Facing tough opponent Urawa at home

Facing Urawa Reds in the 12th match of the 2nd stage.
In the previous match, there were times when we were pushed back by Shonan, but we changed the system to 3-4-3 and shut down their counterattacks while scoring goals on the counter. It can be said that we successfully utilized the lead and showed the ability to make adjustments and respond during the game. This match will be held at Ajinomoto Stadium following the Shonan match, and it will be a crucial game where we aim for victory, taking advantage of the momentum of consecutive wins, including the Levain Cup, and the strength of playing at home.

The league record against Urawa Reds has been only one victory since 2004, which was achieved on September 14, 2013 at the National Stadium. Although it is often pointed out as a "bad compatibility," we will fight by expressing a strong desire to win and bouncing off the pressure. In addition, Coach Shinoda stated, "We want to show what we are aiming for firmly at home" and explicitly mentioned "pressing from the front." We will confront Urawa with an aggressive playing style and a sense of dynamism.

In place of the suspended Tanabe, Hashimoto will start for Tokyo on July 30th against Niigata, forming a double pivot with Kajiyama. The rest of the team will be the same as the previous match, playing in a 4-2-3-1 system.
Urawa, on the other hand, will be without DF Makino. As a result, DF UGAJIN will be deployed as one of the three backs. MF Komai will be on the right wide, and MF Sekine will be on the left. Up front, FW Zlatan will be accompanied by MF Takagi and Muto as the shadow, forming a 3-4-3 formation.

The temperature is 25.9 degrees, but the humidity is high enough to suggest rain. The match started at 19:04 with Urawa's kickoff.

Aggressive defense to steal the ball and grasp the rhythm, but scoreless

The start of the game was marked by intense back and forth in the midfield, but gradually Tokyo started pressing from the front, winning the ball and launching quick counter-attacks to gain momentum.
7 minutes: Left cross, dropped by East in the center with his chest and sent to the front area with one touch. Maeda ran in to create a decisive opportunity, but his shot was a miss. He still fought to keep the ball, but it narrowly missed the follow-up by Muroya. Nakajima then connected with the second ball and aimed for a shot, but it went over the bar.
8 minutes: The left cross flew into the area, but Hashimoto headed it down, but it didn't reach Nakajima, and Urawa cleared it.
14 minutes: From the midfield battle, Higashi plays a direct pass to the left flank. Kawano carries the ball forward and delivers a low cross. Hashimoto, who had made a near post run, connects with his right foot but misses the target.
Tokyo pushed forward with a fighting spirit, ran well, and took control of the pace with a dynamic battle, but they were unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities.

24 minutes: Tokyo DF is caught off guard by a long kick from Urawa GK Nishikawa, and MF Muto is left free to break through. However, Yoshimoto quickly returns and blocks MF Muto's shot from the cutback. The ball that spilled into Tokyo's left area is pressed by Urawa FW Zlatan, and another decisive shot is taken... but it hits the side net. Tokyo is unable to fully attack when in possession of the ball and continues to receive consecutive counters from Urawa, who quickly transition from defense to offense.

35 minutes: Right MF Komai advances while attacking, and sends a low and fast cross in front of the goal. In response to this, FW Zlatan jumps in near and is hit with a decisive shot with his left foot, but it narrowly goes over the bar.
36 minutes: Tokyo, Nakajima dribbles from the left side and charges forward. From a one-two with Kajiyama in the center, he entered the left area and took a decisive shot, but it was blocked by Urawa GK Nishikawa's excellent save, resulting in a right corner kick.
37 minutes: Maeda sticks to the floating ball to the front line and drops it, and Hashimoto in the right area in front of the hand shoots with one step, but it cuts to the left.
38 minutes: Urawa - Left DF UGAJIN gave space to central MF Sekine and was shot in the middle, but Akimoto saved it in the lower left corner.

As time passed, it became a tense exchange of counters, but neither side was able to score, and it ended in a scoreless draw going into the second half.

NAKASHIMA won a penalty kick, and MORISHIGE scored to take the lead, but collapsed in the final stages and allowed a comeback...

In the second half, Urawa substituted MF Sen TAKAGI with FW Lee.
46 minutes: Nakajima, who broke through into the area in response to Kajiyama's through pass, was tripped and awarded a penalty kick.
48 minutes: Mori Shige kicks this penalty kick right in the middle of the goal, and the ball grazes the hand of Urawa GK Nishikawa and goes into the goal. They take the lead early in the game, 1-0.

However, this triggered Urawa's counterattack and Tokyo was often pushed back into their own half.
58 minutes: Maruyama is substituted for Kono. The defense consists of Morishige on the right, Yoshimoto in the center, and Maruyama on the left. Muraya and Tokunaga are on the wide positions. In the front line, Higashi is on the right side and Nakajima is on the left, with a 3-4-3 formation in an attempt to adapt to the situation.
64 minutes: Urawa substitutes FW Koroki.
67 minutes: Tokyo substitutes Nakajima with Takahashi in the defensive midfield position. Hashimoto moves to the left side to suppress the opponent's starting point. Immediately after that, Hashimoto rushes into the area from Maeda's drop ball, taking advantage of the opponent's gap. The Urawa defenders cannot keep up, and he faces the goalkeeper one-on-one. He had a decisive chance to score an additional goal, but the shot is blocked by the goalkeeper's save... no goal.

The exchange of offense and defense was rapid, and a tense battle continued without a moment's relaxation.
77 minutes: Urawa MF Abe changes sides to the left front line. MF Sekine receives a cross from a dribble. The Tokyo DF players were all in position, but Lee jumps in front of Maruyama and allows a header shot, resulting in a goal... We have been caught up in a 1-1 tie.

79 minutes: Hashimoto chases after a long pass to the front line in an attempt to take the lead. Maeda runs into the goal area, while Hashimoto on the left side chooses to pass. He plays a short pass near, but... it becomes half-hearted and is cut off by the Urawa DF.
80 minutes: Insoo YU was substituted for Kajiyama and was brought to the front line. He formed a two-top with Maeda and aimed for the goal with a formation close to 3-5-2.

The front line and the back line become stretched out and the feet start to slow down as they move forward.
85 minutes: Urawa MF Kashiwagi receives a pass on the right side and allows a shot from FW Zlatan. Akimoto makes a save but... the loose ball hits Higashi who is back in defense and it's a goal. We concede a reversal and it's now 1-2.
87 minutes: Urawa MF Aoki flies out to the right front line and returns to Tokyo MF Sekine in the right area. Tokyo couldn't hold on here and a cross was sent in, with FW Koroki heading in front of Muroya. The side was broken down and they conceded in quick succession... This makes it 1-3.
Despite taking the lead, we collapsed towards the end of the match and once again suffered a heartbreaking comeback defeat to Urawa.

Furthermore, although the annual points remained at 39, it has been confirmed that we will continue to compete on the J1 stage next season due to the results of other matches.

[Player Comments]
"Morishige"
"Anyway, I'm frustrated. That's really the only feeling I have. Today went as expected, and overall, it wasn't bad. The remaining 20 minutes went as planned too. So the fact that we couldn't be the winners means there's still something missing. There may have been a physical issue, but I think one of the reasons for our defeat was that we let our pace drop. It's more like Urawa was one step ahead... We want to discuss together and delve into what's missing."

《Yoshimoto》
"Until we changed the system, we were watching the opponent's 5 players with our 4 defenders, so it was physically tough. From there, we changed to 5 players and made clear marks, and we were conscious of going firmly to the opponent's feet... but we conceded a goal by being beaten behind. It wasn't about the system, we should have been more careful and responsive. After conceding at least one goal, it may be necessary to fight with the determination to 'earn 1 point no matter what'. However, it is important not to dwell on this kind of defeat. We want to switch firmly to the league match and focus on winning against G Osaka."

[Summary of Coach Yoshiyuki SHINODA's Press Conference]
"It's disappointing and frustrating to have this result. I feel sorry for the fans and supporters. The start of the game went as planned, and we were able to create opportunities by leaving the opponent's five players behind and showing scenes of short counters. As a result of continuously pressing to neutralize Urawa's strengths, we were able to score a goal at the beginning of the second half. It was a bit early in terms of timing, but we made a player substitution and switched to a 3-4-3 formation to suppress Urawa's wide players from changing sides. When we replaced Nakajima with Hashimoto and put him on the side, we had a chance to score the second goal, but we couldn't finish the game there. After that, we were caught up to a tie, and our focus shifted too far back, and our pressing became disorganized. The plan for the entire 90 minutes didn't work well. However, the players put pressure at a high pace, and if we could have extended the time to go for more steals from an earlier stage, I think we could have achieved a better result. It became a frustrating game."

[Urawa Petrovic Coach Press Conference Summary]
"We couldn't play our game in the first half. The build-up from the back and the ball-carrying didn't work well. In important games like today, the forward players might have entered the game somewhat cautiously or nervously. As a result, they were intercepted or ended up just kicking long balls. It was a first half where we couldn't show our strengths. It was 0-0, but I think the players had the mindset of 'that's not a problem'. That led to conceding a goal in the second half. However, I'm not sure if the expression is correct, but it was good for us to be behind early in the second half. The players woke up and realized that they had to take risks and show a courageous attacking attitude. After that, there were scenes where we could have scored 4-5 goals. Especially after scoring two goals, they showed an attitude of going for the 3rd or 4th goal without easing up on the attack. It is common in Japanese soccer to defend a lead. However, I think an attacking attitude that takes advantage of the opponent's weaknesses and scores more goals is necessary in Japanese soccer. I often talk about it, but the players showed it on the pitch. When the opponent needs to score, if we try to defend and counter against their attacking with numbers, we will be overwhelmed by that pressure. In Japan, there is a common belief that once you have a lead, you should defend it, but I think there is also a mindset of attacking. In the second half, the players woke up and expressed their way of playing. It was a game with a completely different content between the first and second halves, but in the end, we were able to have a game worthy of victory, which was very good. Important games continue, but we want to continue having good times for us by challenging in such a way."