Victory is the only option!

Three consecutive shutout losses... Even after watching the Nagoya match in the previous round, the performance was not bad at all. The players have not completely lost confidence and have been fighting, believing in victory and heading towards it. However, if we were to suffer four consecutive defeats in this early stage of the season, it would become difficult for the players to maintain motivation and the team would face a tough situation, such as discord within the team. Therefore, in order to prevent that, this match of the day had to be a "must-win!" and we couldn't afford to lose.

Also, on this day, it was the "first match" against Urawa Reds, the team that TUTO, who became the "savior" of Tokyo last year, transferred to. There is nothing more sad and frustrating than losing to a transferred player. The place was Urawa Komaba Stadium, the home of Reds where you can experience the most away games in Japan. The conditions were not good, but we had to win no matter what. Miura, who aimed for victory on his 200th J-League appearance on this day, Lopes, who was selected as a candidate for the Japan national team and was fired up, and Komine, who was given the important role of "TUTO killer" in his first appearance this season, were men with passion in their hearts, heading towards the pitch.

Another heated battle

The atmosphere at Komaba Stadium was even better than rumored. The stands were perfectly filled with the color "red," except for the away section seats (approximately 600 seats). Not only was there a great chorus, but there were also numerous banners and big flags. The atmosphere in the stands was overwhelming, as if it were a living creature, and it mercilessly attacked the away team. Normally, the away team would be swallowed up by this atmosphere, but the Tokyo supporters in the goal section would not stay silent. As expected, the Tokyo goal section, like a "remote island," began their "counterattack" with their sense and wit-filled support. The players must have found strength in the courageous sight of not being intimidated by the numerical disadvantage. The "intense battle" was already heating up not only on the pitch but also in the stands.

TUTO vs Komine

The game started and it was Reds who made the first move. After winning against Marinos in the previous match, Reds, as expected, aggressively pressed from the front line with TUTO at the center and quickly headed towards the goal after stealing the ball. Reds' attacking pattern is to distribute the ball to TUTO through Donizic as the starting point, Ono and Adriano as intermediaries. The attack, with Ono joining the powerful Brazilian trio, is speedy and accurate, and Reds dominated the ball in the early stages of the first half.

However, as time passed, it became apparent that the Reds' attack lacked another level of intensity. The reason was that Kofumi had perfectly contained TUTO, who had now become the Reds' super ace. The theme of Coach Okuma on this day was "TUTO countermeasures." And the secret strategy taken by the coach who knows his fear the most was "TUTO vs Kofumi." In a practice match against Kashiwa Reysol before the opening, TUTO twisted his left ankle and had been away from the front lines for a long time. It was a form of "first appearance this season" in this big match, and he was selected for a major role. However, for Coach Okuma, this was not a "gamble," but a strategy based on data. In the J2 era of 1999, when TUTO was playing for Kawasaki Frontale at the time, there was a record of marking Kofumi and not conceding a single point in all four matches. Despite it being Kofumi's first appearance this season, he played with confidence and almost perfectly executed that "business order."

Once again, a difficult development of conceding the first goal

The match unfolded with a fierce exchange of plays, as yellow cards were shown multiple times under the pressure of the passionate atmosphere in the stands. Both teams pressed strongly in the midfield and struggled to create attacking opportunities. However, Ono threatened Tokyo's goal with a shot after intercepting a pass in the 24th minute and with a volley shot in the 35th minute, maintaining the pace of the game in favor of Urawa. Tokyo also had chances with Kelly breaking through in the 33rd and 41st minutes, but fell short of scoring. The lack of energy from forwards such as Robisu and Kaburagi became a challenging factor as Tokyo struggled to establish a focal point in the frontline.

In the 44th minute of the first half, TUTO, who had the ball in the penalty area corner in front of Tokyo's goal, moved to the right side with a sharp dribble that flowed sideways in front of the goal, which he is good at, and took a shot. The ball grazed the hands of goalkeeper Doi and hit the left goal post, then bounced back and was pushed by Adriano, resulting in the first goal. For a moment, the marking transfer from Komine to Naito was delayed, allowing TUTO, who was being taken care of the most, to create a scoring opportunity.

However, immediately after that, Adriano, who scored a goal, jumped over the signboard in excessive joy and received his second yellow card of the day, resulting in his expulsion. This gave hope for the second half.

Second half explosion! Kelly's first goal in Japan, Toda's first J-League goal leads to a comeback victory!

At halftime, Tokyo started moving after receiving instructions from Coach Okuma to Rohisu and Kagimaki to "be more aggressive and become the focal point of the front line." Two minutes into the second half, Kelly sent a perfect lofted pass to the back space of the Reds' defense, and Rohisu, who reacted to it, scored a direct volley shot with his right foot from a position without a right angle, equalizing the score. Seven minutes later, Kelly dribbled from the right side to the middle and unleashed a powerful left-footed shot, evading one defender. Although the goalkeeper initially deflected the ball, Kelly calmly scored again, completing the comeback. After having his goals denied by the goalpost twice in the previous match against Nagoya, Kelly finally scored his first goal in Japan, causing his joy to explode.

Tokyo, who continued to have a numerical advantage, bewildered Urawa Reds with sharp one-twos from the center with Kelly as the starting point, as well as side attacks from Fujiyama and Naito's active participation in the attack. Kelly's outstanding ball retention when he went to the side, and his versatile passes from the center, further enhanced his brilliance with his own goals. In the 40th minute of the second half, Kelly, who rushed through the center with high-speed dribbling, sent a perfect through pass to the front of the goal, but Lopes reacted and broke free, only to be offside. Although it didn't result in a goal, it was a very high-level attack. Even with one less player, Urawa Reds created chances from sharp counterattacks with Ono's spirited play, but TUTO, who they relied on, was still subdued by the powerful defense of Komine and couldn't create decisive chances.

The finale came in the 42nd minute of the second half just before the end. From Kelly, who kept the ball on the left side, to Kina. Kina quickly sent a pinpoint cross in front of the goal, and Toda, who came on as a substitute, jumped and headed the ball into the right corner of the goal to seal the deal with the third goal. This is Toda's first joyful J-League goal. In the end, the game finished 3-1. Tokyo successfully escaped from a losing streak with a long-awaited victory since the opening match on March 10th.

And what is as happy as victory is Kelly, Toda's "first goal". Both of them had already proven their high abilities, but what was missing was a goal. It was a chance for them to become essential players for the team... By scoring that goal, their presence afterwards became unshakable, and the team took another step up.

[Coach Okuma's Comment]

Until now, we have not been able to win the matches despite creating good content and good form, so today we wanted to win by any means necessary. The players were also starting to lose confidence, so I think it is great that we were able to win today and it has given the players confidence.

Also, I was happy with Toda's goal today because young players like Toda and Toru Kaburagi, who have been given opportunities, have not been performing well. We will gain momentum with this victory and continue to do our best for the next match.