A battle that tests our strength against Júbilo Iwata

　Facing Júbilo Iwata in the 2nd Stage Sec. 9 match, just three days after the Nabisco Cup Semifinal Round. Our previous record against Iwata is 1 win and 8 losses. They have been a tough opponent for us. Iwata in this stage is different from before and currently sits at the bottom of the league. However, since the 5th match, they have welcomed a new coach, Suzuki, and have been showing some improvement with 1 win, 1 loss, and 2 draws. We cannot underestimate them as an easy opponent, but they are a wall that we must break through. Can we build on our victory in the Nabisco Cup and continue our success today? How far can we go against Iwata? This match can be seen as a litmus test.

　Tokyo, recently returned from the World Cup qualifiers for the Japan national team, has just started with players Doi and Kaji. On the other hand, for Iwata, it has been two weeks since their last official match, but Suzuki, a DF, is suspended, Sato, the GK, is injured, and DF Tanaka, a member of the Japan national team, is also absent. GK Iwamaru and DF Ooi started for the first time this season, and they approached the game with a 3-5-2 formation. The temperature was below 20 degrees, but the match started at Tokyo's National Stadium under the autumn sun.

Get a rhythm from the start and go on the offensive

　Tokyo, which took the lead from the start. They stole the ball with coordinated pressing and created chances from quick passing. In the 1st minute, they attacked the Iwata goal. In the 4th minute, Jean dropped a long feed and Lucas returned it to Kelly, who quickly moved forward. Despite being surrounded by defenders, Lucas broke free in front of the goal and his shot narrowly missed, missing the chance to take the lead. In the 6th minute, they spread the play from left to right, and from the combination of Ishikawa and Kaji on the right side, Kaji crossed the ball. Miura picked up the ball cleared to the far side and took a shot from the center, showing an unsuccessful attack.

　However, in the 9th minute, Iwata picked up a clear ball from Tokyo's MF Kawamura and passed it to FW Maeda in front of the goal, who took a shot. In the 11th minute, the midfielder Fukunishi expanded to the right side, and Kawamura took a shot. In the 17th minute, midfielder Hattori connected Maeda's pass in front of the goal directly, and MF Fujita attacked in front of the goal. Immediately after that, Lucas -> Kelly picked up a loose ball in the midfield and launched a quick attack, creating a 2-on-1 situation with the opponent's DF. However, Kelly's shot from the area slightly to the right crossed the goal, once again missing a big chance.

　Tokyo dominates, but without showing any signs of impatience, Iwata endures and waits for the opportunity to quickly turn to attack. In the 22nd minute, Maeda heads in a early cross from DF Kikuchi. Tokyo, who missed their own chance, ends up losing momentum. In the 34th minute, Maeda takes a shot from Iwata's quick restart. It misses the target, but shows the "Iwata style". However, it was in the 36th minute. Iwata's DF Ooi, who had dribbled up, passes the ball to Imakawa in the midfield, and Ooi, with excessive momentum, slides. This tackle, where he lifted his leg, receives a significant foul play decision, and Ooi is sent off. Following the Nabisco Cup Tokyo V match, Tokyo now has to play against 10 opponents from this time.

Despite overwhelming a short-handed Iwata...

　Iwata moved Hattori from defensive midfielder to defender, shifted attacking midfielder Nabe to defensive midfielder, and moved Maeda down one line to adjust. In the 44th minute, they attacked the goal from a fast pass play, and Fujita took a shot. Tokyo struggled to create decisive chances despite having a numerical advantage. In injury time, Kelly picked up the opponent's clearance and passed it to Lucas, who broke free in front of the goal. Lucas sharply cut past the defender and took a shot, but the ball went to the left of the goal. In the end, Iwata had 7 shots compared to Tokyo's 4 shots in the first half. Although it was not a bad performance, they couldn't seize the opportunities, and the match was carried over to the second half.

　In the second half, Iwata replaced Fukunishi with Morishita and changed to a 4-back formation. Tokyo substituted Abe for Baba. Throughout the second half, Tokyo took control against the 10-man Iwata. In the 45th minute, Kelly picked up a loose ball and attacked, heading a right cross. In the 47th minute, Kelly again headed a cross from Ishikawa, but the opponent's goalkeeper Iwamaru made a nice save, resulting in a corner kick. Tokyo obtained two corner kicks from this point, but failed to score. Tokyo continued to attack, but could not break down Iwata's solid defense, leading to a stalemate situation.

Lack of decisiveness resulted in a regrettable draw

　In the 64th minute, Imakano and Lucas created a decisive scene. Imakano, who stole the ball in his own half, quickly passed it to Lucas in the front line. He bypassed the defender and shot, narrowly missing the right side of the goal, evading the jumping goalkeeper. Lucas continued to show sharp attacks, but he just couldn't score. Immediately after, Miyazawa was substituted for Miura. However, when aiming for the space behind the opponent's defender, they were caught offside, and the cross was bounced back in the center, unable to break through the solid Iwata goal defense.

　In the 76th minute, a free kick was obtained from the left diagonal of the goal. At this point, Suzuki replaced Ishikawa. Suzuki, in his first play after the substitution, aimed directly for the goal with a powerful shot, but the goalkeeper made a save. In the 77th minute, Abe took a strong shot from the right area inside the Kanazawa's left cross, but the goalkeeper made another save. From here, they took three corner kicks and Miyazawa directly aimed for the goal from a free kick near the right corner, but the goalkeeper made multiple nice saves and there was no goal. In the 80th minute, Suzuki picked up the loose ball from Kelly's shot in front of the goal and took a shot. It seemed like the net was shaking, but unfortunately, it was offside.

　In the 3rd minute of injury time, Kelly's shot from Abe's left cross was blocked by the opponent's defender. Then, Miyazawa's shot from the front of the goal went over the goal. From a right throw-in, Abe connected with a header and Kelly's shot went over the bar as well. In the final stages, the game was mostly played in the Iwata's half, and although they came close to scoring, the goal was far away. In front of the tenacious Iwata, the game ended in a scoreless draw. For Tokyo, it was a game they could have won but ended up losing, settling for only 1 point.

　【Player Comments】《Suzuki》"I was strongly told to go for the shot and entered the pitch. I wanted to score with the first free kick, but overall, the start of the game was good and I was able to approach it relaxed. However, when we are winning 1-0, this might have been enough, but when it's 0-0, it's like my job is zero. I wanted to score."《Imano》"Today, we went forward from the beginning and when things were going well, we wanted to score a goal. It felt uncomfortable when the opponent was down to 10 men, but I tried to pick up loose balls. I think we were able to create a wave of attacks from there. I no longer have a weak consciousness against a team with 10 players, but drawing against Iwata doesn't give me confidence. (What do we need to do to make use of our chances?) I think we have to practice as the voices from the stands suggest."

　[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "After the Nabisco Cup ended, we first needed to switch our mindset, especially since we haven't won against Jubilo Iwata in several years, so we approached this match determined to break that streak. From the start of the first half, we applied pressure and I think we were doing well. For nearly 20 minutes, we were winning the ball up front, with Lucas and Kelly creating chances, and Ishikawa and Kaji breaking through on the right side with their speedy attacks. We wanted to score during that time, and with so many decisive chances, we needed to convert them. After the opponent went down to ten men, we brought in Abe in the second half to exploit the flanks, but they defended well, and we couldn't break through in the final moments. In the second half, good crosses came in from Kaji and Ishikawa on the right, but we struggled to control the headers in the center, which I think is an area we need to improve. Also, when the opponent is down to ten men, we tend to falter. Our movements became awkward, and we were less aggressive in winning the ball back. However, I think the players did well to focus on the Nabisco Cup match on Wednesday and performed admirably despite the fatigue from such a dramatic game. Kaji, who just returned from the Japan national team expedition, paired up with Ishikawa again after a long time, and we saw them working together multiple times with Ishikawa going forward and Kaji making runs. We really wanted to win, but we managed to perform well against Iwata, and I want to continue playing the kind of football we showed at the beginning. From there, we need to start scoring. Once we get one goal, we aim for a second, and with fewer opponents, we want to circulate the ball more and aim for greater strength. The second stage is still competitive. We want to play the same kind of football as we did at the start today and win against F. Marinos in the next match."

　【Iwata Coach Suzuki's Press Conference Summary】"The players understood Tokyo's football well, and on that basis, they tried to play Iwata's style. From around the 25th minute, we were able to develop our play and I think we had good rhythm in our attacks and played well, but just then Oi was sent off. I didn't want to disrupt the team's shape, so we maintained a 3-5-1 formation in the first half and switched to a 4-4-1 in the second half, considering physical conditions. We changed the system because Tokyo's wingers were wide, but the players fought until the end without giving up and managed to earn one point. However, we weren't aiming for a draw; we were trying to score until the very end. After switching to a back four, Nanba and Fujita became the starting points, and Maeda got involved, allowing us to create time to keep possession, but we couldn't push forward. Nanba was also tired, so I thought of bringing in Ota, who has speed and stamina, to break down the right side. However, in the latter stages, we almost couldn't create time in midfield, which led to the result being a draw."