Aiming for the first J1 victory at home this season

The 1st Stage Sec. 3, which was scheduled on Friday considering the ACL schedule. Vissel Kobe will be welcomed at home.

A match aiming for a consecutive 2nd win in the league after winning against Sendai in the previous round. However, in the recent official matches, we have been conceded the first goal in 4 consecutive games. Therefore, we want to thoroughly implement risk management in order to first suppress conceding goals.　

The starting lineup for Tokyo is the same as the Sendai match, with Tanabe on the right side, Hashimoto in the midfield, and Ogawa as the left fullback. Due to a foot injury, Morishige, who was a candidate for the national team training camp, and Yonemoto have been working hard to recover and have made it into the starting lineup.

A night game greeted without sunshine and with a cold temperature of 6.2 degrees. The number of attendees also fell below the previous lowest record for a J1 league game at Ajinomoto Stadium (12,552 attendees in the 2nd round of the 2001 season against C Osaka), with a total of 11,488 attendees. However, the players all expressed their determination to "do their best to share joy with the fans and supporters" and the match kicked off in Tokyo at 19:04.

Both teams play cautiously, and the game continues with patience.

Both teams started the game cautiously and steadily from the beginning. When Tokyo advanced into Kobe's territory, they immediately faced intense pressure from Kobe, resulting in an increasing number of fouls being committed against them.

2 minutes: Maeda receives a foul in a slightly right-leaning position near the area, and Morishige aims from the resulting free kick.
11 minutes: FK obtained on the right side. Ogawa's kick was blocked by the goalkeeper's punching, but Abe connected and Mori Shige shot again. 12 minutes: Kobe cleared the ball sent to the front of the goal from the throw-in. Hashimoto, who followed Yonemoto in the left area, turned his body and took a shot.

17 minutes: This time, Takumi ABE receives a foul, resulting in a free kick just outside the right area. The opponent's clearance goes to the left area, where ABE receives it and strikes a volley.
22 minutes: Abe in the left area controlled the ball with his chest and took a shot with his left foot. However, both shots missed the target.
30 minutes: From a quick pass exchange on the right side, Takumi ABE picked up the loose ball and passed it to Atsushi MAEDA, who broke through on the right side and crossed it in front of the goal. However, it didn't quite reach 東 who was running in front.

Tokyo was unable to take advantage of their chances and towards the end, Kobe held onto the ball. In response, Tokyo remained calm and maintained a compact formation. They continued to repel Kobe's long balls and did not allow any dangerous situations to arise.

36 minutes: From Tokyo's corner kick, Kobe's counterattack was received, and Soma, Kobe's left fullback, passed to Leandro in the center. Leandro aimed for a controlled shot towards Watanabe, but it missed to the left, and the first half ended scoreless.

Grasping the rhythm, ABE scored his first goal in the league just before the end after joining!

Tokyo changed positions from the second half, with Higashi moving to forward and Abe shifting to the left side to aim for a goal. This strategy worked, and they started creating chances from the left side.

47 minutes: Attacking from the left side, the ball spilled out from the scramble in front of the goal, and Yonemoto reacted. He attempted a sliding shot from just outside the left area, but it was blocked.
53 minutes: Created a scoring opportunity. Speedily connected from their own half, Abe on the left side feinted past the opposing defender and broke through vertically, delivering a short final pass to the center. Tanabe made a run and perfectly headed the ball, but... it narrowly went over the crossbar.

64 minutes: Hashimoto advances to the right front line and earns a corner kick. Maeda jumps in with a header from Ogawa's low kick, but the shot goes wide.
67 minutes: Mizunuma is substituted for Higashi.
72 minutes: Sandaza was substituted for Tanabe. He added even more threat to the goal.
76 minutes: Sandaza receives a foul and earns a free kick just outside the penalty area on the right side. Maruyama takes aim and sends the ball flying towards the right post, but it is saved by the goalkeeper. Then, from a right corner kick, Hashimoto in the area falls down while taking a shot, but it goes wide to the left.

88 minutes: Morishige pushes up the entire team, Morinaga on the right touchline overlaps with Mizunuma in front. From Mizunuma and the one-touch pass from the inside by Hashimoto, Tokunaga puts in a ground cross from just outside the right area. The ball passes Maeda in front and Sandaza in front, but it is sent to Abe, who has become free in the left area, and Abe calmly slots it in with his left foot for a goal!!

Breaking through the right side, Takumi ABE marks his first goal in the league since transferring to Tokyo! This becomes the final goal, and in a dramatic fashion, they snatch 3 points and achieve their second consecutive victory in the league.

[Player Comments]
"Abe"
"It was a tough game. Considering the game content, there are many points that need improvement. However, the most important thing is to earn 3 points. The goal came from Tokunaga's good ball. It was a move that we had been practicing to get into that position. As an attacking unit, we have a lot of regrets, but we were able to win the game because the players at the back held on. We want to create more chances and score more goals."

"Tokunaga"
"(The scoring scene) was broken by Mizunuma, Hashimoto, and me on the side, and Abe entered the far side. I saw that, so I sent a cross to the far side. It was as I intended, but it might have been a difficult ball. He scored well. I prioritize maintaining balance on the right side and overlapping when it's crucial, and I want to create scoring opportunities even with few attacking opportunities. Kobe was tight in the first half, but we talked about it opening up in the second half, and there was an atmosphere that we could score. We were able to exploit that well."

[Summary of Coach Hiroshi JOFUKU's Press Conference]
"The game developed into a tense situation, but Kobe only had a total of 3 shots. They didn't allow any shots in the second half. We want to see this as a positive point. Our foundation lies in solid defense. However, in the past 4 games, we have conceded the first goal. Today's game was intense, but we were able to maintain a solid defense throughout the 90 minutes without giving any chances. As a challenge, we couldn't calm the game down in the first half. In the second half, we showed our attacking prowess, but we want to continue practicing our desired style of play throughout the year. Among that, I believe that we need a defense like today's to earn points and achieve victories. On weekdays, in extremely cold weather, I wanted to play a match that would make the fans and supporters who came to the stadium think 'it was worth coming'. I think it's good that we were able to ultimately win."
"I think we were able to respond well to the defensive plan of building blocks. However, our attack after winning the ball was not good. We need to improve the quality of our counterattacks, aiming for the spaces in the opponent's half quickly. I talked to the players at halftime, but the quality of our attack was still lacking in the second half, and we lacked scenes of supplying the ball to the front line. If we continue to play like this, it will be easier for the opponent to defend. We had our rhythm taken away in the match."