League match resumes. A tough battle, aiming for victory

The league match resumed. Sec. 7 was reached, and it was a match against Montedio Yamagata away. The Nabisco Tosu match was approached by changing the members, and Mita scored 2 goals. At the same time, they kept a clean sheet and grabbed a victory to dispel the flow of the league's first defeat.

However, the current ranking in the league is 5th, and in order to continue to be involved in the championship race in J1, consecutive losses are not allowed. This is a crucial match where we want to earn 3 points in order to aim for a comeback. We will learn from the Hiroshima match and strive for victory by sticking to our own style of soccer without losing balance.

Yamagata, who faced Tokyo for the first time since 2010, dramatically won the promotion playoffs last season and returned to J1 after 4 seasons. They are currently in 17th place in the league. After the 6th section, they have scored a total of 2 goals, indicating a lack of scoring ability, but they have conceded only 6 goals, which is relatively low. Kono also mentioned that "Yamagata has a strong defensive impression." Additionally, since Yamagata did not have a Nabisco Cup match during the week, they should have thoroughly prepared for this section.

It was a calm and sunny day in Yamagata, but as evening approached, a cold wind gradually blew. Tokyo will face Sec. 7 at ND Stadium, which is the first time since 2010. Ishikawa will be absent for Tokyo. However, Morishige, Yonemoto, Kajiyama, and Muto, who missed the Nabisco Tosu match, will return to the starting lineup. Yoshimoto, as well as Higashi and Mita, will also be named in the starting lineup following the Tosu match.

Yamagata will use FW Frank Romero in the front line. Along with FW Kawanishi, they will serve as shadows and distribute FW Diego at the top in a 3-4-3 formation. Yamagata boasts a strong defense and cannot afford to lose in the league. It is also expected that they will dominate the ball, but they will persistently aim for victory by exploiting the opponent's weaknesses without losing balance.

The match started with a kickoff in Yamagata at 18:34.

Kiyoshi OTA scores the first goal of the season from a free kick! Protecting a one-point lead, the first half ends.

The match is in the 2nd minute of the first half. Mita, who picked up the opponent's clearance, boldly aims for a middle shot, but it slightly veers to the left. In the following 8th minute, Muto keeps the ball on the left front line. He speeds up while moving back from a high position near the touchline. He connects with Kawano who moves up the middle. Kawano carries the ball vertically and tries to bring it into the left area for a shot, but it is blocked and results in a left corner kick. However, they were unable to score from the subsequent corner kick.

15 minutes have passed and the battle for the ball continues, gradually Tokyo has come to dominate the ball. In the 22nd minute, a free kick from the opponent's side on the right side of the field. Ota sends a sharp kick to the front of the goal, and Yoshimoto jumps in near the goal. The ball drops from above, skims through, bounces, and goes into the net! Ota scores with the free kick, taking the lead with the first goal of the season!!

In the 28th minute, Yamagata launched a quick attack and left MF Takagi advanced to the front line, crossing the ball along the ground. However, Kindergarten took a low posture and caught the ball with his body in front. Furthermore, in the 29th minute, a pass inside the Tokyo territory reached Yamagata FW Kanenishi in the area, creating a dangerous situation. However, Tokyo had a high awareness of covering and consecutively blocked with their bodies! After that, the team stood firm together and did not allow the opponent to score.

Ota took advantage of a set play chance and scored the opening goal. Although we couldn't score an additional goal in the flow, we concentrated and held back Yamagata's counterattacks, ending the first half with a one-point lead.

Grabbing 3 points with a tenacious and focused battle until the end!

Entering the second half, 47 minutes. The opponent's one-two in the front line was calmly controlled, and they tried to bring it to a counterattack, but Muto was dispossessed as he tried to move forward, and Yamagata launched a counterattack. Diego, the forward, took a shot from the right side, but Gonda made the catch. In the following 48 minutes, they couldn't control the pass exchange in the Yamagata central area, the marking was off, and Matsuo was allowed to break through on the right area, with right midfielder Kim Bon-Young providing support for the finish. However, the shot went over the bar and the danger was averted.

In the 52nd minute, Muto reacted to the ball that spilled out from the competition on the front line. Skillfully making it his own, he powerfully broke through to the left area and chose to cross. Mita in the center of the area tried to volley to follow up, but missed the shot and couldn't bring it to a finish. In the 56th minute, Tokyo substituted Takahashi for Kohno! A double defensive midfielder with Kajiyama, and Yonemoto and Mita serving as the sides in a 4-4-2 formation. 60 minutes have passed, and although they didn't allow any goals, they were being pushed back by Yamagata's speedy transitions in the early stages, as well as the development and combination from the opposing forward, Kanenishi, who dropped back to build up play.

64 minutes, Yamagata creates an opportunity on the side and threatens Tokyo's goal. The sharp right cross was cleared with a header, but MF Arceau, who was free in the right area, quickly followed up with a shot. The chance was decisive, but it veered to the right and avoided danger.

In the 70th minute, Hayashi replaces Yonemoto! Higashi moves to the side. Yamagata also brings in FW Hayashi Ryohei. In the 72nd minute, just after coming on, Tokyo's Hayashi brings the ball into the left area and gets into a shooting position, but is blocked by the Yamagata defense and fails to score. 75 minutes have passed, and Tokyo is trying to regroup, but they are unable to break Yamagata's momentum. Tokyo is also struggling to find a rhythm in defense, and the game is progressing at Yamagata's pace.

In the 78th minute, Kajiyama received a warning, the third time this season. In the 82nd minute, Haneda was substituted for Mita! Then, Yamagata introduced MF Nakajima. And in the additional time at the end of the game, from Tokunaga's sliding tackle, Mutoh quickly counterattacked with the ball. He dribbled freely vertically and horizontally, then expanded to the left. From here, he connected and Mutoh himself moved up to the left front line and passed to Haneda in the area... but couldn't finish.

In the second half, Yamagata was under attack. We tried to respond by making player substitutions and changing formations, but we couldn't grasp the rhythm. However, we concentrated in our own half and defended against the pinch, and from there we launched a counterattack. We couldn't score any additional points, but we persevered until the end and defended Ota's goal with determination, securing 3 points.

[Player Comments]
"Ota"
"I feel responsible because I have always been entrusted with set plays, and I always want to score. Regarding today's free kick, I aimed for the central space by judging the Yamagata defenders. I aimed for a course that would flow into the goal even if a teammate didn't touch it. I didn't really understand when it went in. Yoshimoto was happy and said, 'It's me.' I also said, 'It's me' (laughs). But the one who is recorded as the scorer wins (laughs). We knew that Yamagata would press from the front. I think it would have been better if we could have connected the ball a little more. However, we fought through without taking unnecessary risks and kept the score at zero. It is also our theme this season to make the most of the few chances we have while keeping the goals conceded to zero. Personally, I think it would be ideal if we could convert set play opportunities into 3 points."

"Yoshimoto"
"Yamagata threw long balls and crosses, and there was a sense of fear. Kanda jumped out to catch those crosses, which gave us a sense of relief. We may have had many moments where we held the defense line, but in a tough match, I think we all earned 3 points together. Of course, I wish I could have connected more passes, but I tried to play to win without taking risks. As for scoring, I think winning through set plays is a pattern of strong teams. In order to continue competing at the top, I hope we can further develop that strength."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"The start was very good. We were able to take the lead in the midst of good plays. However, we allowed the opponent to create chances from our own mistakes, but we managed to finish the first half. In the second half, the opponent threw the ball forward and aimed for second balls, but I think we were able to respond properly. Especially towards the end of the game, by compacting the midfield through player substitutions, we didn't give the opponent any decisive chances. Even though Yamagata has been playing good soccer without getting results, they have created many chances. Actually, today's game was unpredictable until the very end. I think getting 3 points against such a strong opponent after struggling so much is a valuable victory."

[Yamagata - Coach Nobuhiro Ishizaki's Press Conference Summary]
"It was about what we can do against Tokyo, where there are many players from the Japanese national team. First of all, we emphasized not losing in terms of our feelings and entered the game, but we were weak in the physical aspect in the first half. The goal we conceded was an unfortunate one where the free kick went directly in. In the second half, we became stronger in the physical aspect and were able to create more actions than the opponent and push forward. However, the big challenge from there was not being able to score goals. The most important finishing, crosses, and accuracy of the final pass were lacking. I think that in J1, goals are rarely born by luck if we don't pursue that. While we have been playing good games in the last three matches, we have been unable to win. We don't have outstanding players like Muto, so we want to continue to seek physicality and accuracy in the team as a whole and move towards the next match."