoto》
"I'm happy and confident that I was able to make an assist that led to a goal. When I received Ota's clearance ball and looked up, I saw Ishikawa moving. I've been playing with Ishikawa for a long time and we have good chemistry. Before the game today, he told me, 'I'll start moving, so please pass me the ball,' and it was exactly as I imagined. Coach Massimo told us to 'move the ball quickly' against Kofu's defenders. I think we were able to execute the preparations we made this week, including our focus on playing vertically."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"After taking the lead, we were able to steal the ball in the midfield and create numerous chances on the counter, which led to a good period of time for us. In the first half, we were able to steal the ball in the opponent's territory many times and create opportunities. We couldn't score a second goal, but we continued the momentum into the second half and hardly allowed any shooting chances for Kofu. It was impressive how we remained calm and continued to play well even during the time when the atmosphere could have turned negative after the penalty kick. In the second half, Kofu used long balls frequently and pushed us back, but we were able to handle it in an organized manner. The players also understood and made excellent adjustments tactically, such as switching to a 4-4-1-1 formation or using a five-man defense. However, there are areas where our precision in the attacking aspect, including penalties and set plays, is lacking. If we had been able to score a second goal, we could have controlled the game more comfortably."
（What was the intention of having a speedy front two?）
It was understood that the DF line of Kofu sometimes formed a line of five, making it difficult to easily catch offside. Therefore, the two forwards prepared to target the space behind. In the first half, there were decisive chances for Muto, and Ishikawa was also able to create the desired shape. Regarding Muto's injury, he has a slight pain in his lower back. I think he will be able to join the team in 2-3 days, so it is not a major issue."

[Kofu - Yasuhiro HIGUCHI Coach's Press Conference Summary]
"I also feel sorry that the game had many negative aspects along with the result. In the two-week preparation period for this match, we strongly emphasized the quickness of switching and the intensity of pressing in the ball contest. However, especially in the first half, we couldn't compete in the ball contest and the slowness of switching was noticeable. For some players, I couldn't help but feel that they were playing soccer with fear of making mistakes. That is very disappointing and I want to strongly demand it for the sake of promoting growth. As a factor that we couldn't score, I think it can be said that the quality of passes didn't improve easily. There were too many easy mistakes in the build-up phase and we couldn't connect to breakthroughs. There are issues such as the tempo of moving the ball, but we couldn't do what we could normally do today. However, we have no choice but to recognize the current situation and continue training. The game won't wait for us, so we want to try our best as a team."