I want to overcome the difficulties in the league and use the momentum of winning the ACL

The J1 Sec. 10 match against Hiroshima will be held on June 15 (Wed) due to the schedule of the ACL. Therefore, we will first face Shonan Bellmare in Sec. 11.

The ACL Bin Zuong match, which took place on the 4th, was a tough game in the scorching heat, but Maeda scored 2 goals. They grabbed their first victory in 6 official matches and advanced to the ACL Round 16. Although they have not been able to overcome their struggle of being winless in 4 league matches, they will use their united team spirit as a base to seize the opportunity for a comeback and head into this round.

This round, following the match against Bin Zong, Takahashi was deployed in the midfield. It was his first league start. Additionally, although it is shown as a 4-4-2 formation on the team sheet, Takahashi was positioned as an anchor in the center, with Yonemoto and Tanabe on either side. Kono and Abe were on the wings. They approached the game with a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Maeda at the top.

Shonan also made some changes to the lineup compared to the previous match, starting with MF Hasegawa and MF Yamada. MF Kikuchi and MF Hasegawa form a double pivot in midfield. MF Narawa and MF Yamada are the wide players. FW Otsuki leads the attack, with FW Endo and FW Takayama playing as shadows in the formation.

Considering the condition of Tokyo, it may not be possible to press and maintain control throughout the 90 minutes against a strong Shonan team that has won two consecutive games. Therefore, this match aims to achieve victory by accurately assessing the flow of the game and surpassing them at key moments.

Occasionally covered by clouds despite the sun shining, as the evening approaches, the coldness of the wind can also be felt. The match started at 16:04 with the kickoff in Tokyo.

Shonan breaks through the press and Kawano scores the opening goal!

We started the game with an aggressive attitude both in attack and defense. We actively pressed and won the ball, and also managed to evade Shonan's press and create many set-piece opportunities.

3 minutes: After pushing the opponent down with a feed to the front line, Yonemoto tries to close in on the goal after competing with Shonan DF's clearance, but it goes wide to the left.
9 minutes: Shonan gives a right corner kick, which is connected by MF Yamada with a short pass, and MF Narawa crosses. MF Hasegawa jumps into the near side, but doesn't touch the ball, and it goes through to the front of the goal, where Tokyo clears it.
　
17 minutes: Tanabe aims for the goal and earns a right corner kick. Although they couldn't finish from this corner kick, they continue to connect with the second ball, and Kono puts in a right cross. Abe in front of the goal perfectly heads the ball, but it is blocked by the goalkeeper's save... They couldn't fully utilize the chances from free kicks and corner kicks, but they attacked mainly from the sides.

20 minutes: Ogawa, who had moved slightly towards the center, connected passes smoothly and sent a vertical pass to Tanabe on the left front line. Tanabe sent a fast cross with his left foot, and Kawano, who was closing in near the goal, scored with a header! They showed good teamwork and took the lead in the flow of the game. 1-0.

27 minutes: Mori's short clearance falls to Shonan FW Takayama inside the Tokyo area, and he launches an attack on the right side. Connected to MF Narawa, who advanced up the side, and gave a corner kick from the cross, but the right corner kick was cleared by Akimoto with a punch.
There were moments when Shonan, who faced a counterattack, had the ball taken away from them, but Tokyo, who was leading, calmly defended and did not allow them to take a shot.

37 minutes: Yonemoto carries the ball forward and sends a through pass to Tokunaga on the right side. Tokunaga catches up and crosses the ball, but Kono in the penalty area fails to connect. Tanabe follows up and attacks from the left side, but is unable to take a shot.

Although they were unable to score additional points, they continued to maintain a quick transition and actively challenge, and ended the first half with a one-point lead.

Fight with all your heart and achieve two consecutive victories in official matches

In the second half, Shonan's MF Ishikawa enters the central midfield. MF Kikuchi and Hasegawa move up one line, and the front line changes to a formation with central FW Otsuki, MF Yamada on the right, and Takayama on the left, and they have approached the counterattack.

53 minutes: Shonan's left back Mikado sends an early cross, and Otsuki jumps into the goal area. Maruyama didn't manage to block the header properly, but Shonan continued to attack from the left side.

59 minutes: Replacing Kawano with Hashimoto in the midfield. Tanabe tried to respond by moving to the right side.

62 minutes: From a one-two between Shonan's MF Hasegawa and FW Otsuki, FW Takayama moves to the left area. Furthermore, MF Yamada makes a run into the central area, but the Tokyo DF closes in and prevents a shot. From the loose ball, MF Hasegawa near the edge of the area attempts a goal, but it is also blocked.

Shonan gradually gained momentum, but Tokyo did not show any defensive flaws. As a result, Shonan was only able to take one shot. On the other hand, there were fewer opportunities to connect in the attack, but they fought calmly and tried to exploit the opponent's weaknesses.

74 minutes: Hanyu is substituted for Tanabe. Hashimoto moves up to the front line, increasing the attacking power. Immediately after that, Ogawa's left cross is blocked again from the left corner kick, and Maruyama reacts to the loose ball. He rushes into the left area and takes a shot, but it goes wide of the goal.

79th minute: Hashimoto dribbles past the opponent's defender and charges forward on the right side, sending a fast cross. Maeda, who was marked by the opponent in the left area, manages to create some space from the defender and heads the ball, but it goes straight to the Shonan goalkeeper.

In the final stages, both teams were unable to settle the ball and there was intense back and forth between offense and defense. Shonan tried to create opportunities by utilizing the movement of the third player from the side to the center, but Tokyo solidly defended the goal and prevented any shots. Tokyo not only excelled in transitioning between offense and defense, but players like Hayabusa, Takahashi, and Morishige were frequently seen shouting and giving instructions on the pitch, demonstrating a fighting spirit. They fought until the end and the game ended when the time was up.

The team showed a cohesive performance, keeping the score at "1-0" in mind, and achieved a victory with a clean sheet for the first time since the Kobe match on March 11th in the league. This marks their second consecutive win in official matches.

[Player Comments]
《Kawano》
"The goal came from a good ball from Tanabe. Initially, I thought the cross would come up from the previous play, so I felt like I had entered too far into the goal area. However, Tanabe's cross was fast, so I was able to hit it well. I think that everyone running and working hard, regardless of the system, contributed to the victory. Everyone fought firmly until the end."

"Maruyama"
"It was a match against Shonan, but rather than personal feelings, I believed that it was important to win as a team no matter what. I tried to focus on winning rather than trying to make good plays. As a center back, I was particularly conscious of the distance between the front and the sides, but I think throughout the 90 minutes, we were able to cover for each other when someone challenged the ball. I want to continue this defense."

[Summary of Coach Hiroshi JOFUKU's Press Conference]
"Because it was a game with a heavy pressure of 'absolutely cannot lose', we confirmed what is most important to us and entered the game. The players did well in tight conditions. In terms of content, we must aim higher, but the battle of not being able to lose continues. We want to accumulate points to meet the expectations of the fans and supporters."
(What is the difference between the ideal soccer and the soccer that earns points, even though the system has changed?)
Although it is not possible to judge whether the system is offensive or defensive, today we wanted to thicken the midfield. Therefore, we had to reduce the number of players in the front line, but the fullbacks were instructed to take an aggressive position to cover for that. We were able to do that in the first half. Rather than the system, we want to continue to enhance the defensive awareness that we showed today throughout the season. I don't think the ideal soccer will be completed in 2-3 months, but it is something that will come closer throughout the year. We want to continue the momentum we gained from the ACL Bin Zuong match and this round, and prepare for the next crucial match that we cannot afford to lose."

[Shonan - Coach CHO Kwi Jae's Press Conference Summary]
"We wanted to finish the GW3 series with 3 consecutive victories, but unfortunately we couldn't even get 1 point today. In the early stages of the match, our defensive switching became ambiguous and we were scored against. After that, the score remained at a one-point difference, but since there were members who had just played in the previous ACL match in Tokyo, we were hoping to score a goal in the late second half. However, we didn't have the ability to recover. We made some changes to the lineup from the previous match and approached it with the intention of bringing out the maximum value of the current team, but both the successful and unsuccessful aspects were revealed. The players have had various experiences in the 11 league matches they have played. In the midst of that, they feel both a sense of accomplishment and areas for improvement. It's not a sweet world where you can fight just by feeling a sense of accomplishment, and it's a waste to play in the league just to fix the issues. I don't know if it's correct to interpret today's defeat as a positive thing, but we want to improve the quality of what we lack at the same time as winning or losing. We hope to use today's reflection to our advantage in the next Fukuoka match."