Resuming the league, welcoming Yokohama F.Marinos at home

　Entering the Golden Week consecutive matches. From the Nabisco Cup on April 29th, Tokyo will face Yokohama F.Marinos in the 1st stage of the league in just 2 days. In the previous Nabisco Cup, Tokyo achieved a come-from-behind victory with a fresh lineup. Today, Tokyo will have the presence of national team players Doi, Kaji, and U-23 representative players Shigeki, Konno, and Ishikawa. With that momentum, they want to challenge Yokohama, the champion of last season.

　However, Kanazawa was injured in the practice the day before. As a result, Wu will take on the role of left fullback. In midfield, "considering Miura's condition, the combination of Imano and Asari is also good" (Manager Hara) and they will play with a double pivot of Imano and Asari.

　On the other hand, Yokohama's main defenders Dudu, Matsuda, and Nakazawa were suspended. Japan national team's FW Kubo was also absent, so coach Okada said, "(With Dudu suspended) we didn't have any players who could play on the left side of the 4-back." As a result, Nasu played as libero, Yanagi and Ueno played as defensive midfielders, and Endo played as left outside in a makeshift 3-back formation.

Despite conceding the first goal, they grasp the rhythm and attack Yokohama's goal

　It was another early start. In the 1st minute, Tokyo DF escaped Yokohama's FK and turned it into a CK. Yokohama picked up the loose ball from this CK and launched a persistent attack from the right side. In the 2nd minute, MF Tanaka received a pass from MF Endo and crossed from the right. Doi tried to catch the high ball, but Yokohama FW Yasu closed in from the far side, causing Doi to lose balance and fail to receive the ball that hit Yasu's head. Yasu kicked the loose ball into the goal. We conceded a goal in the early time of 2 minutes.

　Tokyo falls behind Yokohama's quick start due to conceding a goal just as they were trying to find their rhythm. The first shot came in the 9th minute when Kajiyama was fouled in front of the goal after dribbling, earning a free kick. Ishikawa aimed directly for the goal, but it was blocked by the defense wall. In the 15th minute, Toda received a pass from Lucas' attacking play and swiftly cut into the left area, but the opposing defender cut it off with a sliding tackle. In the 16th minute, Imano took control of Kajiyama's pass and took a shot at the goal, but it went wide to the right.

　Tokyo gradually regained control of the fast pace. In the 17th minute, they created a decisive chance. Ishikawa picked up the opponent's defender's clearance and sprinted down the right side. Lucas took a direct shot from the cross, and Toda, who had closed in on the goal, had a free shot. However, it was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper's nice save. In the 22nd minute, Yokohama's goalkeeper Enomoto's clearance ball reached the front line, and Yasu kept it. From Yagi's cross, Endo took a shot from the left side of the area. However, ultimately in the first half, Yokohama only allowed them to take two shots.

Despite creating chances in Tokyo's soccer...

　Tokyo, which grasps the rhythm and dominates the game. In the 25th minute, they regained possession of Yokohama's counterattack, and Ishikawa ran up the right side. Lucas -> Kajiyama, and the last pass was passed to Shigeno, who was attacking the front line with Kajiyama's through pass, but it was blocked by the defender and escaped to a corner kick. In the 26th minute, Lucas took a forceful shot in front of the goal. In the 29th minute, Imakawa sent a last pass from Ishikawa's interception, and Toda took a shot. In the 30th minute, Jean scored with a header from Kaji's early cross. However, the opponent's goalkeeper saved all of them.

　32 minutes into the game, there was another decisive scene. Kaji and Ishikawa intercepted the ball on the right side of their own field, with Ishikawa running up the right side and passing to Lucas who had drifted to the right area. Lucas sent a fast ground cross to the center, but just before it reached Toda who was closing in, the opponent's defender made a desperate sliding tackle to cut it off. Unfortunately, they couldn't finish the play.

　In the 38th minute, Makoto intercepted on the left side and launched a fierce attack by utilizing the wide field with Ishikawa on the right and Kajiyama in the center. In the 41st minute, Ishikawa, Lucas, Toda, and Kajiyama attacked the goal and passed the ball, but in the end, Makoto shot over the goal. Ishikawa was repeatedly the starting point on the right side, creating many chances from Makoto's advances and Kajiyama's passes. However, it can be said that the inability to score here was the cause of the defeat.

Unable to suppress the counterattack, bitter defeat

　The second half of the game continued at a fast pace. However, both teams attacked the opponent's goal, but without creating any decisive opportunities. In the 52nd minute, Yokohama DF Kawai took a shot, which was the first shooting scene of the second half. In the 53rd minute, Yokohama MF Oku made a through pass, and FW Sakata broke through the Tokyo DF, but Toda, who had returned to defend in front of the goal, made a last-minute clearance. In the 55th minute, FW Yasu took a shot from the right side of the area, but Doi made a save. On the other hand, in the 57th minute, Tokyo's Kaji overlapped. In the 59th minute, Lucas made a cross and launched an attack from the right side, but couldn't bring it to a finish.

　Substitute Miura for Asari in the 60th minute. It happened just after an attempt to turn the game around. In the 61st minute, Tokyo cleared Yokohama's corner kick. However, Kajiyama's play, which collided with the defender, resulted in a foul and gave Yokohama a free kick. The ball kicked by MF Oku from a distance of about 20 meters in front of the goal went over the wall and into the right side of the goal. Tokyo was easily conceded an additional goal from a set piece.

　In the 63rd minute, Abe was substituted for Toda. In the 64th minute, Lucas → Kajiyama, who exchanged one-two passes inside the area and attacked. In the end, Lucas was slightly offside, but he didn't give up and headed towards the goal. However, in the 66th minute, Miura, who raised his leg trying to avoid the opponent's check inside the Yokohama's territory, was judged to have committed a rough play. Miura received his second warning and was sent off today, forcing Tokyo to play with 10 men.

　In an attempt to break free from the situation of being constantly suppressed at the beginning of the counterattack, Ishikawa unleashed a powerful mid-range shot in the 69th minute, but it was saved by the goalkeeper. In the 70th minute, Abe tried to break free in front of the goal from Kajiyama's through pass, but the opposing defender cut it off a step ahead. In the 71st minute, Kurizawa was substituted for Ishikawa. They continued to push towards the goal until the end, but ultimately they were unable to change the momentum against Yokohama's 11 players. Forced to defend, the game ended. They suffered a bitter defeat with a 0-2 shutout loss, marking their first home loss of the season in the league.

【Player Comments】《Asari》"(It was my first start in a while) I was desperate. I was conscious of easily entrusting the ball forward. I think I was able to play by communicating with the defenders in defense. Imano is strong upfront, so I tried to let him take the ball upfront as much as possible and I played the role of supporting him. In the first half, we needed to seize the momentum and score a goal during the intense attacking period. We should have attacked more calmly."《Toda》"This season, I'm trying to open up on the side and create a starting point outside before entering the goal area. If I can seize that timing, I should be able to create more decisive scenes. (Today, I also created chances by getting close to the goal a few times, but) it's still too late at this timing."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "We conceded a goal early on, and then Asari and Wu received consecutive warnings, which caused the players to become unsettled and confused. In the first half, we were able to use the sides effectively and created several decisive opportunities from crosses from the right, but we wanted to score there. At halftime, the performance was not bad at all. Yokohama aims for counterattacks and only quickly transitions when they win the ball, so I told the players to continue attacking while being cautious of that. Midway through the second half, we brought in Miura and tried to reinforce that aspect once again to everyone. We tried to connect passes and use Ishikawa and Kaji on the right side or the left side effectively. However, it was a miscalculation that he got sent off. It became tough at that point. Honestly, today we were confused because we couldn't understand the criteria for the decisions. Yokohama is a good team, and it became a boring match for the spectators who came to watch because it turned into a 10-man battle. It's regrettable that it ended while we were still frustrated. However, since the matches continue, we want to switch gears as soon as possible, including the condition of the players who returned from the national team. We can't just let things drag on like this."

[Yokohama Okada's press conference summary] "We scored a goal in the early stages of the first half and had a good start, but gradually became passive and stopped creating opportunities for passes. The atmosphere gradually became afraid of the ball and we were under intense attack. However, our 3-back and GK showed great resilience and defended well. We maintained our concentration without interruption and always put our bodies on the line. I think that was the key point of today's game. At halftime, we discussed whether to continue defending and play a sloppy game... but we didn't want to do that, so we encouraged the players to try without fear. In the second half, we were able to play well and the situation became easier when one of the opponent's players was sent off. Considering the current team situation and the players, it was a very important achievement to earn 3 points here. We have been able to collect points somehow, but we are not satisfied with the performance. However, I think we are gradually improving. Since we have consecutive matches, we want to use players in good condition."