England Expedition Day 6
Today, we all did gymnastics together and had breakfast, then we headed straight to Burnley FC's training ground, which will be today's venue.
This was also a wonderful environment with 9 natural grass fields, 1 artificial turf field, and 1 all-weather pitch.
TOP team and academy are using together, and today luckily TOP team was practicing, and I was able to see the practice scenes of player Joe Hart and player Peter Crouch.
In the morning, training.
Passing the ball, 2v1, half-court game, and set plays were done before returning to the hotel.
After having lunch, we returned to the training ground and had a match against Burnley FC.
Before the match, Coach Nakamura said, "Two days after returning to Japan, the T-League will start, and nine days later the Prince League will begin. Let's play as if it were an official game. We haven't won any matches on this tour yet, so let's definitely win today."
Tokyo took control of the game by quickly pressuring the opponent from the beginning and immediately transitioning to attack once they gained possession.
Kubo intercepted the ball in the midfield in the 24th minute and passed it through to Tanida, who scored the opening goal. In the 35th minute, Kubo and Umehara connected with a pass from Keita Kobayashi, and Umehara neatly scored a goal in the midst of a scramble, extending the lead to two points.
However, we conceded a goal from a cross 2 minutes later and ended the first half with a score of 2-1.
At halftime, Coach Nakamura said, "We have been conceding goals immediately after scoring. Make sure to check your marks properly. The players who perform well here will secure their place in the starting lineup. Let's give our all and win until the end!"
In their fourth game since coming to England, the players, who have gradually gained confidence, will continue to move the ball well and play at their own pace in the second half.
67 minutes, Kubo persevered while being surrounded by opponents in front of the goal and managed to take a shot, scoring a goal to make it 3-1.
In the 77th minute, Miyata intercepted the ball in the midfield and passed it to Kobayashi Riku, who then dribbled past the defense and scored a goal, making it 4-1.
After that, Tanida, Tachikawa, and Umehara also approached the goal, but they couldn't score and the game ended. We achieved our first victory in this away game.
Afterwards, we returned to the hotel and went shopping at the supermarket together.
On the last day, since it was early in the morning, there was a possibility that the shops at the airport would not be open, so everyone enjoyed their last shopping in England while buying souvenirs.
And it's time for dinner.
In preparation for tomorrow's final match, there was a scene where Coach Nakamura himself distributed the leftover dishes from the buffet to the players, emphasizing the importance of eating well.
Finally, Coach Nakamura announced the temporary lifting of the special rules set on the first day due to today's victory, and the players were also seen with expressions of joy.
Tomorrow is the final match of the expedition against Middlesbrough FC.
We will do our best to conclude this expedition with a victory!