Battle without Almir

J2, which started on March 14th, enters a break of about one month for the Sydney Olympic qualifiers after the games of this day (= 14th round) end. Tokyo was in 3rd place at the end of the previous round (= 13th round), and it became a very intense match as they had the opportunity to take the top spot if they won against the top-ranked Oita in 90 minutes and if the 2nd place Kawasaki F (vs Sapporo) drew or lost. In the 1st round, although Tokyo took the lead in the first half with Almir's goal, they were caught up in the second half due to fatigue from consecutive away games and entered extra time. In the end, the 120-minute battle ended in a draw without a resolution. Oita, who studies and analyzes the opponent team well and flexibly changes tactics, is similar to Tokyo in that they play soccer without losing, although they don't achieve big victories. On this day, Tokyo faced a difficult lineup without the key player Almir, who was suspended (due to accumulated warnings), against Oita's best lineup. It was expected to be a tough match with concerns about the midfield organization in Tokyo's first game without Almir this season.

Yukihiko and Koike's Struggle

On this day, Kaga, who scored the winning goal in the previous match against Yamagata (5/23) and scored his first goal of the season, took the position left by Almir. It was expected how much he would touch the ball in the attacking midfielder position. In addition, Koike, who started for the first time this season, replaced Niijou, who had lower back pain, in the defensive midfield position. Koike has played in several games as a substitute and has always shown stable play, so his performance was also highly anticipated. The match started with intense attacks and defenses between the top teams. Yukihiko actively involved in the ball, showing sharp dribbling and accurate passes, as if saying, "Leave the gap left by Almir to me!" Amaral, who has been in great form, showed stable post-play with outstanding control and created a rhythm for the attack. Koike, who started for the first time, also fought hard as a link between offense and defense with proactive movements, living up to expectations. On the other hand, Oita flexibly adjusted positions, such as registering three defenders but actually deploying four, and took care of Tokyo's attacking pattern of the full-backs moving up. In the attack, both Will and Choi distributed good passes to the front line from skillful ball retention, creating a rhythm. Both of them are left-footed and have a variety of kicks, causing trouble for Tokyo with balls aimed at the back of the unique defenders.

"KING OF TOKYO" Amaral is still going strong!

As the second half began, the game intensified. In the 55th minute, Tokyo's Kagami scored a direct volley shot from Koike's exquisite cross. In the 63rd minute, Yukihiko broke through on the right side and centered the ball, which Sandro headed powerfully. In the 70th minute, Amalao dropped the ball into the post in the center, and Fujiyama took a powerful shot. Although these were all decisive moments, unfortunately, they missed and did not result in goals. On the other hand, Oita also created scoring opportunities as Will and Choi broke through themselves and took powerful shots, despite focusing on passing in the first half. The game entered extra time with both teams' strong defense and a lack of finishing ability. In the 107th minute, Kobayashi, who came on as a substitute, crossed the ball from the left, which Yukihiko headed down, and Koike ran in and shot with his right foot. The ball hit the Oita defender and came back to Yukihiko, who was on the right side of the goal again. Yukihiko crossed the ball to the center, and Amalao, who was closing in, scored a dramatic winning goal. Amalao, who had crushed Kobe in the April 14th Nabisco Cup, ended the fierce battle with his second winning goal of the season. As for the rankings, Kawasaki Frontale drew, but Tokyo won in extra time, so there was no change in the top three positions. (Comment from Coach Ishizaki) We changed from our usual three-back formation to a four-back formation, including taking care of Tokyo's strong fullbacks, and our defense worked as planned. The reason for the loss was a lack of finishing ability, and we want to resolve this before the game resumes on June 26th. (Comment from Coach Okuma) Although our marking became loose in extra time, our defense, including the goalkeeper, remained resilient and didn't lose concentration until the end, which was the key to our victory. Koike made a contribution both in attack and defense, even though it was his first start. Looking back, I am satisfied with our defense, but the lack of attacking power when Amalao is absent and the transition from defense to attack are still challenges that we need to address promptly.