Sec. 1 - Final Match of the 1st Stage, Want to Conclude with a Victory

The first stage of this season is already reaching its final match, facing Yokohama F.Marinos. Going away.
In the Urawa match, Muriqui scored his first J1 goal and Hashimoto marked his second goal of the season, but they couldn't stop Urawa's counterattack and suffered a comeback defeat. Now, they face this round in just two days after that. They should have suffered some damage both mentally and physically, but the players raise their heads and say, "We want to grasp victory this round and carry it over to the 2nd stage in a good shape."

However, it will be the last of the five consecutive games, and Tokunaga, Takahashi, and Hanyu will start on the bench. Hashimoto will be the right back. The midfield will also be changed, with Kajiyama as the defensive midfielder and Kono and Higashi on the sides. In the two-top formation, Muriqui and Nathan BURNS will continue to play, following the match against Urawa.

Yokohama FM, who will face them, will be without MF Nakamura, and will start with FW Kaique up front and MF Hyodo in the attacking midfield position. MF Martinez and MF Saito will be on the wings, forming a 4-5-1 formation.
A match aiming for victory against Yokohama FM, who have high individual abilities and also boast scoring power from set plays, with a balanced offense and defense and a sharp battle based on solid defense.

Despite the wind, the match started at 19:05 in Tokyo's Nissan Stadium, where the humidity is intense.

Despite an accident happening to Nathan BURNS, he fought patiently

The match started with tough defenses from both sides, and the game continued with attempts to counterattack.
3 minutes: Kono carries the ball up to the right front line and crosses it back in front of the goal, passing through the opponent's defense. East in the area in front of the goal tries to control it and takes a shot, but it is saved by the opponent's goalkeeper. In the early stages, Tokyo's ball possession slightly surpassed and tried to break through with Muriqui as the starting point, but there were many instances where they lacked accuracy in the front line and lost the ball.

15 minutes: Nathan BURNS hit his head in a clash with the opponent, temporarily going off the pitch, but continued playing.
19 minutes: From the center, Muriqui passed to Nathan BURNS who had moved around to the left front line. Nathan BURNS carried the ball forward and sent a precise final pass between the opponent's goalkeeper and defender, but Muriqui and Kono from the far side couldn't reach it, and the opponent's defender intercepted it.

24 minutes: Yokohama FM steals the ball in their own half from the flow of a free kick, and Nathan BURNS carries the ball up in the central space. He tried to make a final pass to Muriqui on the right, but it was also blocked by the opponent's defender.
28 minutes: Kajiyama, who dribbled up the center, was fouled and won a free kick just outside the area on the left. Morishige aimed for it, but his controlled shot narrowly missed the target.

30 minutes past: Nathan BURNS, who had been making a good impact, was forced to be substituted due to dizziness symptoms. As a result, Hirayama came in at the 33rd minute. However, from here, Yokohama FM seized the rhythm and launched quick attacks.
35 minutes: MF Hattori broke through on the right side, and Maruyama blocked the cross, but the loose ball was connected to a quick pass in the right area, and MF Saito was sent out. However, Tokyo continued to hold on patiently and prevented the opponent from reaching the finish.

45 minutes: Muriqui -> Kajiyama's trap miss was aimed at, and they quickly counterattacked. A decisive shot was taken by MF Saito, who had advanced to the right area, but it hit the post. Furthermore, MF Hyodo's middle shot was blocked by Kajiyama. Then, MF Saito, who had circled around the center, also had his shot blocked by Yonemoto, and they managed to survive the crisis.
Just before the end of the first half, the opponent created a big chance, but Tokyo defended well and went into the second half with a scoreless draw.

Yota AKIMOTO delivers a series of great plays, and Shun HIRAYAMA scores a goal in the final moments for the victory!

47 minutes: From a sharp counterattack by the opponent, FW Kaique was released in the center of the area, but the shot was saved by Akimoto.
50 minutes: From Tokyo's restart, Yonemoto's pass into the area was intercepted, and Yokohama FM's MF Nakamachi sent a long pass to the left front line. FW Kaique caught up to it and charged into the area. He collided with Maruyama and fell down, but there was no foul on either side.
51 minutes: Kono sends a right corner kick into the central space, and Morishige tries to connect but misses the timing slightly. Muriqui in the right area in front of the goal takes a direct shot with the loose ball from the opponent's clearance.
54 minutes: Muriqui heads the ball from Kawano's right cross, but both attempts go wide of the goal.

60 minutes: MF Martino catches up with a long pass sent to the right front line, and MF Hyodo takes a powerful shot in the center. However, Akimoto saves it! The ball that was spilled is shot again by MF Martino, but it misses the goal and avoids conceding a point.
62 minutes: Tokunaga replaces Kajiyama. Hashimoto moved to the defensive midfield. During this period, both teams attacked quickly, creating chances for each side. However, after around 75 minutes, Yokohama FM gradually gained momentum.

77 minutes: FW Tomogashi was sent behind by a through pass to the front line and faced 1-on-1 with Akimoto. A decisive opportunity was created, but Akimoto threw himself and blocked it!
82 minutes: Yokohama FM MF Saito and MF Endo attempted to dribble breakthrough, and here, they are under a wave attack from Tokyo's left side. They were repeatedly threatened in front of the goal, but the clearance was short, and in the end, Muriqui held them back with a foul, resulting in a free kick for Yokohama. They were also threatened with a goal from the set piece, but they managed to defend it with Akimoto at the center.

89 minutes: Despite being at a disadvantage, they did not give up on scoring a goal and managed to snatch the second ball in the opponent's territory. Tokunaga crosses from the right, and Kono chases after the ball that drifted to the far side, earning a left corner kick from the left cross.
90 minutes: From the left corner kick taken by Ogawa, Hirayama's header was deflected by the opponent's goalkeeper and sucked into the goal. 1-0.
Seizing the chance of a set play, they snatched a dramatic goal at the end and secured their first victory in five matches. At the same time, they decorated the final stage with a victory, finishing the 1st stage with 23 points and in 9th place.

[Player Comments]
"Hirayama"
"The strategy of utilizing counterattacks from solid defense had been well understood by everyone. I was conscious of that and entered the pitch, but I was a bit chaotic in the first half. I made adjustments at halftime and started pressing from the front."
(About the goal)
I thought the header was going to be stopped by the opponent's goalkeeper for a moment, but the cross had momentum, so I think it added power to the shot. I'm glad it went in.
(After the goal, heading towards the stands)
The game was not over yet, but I thought that being able to score at that time would bring us closer to victory. Above all, despite not winning for a long time, I had the desire to respond to the fans and supporters who came to support us all the way to Yokohama."

"Akimoto"
"I hadn't been able to win in this consecutive match, and I conceded a goal from my own careless mistake in the Niigata match. So I was determined to win today's game. I wanted to keep the goal difference at zero without fail. Especially in this consecutive match, there were also difficult parts mentally. Nevertheless, I thought that this kind of situation would make me grow, and I tried to step onto the pitch with confidence. Finally, I think it's good that we were able to grasp the victory."

[Summary of Coach Hiroshi JOFUKU's Press Conference]
"Under the motto of not making excuses for the '5 consecutive games' in high humidity, we faced today's match. Three days ago, we suffered a tough loss and it was physically demanding. I wanted to have more possession of the ball and play aggressively, but there were unavoidable circumstances. The players fought patiently and defended until the very end. I think that spirit gave us the gift of a goal. Today, we faced more difficult situations compared to the previous few matches. Despite minimizing the number of difficult situations before, we could only earn 1 point in those matches. I had mixed feelings about whether we could earn 3 points in a match like today... so I'm not completely satisfied, but I feel sorry for the fans and supporters. It was really good that we could achieve victory here. There were many scenes where the goalkeeper saved us today. It was a rare kind of match, but I believe Akimoto will continue to save the team in the future. I think we earned 3 points as a team. Going forward, I want to make the team capable of scoring the second and third goals. I am grateful to the players who won today's match under tough conditions."
"It is difficult to accept today's result. It was not a performance that would lead to a loss. It was a closely contested game, and we were able to create chances against a defensively strong team like Tokyo. However, we were unable to convert those chances into goals and were ultimately defeated by a set piece. It is very disappointing."