リーグ戦が再開！　5連戦のスタートを勝利で飾り、勢いに乗りたい

　落ち着いた試合運びから公式戦6連勝を果たした天皇杯をはさみ、リーグ戦が再開。第31節を迎え、味スタにてファジアーノ岡山と対戦する。リーグ戦はあと10試合。いよいよ終盤戦に突入するとともに、今節から5連戦となる。短い試合間隔では、リズムを失うと立て直しが難しくなるはず。そのため連戦の初戦で必ず勝利を果たし、さらなる勢いをつかんでいきたい一戦だ。

　対する岡山は、現在勝ち点31で17位につける。リーグ戦はここ4試合勝ち星がないが、天皇杯では延長戦でザスパ草津を制し、3回戦へ進出。3-4-2-1の布陣で、組織だった守備や、前線に当てた後の動き出しの早さは大きな武器だといえるだろう。全員の意思統一が図られ、前半のアウェイ戦ではそのひたむきさにも苦しめられだが、その岡山に対して、前線や中盤でのプレスがはまらず、隙を作ると苦しむことになる。

　いつもどおりに状況に応じて、果敢にボールを奪いにいく場面と、きっちりとブロックを作って守る場面を使い分け、主導権を握らせないようにしたい。岡山の得点源であるFWチアゴ、DFの要であるDFストヤノフは欠場。またボランチのMF金はベンチスタートに。東京は日本代表のW杯予選を戦った今野、権田もチームに復帰し、スタメンに。なによりホームでの戦い。攻守のワンプレーだけでなく、気迫や戦う姿勢でも岡山を凌駕し、勝利をめざす。

　快晴の味スタ。強い日差しのもとで暑さも感じられる中、試合は13時4分に岡山のキックオフでスタートした。

Tokyo Aim To Start Demanding Run With Home Win 

Following a break for the Emperor's Cup the J.League returned with the visit of Fagiano Okayama to Ajinomoto Stadium. The Cup win over FC Kagoshima last weekend marked six straight victories for Tokyo, and with the side facing a tough schedule of five games in two weeks a win over lowly Okayama was seen as vital to maintain the momentum as the final push for promotion began. 
The visitors lay in 17th. place in the league with 31 points. The side had failed to register a win in four games but had managed an extra-time victory over Kusatsu in the Emperor's Cup. The preferred line up was a defensive 3-4-2-1, with an emphasis on hitting the forwards with long balls and engaging support at pace from midfield. Tokyo had struggled against this approach in the first half of the reverse fixture earlier in the season and would need to maintain strong pressure from the front and in midfield, while taking care not to leave themselves exposed at the back. 
As usual, Tokyo would need to respond to the game situation, to win the ball cleanly and defend in blocks, and not to cede the initiative. The home cause was boosted by the absence of Okayama's top scorer Thiago, along with defensive lynch-pin Stoyanov. Defensive midfielder Kim started on the bench. Gonda and Konno had returned unscathed from duty with the Japan national team and went straight into the Tokyo starting eleven. A forceful, commanding performance was required to dispatch the visitors and set the tone for the demanding stretch of fixtures to come. 
Torrential overnight rain had given way to brilliant sunshine by the time Okayama kicked off shortly after 1pm in hot and humid conditions. 

森重の先制点を皮切りに、高橋、梶山が加点しリードを広げる

　序盤から、躍動感のあるプレーでボールを支配し、攻めに出た。3分には梶山→ルーカスの落としから、左エリアに進入した田邉がシュート。続く4分には右サイド側をドリブルで持ち上がった谷澤からのパスを羽生が受け、反転して狙い澄ましたシュートを放ったが、わずかに左に外れた。9分には羽生が右前線に攻め上がり、クロスから右CKを得る。10分、谷澤の蹴ったCKは相手DFをかすめてエリアにこぼれたが、森重が右足で確実に蹴りこみ、先制点を奪った。

　攻めの手を緩めず、果敢に2点目を狙いにいったが、13分、オーバーラップした徳永が、右エリアから放ったシュートはGKセーブに阻まれる。17分には左前線で田邉が粘り強くつなぎ、クロスに合わせてゴール正面の谷澤が頭で合わせたが、バーの上に。決めきれない時間が続くと、反対に28分には岡山・左MF小林にサイドからループシュートを放たれる。権田が見送ったボールはバーをヒット。この跳ね返りに岡山MF澤口に詰められ、至近距離からのシュートを打たれたが、権田が見事な反応でセーブした！

　ピンチをしのぐと、35分には徳永のクロスを起点とし、逆サイドの椋原がシュートまで持ち込む。これはDFにクリアされたが、こぼれに詰めた高橋が、競り合った相手DFを華麗なターンでかわして右足でゴール！　両サイドバックの攻め上がりからワイドに展開し、追加点を奪った。終盤の41分には、左サイドで羽生と田邉のパス交換から、羽生がエリアに浮き球のパス。これに合わせて梶山がゴール前に走り込み、ファーストタッチで相手DFを中にかわして左足でゴール！　リードを広げて後半へと折り返した。

Morishige Opens The Scoring In Dynamic First Half

Tokyo made a lively start to the game, controlled the ball and were soon on the attack. In the 3rd.minute Kajiyama chipped the ball forward, Lucas knocked it down and Tanabe registered the first shot on target. A minute later Yazawa dribbled down the right flank before moving the ball infield to Hanyu. A slick half-turn took Hanyu past a defender and his spooned shot from just outside the area flew narrowly wide of the far post with Mago, the Okayama goalkeeper, scrambling to cover. Hanyu was again in the thick of the action in the 9th.minute, pushing forward into the right channel and earning a corner after his cross was cleared behind. Yazawa stroked the ball into the middle where it cleared the ruck of players rushing in at the near post; Morishige, unmarked on the six-yard line, thrust out a leg and directed the ball past Mago to give Tokyo an early lead. 
Tokyo continued to press forward. In the 13th.minute Tokunaga raced down the right, cut inside and unleashed a firm low drive that Mago tipped around the post at full stretch. Yazawa spurned another chance in the 17th.minute, heading over the bar from an unmarked position six yards out after Tanabe's battling run and fine cross from the left. The home side nearly paid for their profligacy in the 28th.minute when Okayama midfielder Kobayashi suddenly produced a deft lob from the left side of the Tokyo penalty area. The ball sailed over Gonda, struck the bar and rebounded kindly into the path of onrushing midfielder Sawaguchi. Sawaguchi struck first time at point blank range but Gonda was equal to the task, showing lightning-fast reactions to beat the ball away. 
Following that narrow escape, Tokyo continued to forge ahead. In the 35th.minute Tokunaga crossed, a defender cleared the ball out and Mukuhara lashed it goalwards from the left. Again a defender blocked the ball away. Takahashi used his strength and speed to reach the loose ball ahead of an Okayama player, then produced a sublime turn to create some room before swiveling and driving a low shot beyond Mago and into the far corner of the net. Both side backs had been involved in a sweeping move that earned Tokyo a two-goal cushion. As half time approached Tokyo extended their lead to three with another expertly taken goal. Tanabe and Hanyu exchanged passes down the left before the latter spotted Kajiyama's run towards the Okayama penalty area and chipped the ball forward. Kajiyama took the ball down neatly with the inside of his right boot, shifting it across his body and throwing a defender off balance in one deft movement before rifling the ball hard and low across Mago and into the corner. Tokyo entered the half time break with a comfortable 3-0 lead. 

岡山の意図のあるサッカーに苦しめられながらも、今季初のリーグ6連勝！

　後半も立ち上がりに決定的な場面をつくった。53分、自陣で椋原がインターセプト。パス交換からリターンを受けて、自らドリブルで相手陣内まで進み、フリーでフォローした田邉にラストパスを送る。田邉は力を抜いて、狙い澄ましたシュートを放つが、ボールはバーをかすめてアウト……。決定的なチャンスを逃してしまった。58分には羽生に代えて石川を投入。谷澤が中央を務める形でさらに4点目を狙った。

　しかしなかなか効果的なチャンスをつくることはできない。59分には岡山・左サイドのMF妹尾がゴールライン際で粘られ、左MF小林の落としからボランチの千明にシュートを打たれ、岡山にリズムをつかまれる場面も。そのため67分には田邉に代えて坂田を、71分にはルーカスに代えてロベルト セザーを投入。前線のスピードを活かそうとしたが、暑さの影響もあってかラインが間延びし、連続攻撃ができず単発で終わる場面が目立った。

　72分にはFKの流れから、石川が短く鋭い左クロス。ファーの今野がポストぎりぎりでヘッドを叩き付けたが、サイドネットに。反対に岡山にパスをつながれ、ゴール前まで進入される場面が増えだした。83分には岡山・MF仙石が右エリアにスルーパス。MF澤口に走り込まれ、至近距離からのシュートを打たれそうになるが、権田が素早い飛出しで身体ごとセーブ。

　ロスタイムにも岡山のFKをクリアし切れず、エリア内のMF澤口に素早い反応でシュートされたが、権田がセーブしてタイムアップ。リーグ戦は5試合連続の無失点で今季初の6連勝を果たした。

　【選手コメント】《高橋》「(得点について)こぼれ球を狙おうと意識していた。相手の出足も早かったので、逆を取るターンをして、ひざ下を素早く振り抜くことを心掛けて打った。2点目が取れて、自分たちのリズムも長くなったので、よかったと思う」

　《森重》「DFなので、まずは失点を抑えることが第一。ただ、セットプレーで取れるとラクになれる。そこで決められたことはよかった」

　《梶山》「(得点について)羽生選手が前を向いたときに、相手が食いついてきていた。天皇杯でも同じようなシーンがあり、そのイメージが残っていたので、ゴール前まで走った。良いパスがきて、ファーストタッチで上手く相手をかわして打つことができた」

　【大熊監督の会見要旨】「岡山は攻撃時には5トップにもなり、守備では5バックにもなる。その戦い方はこれまでと変わらなかった。多少マークのズレや相手にやらせてしまう場面はあったが、前半は我々の狙いとするサッカーができた。先発の選手が頑張ったが、後半は相手にも疲れが出てスペースができた割には、良いサッカーができなかった。それについては考えなくてはいけない。3対0になれば、気持ちの部分で守りに入ってしまうことは分かる。それでも自分たちのミスからチャンスを作られたり、リズムが作れなければレベルアップしない。後半はそのようなシーンが多かった。今日のようにうまくいく試合ばかりではないので、選手の組合せなどを徹底すること。また練習で不要なミスを減らすような意識と取り組みが必要。

　(岡山について)大きなサイドチェンジや、DFの間を取れという指示が出ていた。それに対して我々も、サイドチェンジをされないように注意したが。オーソドックスなサイドチェンジから、大胆な攻撃を仕掛け、DF陣の間を取りながら崩していこうという意図が伝わってきた。やはり後半のようにフリーにすると決定的な場面を作られてしまった。今後も互いに切磋琢磨していきたい」

　【岡山・影山監督の会見要旨】「どのチームも今日から5連戦という厳しい日程になる。その最初のゲームで今、J2で実力・結果・内容ともにトップを走っているFC東京と対戦することになり、チャレンジャーとして臨もうと話していた。結果は、やはり力の差があったと認めざるを得ない。ただ失点に関して、防ぐことが不可能だったかというと、自分たちのミスの面もあったと思う。もちろんそれ以外にも決定的なシーンは作られたが、失点は防げるだろうと思われるもの。相手1人に対してこちらが2人でいっているのに止められなかった。そういった部分に関しては、コミュニケーションや粘り強さで止めることが可能。選手たち自身が、細かいディティールを突き詰められるようにしていきたい。

　前半に3失点はしたが、FC東京を相手に後半は粘り強く戦えた。またいくつかのチャンスを作れたことはポジティブなこと。時間は無いが1試合ごとに突き詰めて、個人もチームとしても右肩上がりに成長できるように残りのシーズンを思いきり戦っていきたい。特にホームで力強いサポーターと3連戦を戦うことができるので、そこで良い結果を残したい」

Tokyo Hold Off Gritty Okayama To Earn Sixth Straight Win

The home side began the second half as they had finished the first. In the 53rd.minute Mukuhara intercepted the ball in midfield, exchanged passes and strode forward before laying it off to Tanabe, following up behind. Tanabe picked his spot but saw his carefully aimed shot clip the crossbar. Ishikawa replaced Hanyu in the 58th.minute, with Yazawa switching to a more central position in the midfield three. 
Even so, Tokyo struggled to create clear cut chances. In the 59th.minute Okayama left-sided midfielder Usui took the ball to the Tokyo byline and cut it back for Kobayashi to knock down and create a shooting chance for defensive midfielder Chiaki. The visitors began to find a rhythm, prompting Tokyo to replace Tanabe with Sakata and Lucas with Roberto Cesar. Using their speed in attack was the intention but the heat began to take its toll, causing the side to lose its shape and attacks to peter out. 
In the 72nd.minute Ishikawa struck a fast, wickedly curling cross to the far post where Konno came in behind the last defender and got his head to the ball but was only able to direct it into the side netting. Okayama drew closer to the Tokyo goal and threatened in the 83rd.minute as midfielder Sengoku played a pass through the Tokyo defence to Sawaguchi. Gonda was quickly off his line to block Sawaguchi's point-blank shot with his body. 
Gonda pulled off his third superb save of the game in additional time as the Tokyo defence failed to clear a free kick and the loose ball fell to Sawaguchi. The final whistle blew moments later. Tokyo had earned their fifth consecutive clean sheet and their sixth consecutive win. 


Players' comments 
Takahashi 
"I was looking to take of advantage of loose balls. The opposition player was fast so I took the ball the other way, pulled it back quickly and shot. It was the second goal and came at a good time when our rhythm was getting stretched so I was pleased". 

Morishige 
"As a defender the most important thing is keeping a clean sheet. However, if we can score from set plays it makes the game a whole lot easier. It was great that we scored from that position". 

Kajiyama 
"For the goal, when Hanyu had the ball and was moving forward I had a defender sticking to me. Exactly the same thing happened in the Emperor's Cup last week so the image was still fresh in my mind. I made the run forward, Hanyu played a great ball and I got a good first touch to take it away from the defender, then slotted it into the corner". 


F.C.Tokyo manager Kiyoshi Okuma 
"When Okayama attack they push five men forward and when they defend they put five at the back. They haven't changed that system at all. On occasions we lost our marking and they nearly made us pay but in general we achieved the kind of game we intended in the first half. The players who started the game did well but in the second half when our opponents began to tire we weren't able to take advantage of the space that created or play particularly well. That's something we have to think about. I understand that when you're 3-0 up you start to think a little more defensively. Even so, our own mistakes led to chances for the opposition and if we can't create our own rhythm then we won't improve. I had that impression a lot in the second half. Games don't always go as smoothly as today's so we need some consistency from the groupings of players selected. We also need to work harder in training to reduce the number of unneccessary mistakes. 
The Okayama bench was telling the team to change the play from side to side and to get between our defenders. We were trying to stop them from switching the play from wing to wing. We told the players to try orthodox side changes, to attack boldly and open them up by splitting their defence. Even so, they still created clear cut chances. We have to continue to learn from here on". 

Okayama manager Kageyama 
"From today there are five games in two weeks and that's a tough schedule for any side. Having to play the first match of that stretch away to the best team in the league is a challenge and that's how I told the team to approach the fixture, as challengers. Looking at the result though, we have no choice but to concede the difference in quality of the two sides. Regarding the goals we conceded, you could say they were inevitable but we also made mistakes. They created other good openings as well but the goals were defendable. We had two of our players against one of theirs but we still couldn't stop them. Maybe it's possible to stop them with more grit and better communication. I want the players to think this through in details for themselves. 
Although we let in three in the first half we put in a tenacious performance in the second. That's a positive, as is the number of chances we created. There's no time between games now for details but we want the players and team to give it their best to develope as far as they can from now to the end of the season. We have three home games coming up in front of our very vocal supporters and hope to produce good results in those matches".