First step of league restart

Sec. 14 of the J1 League, which will be held on Sunday. We will face G Osaka at home.
In the ACL, it is certain that we were unable to advance to the quarterfinals and suffered some damage both mentally and physically. However, there should also be gains and confidence that we obtained in the midst of Asia's toughness. The coach and players strongly felt that they wanted to stand on this stage again. In order to seize that opportunity next season, we must improve our position in the league standings starting from here. This match is the first step towards that goal, and we approach it with strong determination.

However, Morishige will be suspended for this match due to accumulated warnings. Therefore, Maruyama and Yoshimoto will form the center-back partnership. The rest of the team will face the match with the same lineup as the ACL Shanghai game.

G Osaka, who is facing them, has played 12 games so far and is currently in 6th place with 19 points. G Osaka had a rough start to the season and was also eliminated from the ACL without a win, but they have been improving with 2 wins and 1 draw in their recent league matches.
FW PATRIC, MF Usami, MF Adilson, and the attacking lineup, with GK Higashiguchi leading the defense, all have high individual abilities and require sufficient caution. However, Tokyo aims for victory by grasping the rhythm from aggressive defense and demonstrating a strong attitude towards dynamism and goals.

Ajinomoto Stadium, which is often sunny and makes you feel the humidity. In this match, which had the highest attendance of the season with 37,805 spectators (setting a new record of over 6.5 million total attendees for J1 and J2 leagues), the game started with Tokyo's kickoff at 17:04.

Fighting with all their heart, they pushed G Osaka but...

Tokyo showed determination from the start and displayed an aggressive attitude. They won the ball in high positions and launched quick counterattacks to push forward.
3 minutes: Maeda dropped the ball intercepted by Yonemoto in the center of their own field, and Hanyu made a long through pass to the right front line. Mizunuma chased after it and won a right corner kick.

8 minutes: We get consecutive chances for a corner kick. However, we couldn't finish it and gradually G Osaka also launched attacks with forward PATRIC as the starting point, resulting in a back-and-forth battle.
Still, Tokyo quickly reacted to the support and second ball in the midfield by Hanyu, Yonemoto, Takahashi, and then pushed G Osaka.

27 minutes: Utilizing the intricate passing and coordination in the front line, Higashi moves to the left area, followed by Hayabusa entering the center. Although they couldn't take a shot, Takahashi closes in on the ball that spilled outside the area and aims for a goal.
29 minutes: Hanyu carries the ball deep into the left area and makes a negative pass. Although he was initially blocked by G Osaka, he still connects with the second ball, and Yonemoto → Higashi carries the ball deep into the left area and earns a left corner kick.

34 minutes: Takahashi, who ran into the ball dropped by Maeda, aimed for a sharp middle shot from just outside the area, but it only resulted in a corner kick after hitting the opponent's defender. Although we had many set-piece opportunities, we were unable to fully capitalize on them.

42 minutes: The opponent's clear ball from East's FK passes to Hashimoto, who volleys from a one-touch in the left penalty area, but G Osaka blocks it.
45 minutes: Mizonuma's left cross was cleared just before reaching Hayu, who had entered the center, but Yamamoto, just in front of the area, followed up on the loose ball and took a shot. It only grazed the opponent's defender and resulted in a corner kick, but immediately after this corner kick, Tokunaga and Takahashi attacked the goal one after another. Both shots were blocked, but Yoshimoto connected with the loose ball, and Tokunaga, just in front of the left area, cut back against G Osaka forward Patric and took a shot. The ball was heading towards the goal, but it was saved by the goalkeeper at the last moment. In the first half, G Osaka had 4 shots compared to Tokyo's 10 shots. Although they created big chances towards the end, they couldn't convert them into goals. The score remained 0-0 as they entered the second half.

Atsushi MAEDA scores the 149th goal in J1 and wins the heated battle

G Osaka created the first chance in the second half.
50 minutes: Tokyo loses the ball while attacking and G Osaka FW PATRIC breaks through on the right side. The pass from here is combined with MF Usami on the outside of the goal and MF Endo who made a run, but Tokyo DF throws their body and escapes to a corner kick.
54 minutes: Tokyo's Maeda quickly turned and entered a shooting position from Yamamoto's vertical pass in the area, but... it was blocked at his feet.
55 minutes: Mizunuma runs in accordance with the last pass from Tokunaga to Higashi, but his shot goes wide of the goal.

Both teams continued to launch fast-paced attacks against each other, creating opportunities for both sides.
64 minutes: Takumi ABE is substituted for Higashi. Immediately after, ABE heads the ball from Maruyama's right cross, but the ball floats and hits the post.
67 minutes: G Osaka FW PATRIC left the field, and after that, MF Usami made a side breakthrough and initiated attacks from a one-two with MF Ademilson, but there were consecutive scenes where the accuracy of the final play was lacking.

75 minutes: Maeda in the center area, who was trying to meet the left cross, collides with the opponent's defender and falls down, but there is no foul.
80 minutes: Abe receives a foul in the opponent's territory slightly to the left, and earns a free kick. Kicker Kawano sends it to the front line, and Maeda jumps in with momentum and heads the ball. The ball is sucked into the net like a goal. With this, it's 1-0. Maeda scores his 149th goal in his J1 career, finally taking the lead.

In the final stages, G Osaka, centered around FW Kureya who came on as a substitute, tried to launch a power play by pushing MF Konno forward. However, Tokyo controlled the ball, creating their own time and shutting out the counterattack, including the 3 minutes of additional time. With a calm and well-balanced game, they protected Maeda's goal and the time was up. With support from the home stands, they secured 3 points, their first in 2 league matches.

[Player Comments]
"Maeda"
"I couldn't score a chance in Shanghai, so I was only frustrated with the result. I had a strong feeling of 'I have to produce results', but today I was able to score a goal to relieve that frustration. The scoring scene was a good ball from player Kono. The opponent's line was dropping quickly, so I tried to get into the space. (I have equaled the goal count of player Masashi Nakayama with a total of 149 goals in J1) I wasn't conscious of that, but I am happy to be on par with a great player's record. Above all, I want to work hard to add more wins from here."

"Kawano"
"We have been preparing for set plays since practice, and today's goal was just as I imagined. I was conscious of matching with Maeda and took a short run-up to concentrate on the free kick. We had many chances like corner kicks from the first half, but we couldn't make the most of them. I felt that our accuracy was lacking, so I wanted to somehow connect it to a goal. There was a loud voice even from the bench today, and I think everyone's mindset has changed after being eliminated from the ACL. I want to continue the team's unity and the never-give-up attitude until the end."

[Summary of Coach Hiroshi JOFUKU's Press Conference]
"The players have switched well from the defeat in the ACL five days ago and have prepared well for today's match even in difficult circumstances. As for the match, we aimed to play aggressively from the first half, have courage in both offense and defense, and stick to the style of soccer we aspire to. However, we couldn't shake the goal net in the first half, and there was an unpleasant atmosphere. There were moments when we were a little nervous facing the opponent's strong FW lineup, but we didn't let them have freedom within the flow and continued to aim for the goal. After that, one of the free kicks we earned in the attacking third was successful. I think maybe God saw the efforts of the players. We have been going through a tough league season, but we were finally able to bring the stars back to a draw here. From here on, we want to continue moving forward with the fans and supporters, looking even further ahead."

[Summary of G Osaka Manager Kenta Hasegawa's Press Conference]
"Among the many supporters, we couldn't win at Ajinomoto Stadium again, and it's really frustrating. The fans and supporters had high expectations for the team that had been improving, but we couldn't live up to them, which is disappointing. We knew today's match would be tough. Tokyo is a strong club, and we expected them to come at us with the frustration from the ACL. In the first half, we couldn't push back, but we didn't give the opponent any clear chances either. We were patient and wanted to make the most of one chance in the second half. We had a few opportunities at the start of the second half, including set pieces, but if we had scored there, the result might have been different. However, throughout the match, Tokyo dominated the game. I think that led to Maeda's goal. In the three years that I have been in charge, going back to 2002, we haven't been able to win at Ajinomoto Stadium. Last year and the year before, we faced Tokyo when we were getting into a rhythm and had a bitter experience. We approached today's match with determination, but the reality is that we still lack strength."