A battle to fight without losing in order to aim for 3 consecutive victories in the league

After a two-week interval, the league match resumes. Sagan Tosu will face off in Sec. 16. They will approach the last game of the 1st stage away. In the Matsumoto match, everyone covered for the absence of Morishige, who was suspended, and Hashimoto, who made his first appearance in J1, scored his first goal. They achieved victory through a united effort. Although they temporarily rose to 3rd place in the rankings, their possibility of winning the 1st stage completely disappeared. However, Coach Massimo stated, "We will set our goals for the 34 matches throughout the season and fight with all our might in each game to achieve results."

During the break, Kanta, Morishige, Ota, and Muto focused on the activities of the Japan national team. As a result, the time for the entire team to gather for the Tosu match was short. However, recently in Tokyo, regardless of who is playing, it can be said that they understand the team's goals and individual roles, express them on the pitch, and increase the sense of unity as a team. For this match, including the national team members, there may be variations in each player's sense of the game, but we want to work hard together again and base our play on strong defense, fully demonstrating the "Tokyo style" and aiming for victory.

Sagan Tosu, who will face Tokyo, is currently in 11th place with 19 points. They have scored 19 goals so far, the same as Tokyo, but have conceded 28 goals. Among them, they have conceded a total of 14 goals in the last 3 matches. However, Kanda analyzes that "they should thoroughly make defensive adjustments during the 2-week interval." It is not difficult to imagine that they will regain their running ability and quick start, and try to rebuild.

Tokyo, Mori Shige's suspension is over and he returns to the starting lineup. Maeda also joins the starting lineup, forming a two-top with Muto. In the midfield, Takahashi and Kajiyama form a double pivot, with Mita and Higashi on the sides, in a 4-4-2 formation. In addition, Ishikawa, who has recovered from injury, has made the squad for the first time since the Nabisco Tosu match on April 22.

Tokushima positions FW Toyoda at the forefront, with FW Shiro as the attacking midfielder. MF Mizunuma and MF Kane are deployed on both sides in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Tokyo aims to compete with Tokushima in terms of work rate, solid defense, and quick counterattacks, and wants to build good attacks from good defense by matching their energy and quick start.

Started at 16:04 with Tosu's kickoff at the scorching hot Tosu-Beststa.

Conceding the first goal from a set piece, carrying a one-point deficit into the second half

In the early stages, there was a period of being pushed back, but in the 11th minute, Mita intercepted Tosu's right throw-in in the opponent's half.
Connect to the previous Maeda immediately and then Muto advances to the right area, but there is not enough support in the center. He couldn't bring it to a finish. In the following 14 minutes, on the left side of the midfield, Higashi pressed and tried to make it his ball, but it was momentarily loose and taken away by Tosu MF Mizunuma, leading to a counterattack. MF Kan ran to the right front line → MF Mizunuma in the right area and brought it to a shot. It missed the frame, but it was a dangerous scene.

At 16 minutes, Tosu's forward Toyoda broke through the left area after receiving a long feed from the midfield. Yoshimoto, who tried to respond, was cut back and a shot was taken, but Tokyo managed to touch it slightly and escaped with a corner kick. However, from this right corner kick at 17 minutes, Tosu's midfielder Fujita's kick was perfectly headed in by midfielder Kane, conceding the opening goal. The start of the match was not bad, but Tokyo couldn't keep the ball in the front line. Gradually, Tosu created rhythm from their quick attacks and conceded the opening goal from a set piece...

24 minutes, Takahashi on the left side of the midfield moves forward. Mita breaks through at the right moment and carries the ball forward, sending a low cross in front of the goal. Maeda traps the ball and takes a shot. He created a great opportunity, but the ball goes wide of the goal...

35 minutes have passed, and Tokyo is starting to create chances by being aware of the quick transition against Tosu's tough defense.
However, the development of having the second stolen by Tosu continues. In the 38th minute, Higashi received a foul and a FK from the slightly right-leaning position inside the Tosu territory, 26-27m away. Ota's shot, which he aimed for, flew just above the bar, grazing the opponent's DF, but the GK jumped and caught it.

Carefully stood up, but was caught by Tosu's counter and conceded the first goal from a set piece. Tokyo also tried to counterattack without panicking, but had few chances. They couldn't make the most of it. They ended the first half with a one-goal deficit.

It was a tough situation, but we achieved a league three consecutive victories by a come-from-behind win!

Entering the second half, in the 51st minute, Nakajima was substituted for Mita. Nakajima then took his position as the left midfielder. In the 54th minute, Ota followed up on a ball dropped by Muto, and Nakajima, near the left area, boldly aimed for the goal with a ground shot, but it missed to the left.

After that, in the 68th minute, Ito was replaced by Ishikawa. In the immediate 69th minute, Muto headed away Doi's right cross. Nakajima chased after the ball that went far and collected it, daringly aiming from the left area. Swinging his right foot, the sharp shot beautifully found the top right corner of the goal. Nakajima scored his first J1 goal and equalized the score.

In the 74th minute, Muto was free to pack the ball that fell to the right area and scored directly, but the GK who came forward saved it. However, Maeda quickly reacted to this loose ball. He was knocked down by the GK as he ran into the area and won a penalty kick. In the 75th minute, Morishige took the penalty kick. Morishige calmly kicked it into the upper right corner and succeeded in a comeback with a score of 2-1.

78 minutes, substitute Maeda with Hashimoto as right MF, and change the formation to Ishikawa and Muto as the top 2. The attacking pressure continued afterwards, but the flow changed and gained momentum in the second half with Ishikawa's appearance. Nakajima boldly aimed and scored his first J1 goal to equalize. Then Maeda earned a penalty kick. Morishige calmly converted it to complete the comeback. In the final stages, we were pushed back by Tosu's powerful counterattacks. Even when we cleared the ball, we couldn't capitalize on the mistakes and launch a counterattack, so we struggled, but we managed to hold on until the final whistle. With this comeback, we secured our third consecutive victory in the league.

[Player Comments]
《Nakajima》
"I'm really happy with the goal. I was able to receive Muto's header in a good position. I saw the situation and there was space, so I was able to bring it into the center freely. I made a split-second decision that if I could evade the previous defense, I could take a shot."
I had confidence because it was a form that I often scored in practice. However, after the comeback, I tried to move forward whenever I had a chance, but it didn't go well. The number of opportunities itself is also small. Now, looking back, I think there may have been more things I could have done...

《Morishige》
"Sagan Tosu thoroughly sent the ball to the back and had players who ran in there. We were pressed and struggled in the first half."
However, that style should not last for 90 minutes. I expected the opponent's energy and momentum to decrease in the second half. I think it was good that we were able to fight as a team without panicking and turn the game around. I was able to take the penalty kick calmly."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"It was a game where we were able to achieve what we aimed for. Tosu has been in a situation where results have not been coming recently, but they are a good team. The first half today was fantastic, and we ended up being passive and struggling to deal with set plays and long balls. In addition, there were close scenes for us in the first half, such as Maeda's shot and Ota's free kick, and it was a closely contested match. In the second half, I think our strategy of not allowing the opponent to focus on creating blocks by changing formations and making player substitutions worked well. Nakajima's goal was fantastic. Even after equalizing, the players had the strength to secure a second goal. I think the performance in the second half gradually improved. Tosu was a tough opponent."

[Sagan Tosu - Manager Hitoshi MORISHITA's Press Conference Summary]
"Today, many supporters came to the venue and created a wonderful atmosphere. The players played with all their might, but it was my responsibility that the result did not come. I apologize for not being able to deliver a victory. However, I can see positive signs as a team, so I want to carry it over to the next game."