Reborn Sendai

This will be the first match against Sendai since Shimizu became the new coach. Sendai, who has always been struggling in the lower ranks, had a reputation for their attacking power. With the addition of new coach Paulo Henrique (formerly of JEF) and two excellent foreign players, Maizumi (former Verdy) and Sung Yun GU (both MF), Sendai has undergone a transformation. In the past month and a half, they have earned 9 points out of a total of 18, with the two new players. The reinforcement of their squad has had a significant impact. In addition, with these reinforcements, Sendai has become a rare "multinational team" with three foreign players: MF Henrique from Brazil, midfielder Nixon from Colombia, and DF Dubaich from Yugoslavia, each representing a different nationality. Although they have won convincingly in the 1st and 2nd rounds, the "new Sendai" is not to be underestimated, and caution is necessary against their upgraded attacking power.

First half dominated by Sendai

On this day's match, which was the first match in about 4 months, Sendai faced Tokyo, who had almost their best lineup. Sendai had a difficult lineup due to the absence of key players such as FW Abe, MF Echigo, and Zaizen due to injuries. Substitute players Nixon, who was absent in the previous 2nd round, and new game maker Enrique joined the team, and they approached the match with a completely different team.

When the game started, Sendai took control of the ball first. New foreign player Henrique immediately showed his outstanding athleticism and ball control. Sendai's midfield press was strong, and defensive midfielder Nixon, with his unique persistent defense, stole the ball and passed it to the left side forward Enrique through the left-footed technician Chiba Yasushi. From there, Enrique became the focal point of the attack, either dribbling himself or creating opportunities with exquisite passes for his teammates.

On the other hand, Tokyo's Almir keeps the ball in the midfield and tries to distribute it to FW Amaral, but Sendai's press is strong and they struggle to find good timing for passes. Amaral fights alone to keep the ball and takes it to a shot with individual skills, but both left MF Okamoto and right MF Yukihiko tightly defend their sides, and when they can't smoothly circulate the ball in the high position (i.e. front line) in the midfield, they start relying on monotonous long balls aiming for Amaral's head from the defensive line. However, Amaral is closely marked by the 191cm Dubajic and is not easily allowed to win, and the ball is consistently bounced back.

The match progressed at Sendai's pace, dominating the midfield with intense pressing. In the 20th minute, Nixon, who stole the ball in the midfield, made a strong run and took a powerful shot after a forceful wall pass. The ball hit the right goalpost and did not result in a goal. In the 27th minute, a player who broke free was shot at without being marked after being shaken by a floating pass in front of the goal, but it was also saved by the crossbar. In the following 28th minute, Tokyo struggled to get the ball to the front line in the midfield, and Asari made an unnecessary loose back pass. When Sendai's player cut it off, Enrique seized the loose ball and made a dash. When GK Suzuki threw himself to stop it, Enrique fell and a penalty kick was given. Enrique confidently converted this penalty kick, and Sendai took the lead.

Tokyo, which fell behind by one point and faced a difficult situation, had a solid defense centered around Komine and Sandro. They did not collapse and after Koike replaced Asari, the ball possession in the midfield increased. As a result, the pace of the game gradually became Tokyo's.

Amaral explodes! Achieves first hat-trick of the season!

In the second half, Tokyo, who had superior physical fitness, began to shine. Sendai, who showed intense pressing in the first half, visibly decreased their physical fitness in the second half. In particular, when Enrique, who had been wreaking havoc in the midfield, lost his physical fitness, Sendai's attacks became monotonous. On the other hand, Tokyo's Kaburagi, who came on in the second half, showed proactive runs behind the opponent's defense, disrupting Sendai's defensive balance and creating more opportunities for Amaral and Almir to become free. In the 58th minute, Almir made an exquisite looping pass from the melee in front of the goal to the back of the opponent's defense. Yukihiro, who reacted sharply to this, tried to break free, but the opponent's defense couldn't help but foul him. Yukihiro fell and won a penalty kick. Amaral calmly converted it, equalizing the score. Sendai, who desperately wanted to win at home, used this equalizer as an opportunity to disrupt the overall balance and switch to attack mode, creating space behind Tokyo's defense, which played into Tokyo's hands. In the 60th minute, Shinkyo stole the ball in the midfield and connected it to Almir, who quickly passed it forward to Amaral, who was level with the Sendai defense. Amaral skillfully shook off the defense with a perfect trap and rushed towards the goal. He calmly scored before the goalkeeper came out, completing the comeback. Tokyo, who continued to press, created chances with Almir's versatile passing. In the 25th minute, Almir received a pass from Umayama, who had run deep into the right side, and made a heel pass to Amaral, who had run into the center. Amaral's shot missed, but it was a scene where a scoring opportunity was created with artistic passing. In the second half, Sendai's substitute forward Segawa tried to create chances with his speed on the right side, but Fujiyama showed his strength in a one-on-one situation and shut him out. On the contrary, Fujiyama took the ball from here and created a chance with his favorite attacking participation. In the 85th minute, Amaral, who had stolen the opponent's back pass, scored his third goal of the day, sealing the match.

Recently, Tokyo has been a slow starter and has been in a pinch in the first half. Starting from the next match against Oita (9/25, Komazawa), the final round of 9 matches will begin. Although Yukihiko Sato cannot play due to accumulated warnings, we hope to surpass the opponent with determination and emotions for victory and explode from the first half.

<Coach Okuma's Comment>

・It was painful to concede a goal from our own mistake when the opponent had the momentum in the first half. In the second half, we were able to surpass the opponent in terms of physicality and play our own style of soccer, but it was still tough to score when the opponent's marking was tight in the first half. I think the key to today's victory was that we were able to equalize with a penalty kick in a good period of time in the second half, and when the opponent tried to score, we were able to exploit the space we had planned.

・From now on, we will continue to value each match as we have done before, but it will become more challenging with the inclusion of the Nabisco Cup. It is expected to be a total team effort, so we would like to try various combinations beyond the 16 members.